"Tom Traubert's Blues"…Question about this Tom Waits' song
And it's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey

Q: What does "No prima donna" mean?

① There were no prima donna.
② He said to a prima donna "no".

…Which do you think is correct? And why?

Question

"Tom Traubert's Blues"…Question about this Tom Waits' song
And it's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey

Q: What does "No prima donna" mean?

① There were no prima donna.
② He said to a prima donna "no".

…Which do you think is correct? And why?

Answer

It's not clear but my guess is "She was no (= not a) prima donna"

Answer

Prima donna from Italian words meaning "first woman" or "first lady", depending on your preference, the prima donna is the leading lady in a performance, and especially in opera. Can also be called a diva.

Is now often used to describe someone arrogant, vain, or just plain bitchy. Diva and prima donna have become synonomous with a show-off or a bitch, regardless of whether or not the person in question is male or female.

In the music the meaning is diva, and He is saying that there were (no prima donna/no diva). No one diva is dancing with him. So for me it could be two things, or he is dacing with a girl that is not a good girl, or he is dancing with a "Mathild" that is a type of bag (I think), that is used to go to a road and walk with that thing in your back.

Answers · 4

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