Tom Waits' beautiful song, 'Martha', from his 1973 debut album Closing Time. There are dozens of covers of this song on Youtube, but none come close to the original.

Despite the fact that Waits was in his early 20s when he wrote the song, it takes the point of view of an elderly man, Tom Frost, calling up an old lover over forty years after they’ve broken up.

It was the first ever cover of a Waits' song by a known artist. Other singers that have recorded versions of "Martha" include Bette Midler in 1979 on Saturday Night Live and Meat Loaf in …

Will she remember my old voice while I fight the tears? Hello, hello there, is this Martha? This is old Tom Frost. How's your husband? And how's your kids? You know that I got married, too. …

Takes me back to the guy I fell for because (back then) he also loved Tom Waits. We listened to this song a lot, and I always suspected that we would somehow NOT end up together, and …

And Martha all I had was you and all you had was me There was no tomorrows, we packed away our sorrows And we saved them for a rainy day And I was always so impulsive, I guess that I …

Jan 16, 2024 · In the delicate framework of Tom Waits’s ‘Martha’, there lies a mosaic of emotions that tugs at the sinews of the heart with a rare earnestness. The song, entrenched in a …

Jul 15, 2025 · It may have been our last edition of our monthly Now Playing test track rundown, or perhaps the edition before, where I got all misty-eyed about Tom Waits’ signature ballad Martha.

Tom Waits - Martha Lyrics. Operator, number, please It's been so many years Will she remember my old voice While I fight the tears? Hello, hello there, is this Martha.

Listen to Martha on Spotify. Tom Waits · Song · 1973.