Waits returns to stories of wandering America with a chainsaw guitar and a towel in this sleeper hit from Mule Variations. Justin, Sam and Martin discuss the revivalist gospel sound, the image of water in this and other music, and take an extended diversion into possible Tom Waits/Guillermo del Toro collaborations.
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Cold Water, Mule Variations, Tom Waits (1999)
Water Me Down, Vagabon, Vagabon (2019)
Water Me Down - Official Music Video, Vagabon (dir. Maegan Houang) via YouTube (2019)
Song Exploder episode 177: Vagabon - Water Me Down, Hrishikesh Hirway/Song Exploder (2020)
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