Heartattack and Vine (Song)

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"Heartattack and Vine"
Song by Tom Waits
from the album Heartattack and Vine
Released	September 1980
Length	4:50
Label	Asylum
Writer(s)	Tom Waits
Producer(s)	Bones Howe

Heartattack and Vine is a song from the Tom Waits album by the same name. The song describes the difficulties of life in the crime-ridden parts of Los Angeles, California (Cahuenga is a street in Los Angeles[1] and the local bus system was formerly known as the RTD[2]).

The song makes use of many double meanings and local references (street names, bus system, and colloquial drug slang), often eluding to the fact that nothing is sacred in that part of the city ("there ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk") and how people who moved there from other places looking for a better life end up prostitutes ("Well I bet she's still a virgin but it's only twenty-five 'til nine, you can see a million of 'em on heartattack and vine.") and drug addicts ("Boney's high on china white") and would have been better off staying in their hometowns ("better off in Iowa against your scrambled eggs, than crawling down Cahuenga on a broken pair of legs").

The song makes numerous references to the insufflation of heroin ("...china white", "taste of madness" and "let's do another line") and prostitution (Cahuenga is a double entendre meaning both the street in Los Angeles and an unusually large male sex organ).

The song has been covered by Screamin' Jay Hawkins and featured in a Levi's commercial. Waits sued in European court over this use of his music and won against Levi's. The following apology was printed by Levi's in a 1993 issue of Billboard Magazine:

Tom Waits is opposed to his music, voice, name or picture being used in commercials. We at Levi Strauss & Co. have long admired Mr. Waits' work and respect his artistic integrity including his heartfelt views on the use of his music in commercials. From January to June 1993 Levi Strauss Europe authorized broadcasting in 17 countries a commercial for Levi's 501 jeans called "Procession". This commercial featured Tom Waits' song "Heart Attack and Vine" performed by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. We obtained the rights in good faith and were unaware of Mr. Waits' objections to such usage of his composition. We meant no offense to Mr. Waits and regret that "Heart Attack and Vine" was used against his wishes and that the commercial caused him embarrassment.[3]