Jump to content

Hang On St. Christopher

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Hang On St. Christopher"
Single by Tom Waits
from the album Franks Wild Years
B-side"Hang On St. Christopher (Instrumental)"
Released1987 (1987)
RecordedSunset Sound Factory, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Universal Recording Corp., Chicago
GenreExperimental rock
Length2:46
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Tom Waits
Producer(s)Tom Waits
Tom Waits singles chronology
"Downtown Train"
(1985)
"Hang On St. Christopher"
(1987)
"16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six"
(1988)

"Hang On St. Christopher" is a song by Tom Waits appearing on his 1987 album Franks Wild Years. It was released as a single in 1987 by Island Records. The song centers around Frank O'Brien, a character who Waits concocted during the making of Swordfishtrombones in 1983. A series of road oriented imagery is evoked in the lyrics, which are sung from the perspective of O'Brien, a downtrodden individual who leaves behind his family and hometown in hopes of attaining a more prosperous future. During his journey, the protagonist carries a medallion dedicated to Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travel.[1]

Greg Cohen developed the North-African influenced horn arrangement in the recording studio and also played an alto horn on the song. A set of Leslie bass pedals were placed on a kitchen table and operated by William Schimmel using his fists. These musicians were augmented by Ralph Carney on tenor saxophone, Marc Ribot on guitar, and Michael Blair on drums.[1][2]

Accolades

[edit]
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2000 Elvis Costello United Kingdom The Best Songs from the 500 Best Albums Ever[3] *
2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States The Songs That Shaped Rock[4] *
2005 Bruce Pollock United States The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000[5] *

(*) designates unordered lists.

Formats and track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Tom Waits.

US 12" single (0-96750)
  1. "Hang On St. Christopher" (Extended Remixed version) – 5:02
  2. "Hang On St. Christopher" (Instrumental version) – 2:50

Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from the liner notes.[6]

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States 1987 Island LP 0-96750

Cover versions

[edit]

The song was covered by BulletBoys on their second album, 1991's Freakshow, and a video was made to promote the release. The song was also covered by Rod Stewart on his 1995 album A Spanner in the Works.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Janovitz, Bill. "Hang on St. Christopher - Tom Waits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Birch, Ian (October 1987). "Tom Waits Is Flying Upside Down (On Purpose)". Musician – via Tom Waits Library.
  3. ^ "Costello's 500". Vanity Fair. November 1, 2000. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "The Songs That Shaped Rock". rockhall.com. 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  5. ^ The All-Time Top 100 Singles (2000). Routledge. 2005. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  6. ^ Hang On St. Christopher (sleeve). Tom Waits. London, United Kingdom: Island Records. 1987.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
[edit]