Tom Waits Performs Poetry for New Documentary on American Homelessness

Tom Waits has added his talents to the final episode of Italian documentary series, Il Fattore Umano (The Human Factor), with his work accompanying stories of homelessness in America.

The eight-part series, created by the Italian public television channel RAI3, offers investigative insights into how human rights have been violated by authoritarian regimes, autocracies and even democratic regimes. Focusing on how the most vulnerable and minorities face oppression in these countries, the final episode – titled Ultima Fermata (The Last Ride) – serves as an in-depth look at American poverty.

Looking specifically at four southern states – Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana – filmmakers travel through the regions on public buses, discovering forgotten communities while exploring the dignity and solidarity of those forced to live in marginalized conditions thanks to a system that lacks safety nets.

The Last Ride pairs the stories of these individuals with the voice of Waits, who shares performances on acoustic guitar and piano while also reading from his poem Seeds on Hard Ground. A trailer for the episode is soundtracked by Waits performing “The Fall of Troy,” which originally appeared on the soundtrack to 1996’s Dead Man Walking.

“I am an individual who is deeply concerned with the inequities as we all are, but ill equipped to solve any of them,” Waits said in a statement. “I tell the world in the only way I know how: through my music. I don’t deal with politics or laws, and I don’t have answers to the big questions that concern us all. All I can do is try – through songs and poems – to inspire someone. I’m here to open up the window and open up our eyes. I guess a little bit, if I can.”

The Last Ride was written and directed by Angelo Loy, Martino Mazzonis and Luigi Montebello for RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana’s Il Fattore Umano. The episode will be available for global streaming on Wednesday (Feb. 26) via RAI’s RaiPlay streaming platform.