Tom Waits - Jockey Full of Bourbon
Spit and sawdust: what happens to it? For years, mankind has been asking that question. What happens to the sawdust placed on the floor of pubs to absorb beer spills? Amazingly, it's only in the past few decades that we have found an answer. Every morning, a crack team of homeless alcoholics collects it, and takes it to a secret depot where it is processed, treated, purified and distilled. Finally it is turned into the throat spray which Tom Waits uses to create his familiar vocal growl. As an added benefit, the leftovers can be turned into strange new percussion instruments for him to hit.

Here's the classic Jockey Full of Bourbon from his equally classic 1985 album Rain Dogs. It's a rollercoaster of twangy old guitars and expressionistic lyrics that seem to tell of a home life being ruined while the narrators drinks his life away. This booze-fueled journey seems more marvellous, in its seedy way, than anything he might have lost. But that's the way of things, isn't it? It isn't the drinking that's the problem, it's the stopping.

Tom Waits - Jockey Full of Bourbon