He would also be quite worldly.

I can imagine Stephin Merritt becoming a bum.

Oh, a very worldly bum, to be sure.

Perhaps smoky drifter. Or bum.

Or carnival midget, if you will.

These songs tend not to be sung in a Cookie Monster voice.

Several of his tunes make me feel quite light on my feet, in fact.

Not, of course, that that's all he's good for.

I have lots of Tom Waits records though.