Tom Waits lyrics

One of my favorite writing prompt tools is the use of lyrics from songwriters who use great imagery or phrasing that calls all kinds of ideas forth.  Tom Waits is one that has a surplus of these kinds of lines.  An entire song is full of them.  I don't recommend using the phrase itself IN your writing, but let the imagery or the idea of what's being described draw other images and ideas from you.  It's the same as ready a short story or poem and then writing a short story or poem in response to the reading.
I quote the line(s) and then state what song the lyric is from in case you'd like to listen to the entire song, which I recommend.  Also, I recommend Tom Waits Library for his lyrics as the website is not covered in advertisements. Also, you can search for songs by album or title, and there are lists of person names, place names, or common words in the songs.  That's just awesome.

"The moon's the color of a coffee stain" - from "Bottom of the World"

"Maybe god himself is lost and needs help" - from "Road to Peace"

"You're the tree that you can't eat the fruit from" - from "All the Time"

"Winter dreams the same dream, every time" - from "You Can Never Hold Back Spring"

"Give a man gin, give a man cards, give an inch he takes a yard, and I rue the day that I stepped off this train." - from "Fannin Street"

"And then the bus driver told the passengers that it was time to board.
And the young man thought: "I'll just stay here, I'll just stay here."
And then he rose and he followed the others into the bus."     - from "Nirvana"