Lyrics to
Foreign Affair

This version of Foreign Affair was released by Tom Waits in 1977.

Our About Tom Waits page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Foreign Affair from 1977 as well as all of the other lyrics from Tom Waits that we have in our lyrics database.

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when travelling abroad in the continental style
it’s my belief one must attempt to be discreet
and subsequently bear in mind your transient position
allows you a perspective that’s unique
though you’ll find your itinerary’s a blessing and a curse
your wanderlust won’t let you settle down
and you’ll wonder how you ever fathomed that you’d be content
to stay within the city limits of a small midwestern town
most vagabonds i knowed don’t ever want to find the culprit
that remains the object of their long relentless quest
the obsession’s in the chasing and not the apprehending
the pursuit you see and never the arrest

without fear of contradiction bon voyage is always hollered
in conjunction with a handkerchief from shore
by a girl that drives a rambler and furthermore
is overly concerned that she won’t see him anymore
planes and trains and boats and buses
characteristically evoke a common attitude of blue
unless you have a suitcase and a ticket and a passport
and the cargo that they’re carrying is you
a foreign affair juxtaposed with a stateside
and domestically approved romantic fancy
is mysteriously attractive due to circumstances knowing
it will only be parlayed into a memory

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Tom Waits has released many songs over the years besides Foreign Affair. Tom Waits released songs from 1973 to 2004 spanning across albums like Closing Time, The Heart Of Saturday Night, Nighthawks At The Diner, Small Change, Foreign Affairs, Blue Valentine, Heartattack And Vine, Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, Franks Wild Years, The Early Years Vol. 1, Bone Machine, The Black Rider, The Early Years Vol. 2, Mule Variations, Blood Money, Alice, and Real Gone. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Tom Waits.

If you're a fan of popular 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1977 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Foreign Affair by Tom Waits

The lyrics to Foreign Affair are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Tom Waits in 1977. Elements of the lyrics to Foreign Affair are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Tom Waits and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for Foreign Affair back when it was created.

Some people have an interest in the etymology behind words and phrases. You can take apart the lyrics to Foreign Affair by Tom Waits in a number of ways. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Foreign Affair" means the words set to the music of Foreign Affair, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Tom Waits. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Foreign Affair and the lyrics to Foreign Affair are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Tom Waits who came here looking just for the lyrics to Foreign Affair, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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