Martha (track) by Tom Waits

Martha by Tom Waits
Year: 1973
From the album Closing Time (track #6)
Average Rating: 
88/100 (from 138 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Closing Time (12 tracks) « Previous track (#5) This track (#6) Next track (#7) »
Midnight LullabyMarthaRosie

Martha appears on the following album(s) by Tom Waits:


Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Tom Waits-Closing Time CD Elektra First Album Ol' 55 Martha Hope I Don't Fall in
Condition: Good


eBay
eBay
Los Lobos : The Ride CD
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
The Ride [Digipak] by Los Lobos (CD, May-2004, Hollywood)
Condition: Good


  My favourite store:  

Upcoming concerts

Dec
26
Thu
20:00
Homayoun Shajarian
Jacobs Music Center, San Diego, United States. United States
Tickets from $60.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Dec
20
Fri
20:00
The Allman Betts Family Revival
Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Reno, United States. United States
Tickets from $29.50 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Dec
14
Sat
20:00
Lucero Family Christmas
Minglewood Hall, Memphis, United States. United States
Tickets from $30.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Martha on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Martha ratings

Average Rating: 
88/100 (from 138 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberTrack ratingsAvg. track rating
 
80/100
 Report rating
10/22/2024 02:19 imacgill  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 23,57281/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
10/11/2024 19:55 JPin8497  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,61380/100
 
95/100
 Report rating
08/25/2024 23:13 ExTeaSea  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,54889/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
08/11/2024 15:50 Johnnyo  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 36,61780/100
 
100/100
 Report rating
04/27/2024 15:17 alexandermause  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 12,71284/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)

This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 88.0/100, a mean average of 87.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.8/100. The standard deviation for this track is 12.9.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Martha favourites

Showing all 8 members who have added this track as a favourite

Martha comments

Showing all 3 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
100/100
From 09/10/2016 16:50
The centrepiece of the Closing time album. Martha sees Tom Waits effortlessly slip into the character of a man well beyond his very own years to bring us something heartfelt and warm but undeniably sad and tinged with regret and loneliness. It's a beautiful song and is without doubt the best track on his debut LP and Waits' first masterpiece. Many more were to follow of course but i'm not sure if any of them ever had quite the emotional impact that this excellent song has. A perfect song.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 08/26/2016 18:52
This song is one side of a long-distance phone conversation between "old Tom Frost" and his one-time lover, Martha. It's a lovely and incredibly sad story of the role of memory and nostalgia as we get older, and the enduring power of love. Just Tom Waits and his piano, climaxing with the haunting lines, "Martha / Martha / I love you, can't you see?"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/19/2013 23:39
Some of the most beautiful lyrics I've heard on a debut album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Martha

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this track by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this track.
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
Back to Top