Pitchfork

The origins of the 54 tracks making up Orphans, Tom Waits' upcoming three-disc collection of new and rare material (due November 21 on Anti), will surely be disclosed in the package's lengthy booklet, but until then, we've gotta rely on internet rumors and our own instincts.

Which means, we're hypothesizing that "Bottom of the World," a song culled from the Brawlers third of Orphans, originally debuted in the 2003 hobo documentary, Long Gone.

Lines like "My daddy told me, looking back, the best friend you'll have is a railroad track" and "Well I dined last night with Scarface Ron on Tilapia fishcakes and fried black swan" point to this conclusion, as does the lonesome nature of the song. The near six-minute tune should be more haunting with its dismal chorus ("I'm lost at the bottom of the world"), but Waits carries it with a matter-of-fact attitude and hopeful instrumental that appear to purposely contradict his words.