Two entwined narratives run through the creation of Swordfishtrombones and form the backbone of
this book. As the 1970s ended Waits felt increasingly constrained and trapped by his persona
and career. Bitter and desperately unhappy he moved to New York in 1979 to change his life. It
wasn't working. But at his low point he got the phone call that changed everything: Francis
Ford Coppola tapped Tom to write the score for One From the Heart. Waits moved back to Los
Angeles to work at Zoetrope's Hollywood studio for the next 18 months. He cleaned up
disciplined himself as a songwriter and musician collaborated closely with Coppola and met a
script analyst named Kathleen Brennan - his only true love. They married within 2 months at the
Always and Forever Yours Wedding Chapel at 2am. Swordfishtrombones was the first thing Waits
recorded after his marriage and it was at Kathleen's urging that he made a record that
conceded exactly nothing to his record label or the critics or his fans. There aren't many
love stories where the happy ending sounds like a paint can tumbling in an empty cement mixer.
Kathleen Brennan was sorely disappointed by Tom's record collection. She forced him out of his
comfortable jazzbo pocket to take in foreign film scores German theatre and Asian percussion.
These two stories of a man creating that elusive American second act and also finding the
perfect collaborator in his wife give this book a natural forward drive.
