“Martha” by Tom Waits

"Martha" comes from Tom Waits's 1973 album Closing Time, and it finds him already sounding like he's lived three lifetimes. He wrote the words and the music, sings it and plays the piano, and Jerry Yester produced, with Richard Moore engineering and mixing.

The arrangement is small and warm and a little bruised: Waits at the keys, Shep Cooke's guitar and John Seiter's drums keeping a respectful distance, Delbert Bennett's trumpet drifting in, and Jesse Ehrlich's cello, a guest spot, adding the kind of ache a string section usually has to fake. Waits sings it low and tender, a late-night voice that doesn't need to raise itself to break your heart.

It's the sort of song that wins people one at a time, and the one station that keeps it on its countdowns has never let it drop.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.