"(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" is a song by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

on his 1974 album ''

The Heart of Saturday Night ''The Heart of Saturday Night'' is the second studio album by singer and songwriter Tom Waits, released on October 15, 1974, on Asylum Records. The title song was written as a tribute to Jack Kerouac. The album marks the start of a decade-long c ...

''.

Background

After completing the album '' Closing Time'', Waits toured with

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

. At this period, Waits started to write and compose the album ''The Heart of Saturday Night'', basing it around the writing style and thematic elements of

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

. The song itself is a melancholy reflection of exploring the city streets at night.

Cover versions

"(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" has been covered by such musicians as

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a note ...

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home". Early life Colvin was born Shawna Lee Colvin in Vermillion, South Dakota, and ...

, and

Madeleine Peyroux Madeleine Peyroux (born April 19, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...

Personnel

Listed personnel cited from liner notes: *

– vocals, guitar *

Jim Hughart James David Hughart (born July 28, 1936) is a jazz and pop bass player. Biography Hughart was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and is the son of Frederick (Fritz) Hughart, bassist with Minneapolis Symphony and San Diego Symphony ...

– double bass * Jim Gordon –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night 1974 songs Tom Waits songs Songs about nights