Tom Waits has made a rare appearance on a new documentary about homelessness, in which he also performed songs from his catalogue.
The singer-songwriter appeared in the latest episode of Italian television series The Human Factor, which takes a focus on homelessness in the US south.
Waits appeared in the episode to perform two songs – ‘The Fall Of Troy’, a song he wrote and recorded for 1995 film Dead Man Walking, along with ‘Tom Traubert’s Blues’, taken from his 1976 album ‘Small Change’.
For the latter song, Waits also discussed the origin of its famous hook “Waltzin’ maltida” and its story – about a deeply-troubled vagabond named Tom Traubert with an alcohol addiction.
“I am an individual who is deeply concerned with the inequities as we all are, but ill equipped to solve any of them,” Waits said in an official statement.
“I tell the world in the only way I know how: through my music. I don’t deal with politics or laws, and I don’t have answers to the big questions that concern us all.
“All I can do is try – through songs and poems – to inspire someone. I’m here to open up the window and open up our eyes. I guess a little bit, if I can.” Watch clips of Waits performing ‘The Fall Of Troy’ and ‘Tom Traubert’s Blues’ below – you can also watch the full episode here.
Tom Waits giving a rare musical performance in a new documentary about homelessness
"In Australia, a matilda is a knapsack. When you're on the road, when you're on the run…and you're walking with a backpack, they say you're waltzing matilda. So this is a song about that." pic.twitter.com/uwpfGBB2Le
— Ray Padgett (@rayfp) February 26, 2025
Tom Waits has largely stayed away from the stage and studio in the past decade – his last studio album was 2011’s ‘Bad As Me’. Instead, he’s appeared in supporting roles in recent films such as 2021’s Licorice Pizza and 2023’s The Absence Of Eden.
In 2023, Waits made a rare public appearance to honour Nicolas Cage when the actor received a lifetime achievement award. That same year, Paul Charles – Waits’ long-serving agent – claimed in his memoir Adventures In Wonderland that Waits has begun writing new music. A year before that, Waits gave a rare live performance that included a cover of Frank Sinatra’s ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’.
In recent years, Waits, with wife and songwriting partner Kathleen Brennan, teamed up with Island Records to remaster his back catalogue on vinyl and streaming platforms. Albums such as ‘Swordfishtrombones’, ‘Bone Machine’, and ‘The Black Rider’ were given highly-anticipated reissues after years of being out-of-print.
Actor Josh Hartnett shared with NME last year that the song he does at karaoke is either Louis Armstrong’s ‘What A Wonderful World’ or Waits’ ‘Step Right Up’.
“I love jazz. Most of its instrumental but there is an early iteration of jazz that was very much vocal-driven. This is the one that I like to sing. Or Tom Waits. Something that has a character to it that’s so far removed from me. ‘Step Right Up’ or something.”
NME‘s Alex Flood noted to Hartnett that both songs are sung with “quite gravelly” voices. “Exactly,” Hartnett responded. “You just gotta go for it.”