After a nearly 15-year fallow period, Tom Waits has returned with his second new release of 2026. “The Fly” is a spoken-word track dedicated to the eponymous pest. It’s also a family affair—Waits’ wife, Kathleen Brennan, co-wrote the piece, and it comes complete with a lyric video animated by his son, Casey. Check that out below.
“Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this type of song will never go out of style,” Waits said of “The Fly” in a statement. “Man’s folly of fiascos is a feast for the flies,” The song serves as a B-side to “Boots on the Ground,” a protest song with Massive Attack that Waits released earlier this year. It marked his first new music since 2011’s Bad as Me. Both of the songs will appear on a benefit vinyl 12″, which is out on September 4. Proceeds will go to “support civil rights and community advocacy organizations,” per a product description.
Waits has been active on a number of fronts recently. On top of his new original music, he contributed to a tribute compilation to the Pogues’ Shane McGowan, who died in 2023. Waits also appears in Martin McDonagh’s next movie, Wild Horse Nine, which opens on November 6 and places him opposite John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Parker Posey.
Revisit Mark Richardson’s Sunday Review of Waits’ 1985 album Rain Dogs.
