Isaak's music can be described as a blend of country, blues, rock'n'roll, pop and surf rock.
He signed a contract to Warner Brothers Records in 1984 for his first album "Silvertone". Isaak's contract was renewed in 1988 when Warner moved him to their Reprise Records label.
His best-known song is "Wicked Game". Though released on the 1989 album "Heart Shaped World", an instrumental version of the song was later featured in the David Lynch film 'Wild at Heart' (and also years later in the 2000 film The Family Man). An Atlanta radio station DJ began playing the full version and it quickly became a nation-wide top ten hit. The music video for the song was directed by Herb Ritts and was a big MTV and VH1 hit; shot in black and white, it starred Isaak and model Helena Christensen rolling on the beach, embracing and whispering in each others' ears.
In 1999, Isaak's "Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing" was featured in Stanley Kubrick's final film 'Eyes Wide Shut', starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
In 2001, Chris Isaak starred in his own television show, 'The Chris Isaak Show'. It aired from March 2001 to March 2004 in the United States on the cable television network Showtime. This adult comedy show featured Chris Isaak and his band playing themselves with the episode plots based on fictional accounts of the backstage world of Chris Isaak - the rock star next door.
In 2004, his track "Life Will Go On" was featured on the 'Chasing Liberty' soundtrack, which starred Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.
He hosted a talk show on the Biography cable channel in the United States in 2009 that offered a unique twist - each guest was a musical artist, and both Chris and the artist performed various songs throughout each show. Eight episodes aired in early 2009, featuring guests Trisha Yearwood, Stevie Nicks, Glen Campbell, Michael Buble, Chicago, The Smashing Pumpkins, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), and Jewel.
Isaak has also appeared in numerous films, mostly playing minor cameo roles, though he starred with Keanu Reeves and Bridget Fonda in the 1993 Bernardo Bertolucci-directed 'Little Buddha', and also played a major role in David Lynch's 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' (1992). Other motion pictures include 'Married to the Mob' (1988), 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991), 'That Thing You Do!' (1996), and 'A Dirty Shame' (2004). He also guest-starred on the Super Bowl Sunday (1996) edition of the television sitcom Friends and on the HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon (HBO).
Chris is also an amateur boxer, avid surfer and a former Golden Gloves champion.
Go Walking Down There
Chris Isaak Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's nothing left for you and me.
I go walking down there I go searching down there
But nobody there remembers me.
It doesn't matter now to me cause I lost my baby.
Nothing means that much to me without my baby anyway.
Look at all you happy people wish I could be like you.
I go walking down there, I go searching down there,
There's nothing left for you and me.
I go walking down there, I go searching down there,
There's nothing left for you and me.
Look at all you lucky people, look of all the things you do.
Look at all you happy people, wish I could be like you.
Look at all your smiling faces, think of all the things you've done.
Look at all you happy people, and I've lost my only one.
The lyrics to Chris Isaak's "Go Walking Down There" showcase the feeling of intense heartbreak and loneliness that the singer experiences after losing his partner. He goes on a quest to find solace but realizes that no one remembers him, and nothing is left for him in the place that he thought would bring him comfort. The lyrics convey the depth of pain felt by the singer, who has lost the person he loved the most. The line "Nothing means that much to me without my baby anyway," encapsulates this sentiment perfectly.
In the second stanza, the singer expresses his envy of the people around him. He sees others leading happy lives, and although he wishes he could be like them, he knows deep down that he can never truly be happy without his partner. This is further emphasized in the final stanza, where he again looks at the smiling faces of the people around him but can only think of the memories he shared with his lost love.
The song is a poignant reflection on the perils of heartbreak and the aftermath that it can cause in a person's life. Chris Isaak's haunting voice adds to the overall somber tone of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I go walking down there
I wander around aimlessly in a place where things used to be better.
I go searching down there
I look for something that I lost in a familiar but now-foreign place.
There's nothing left for you and me.
Everything we had is gone, and there is nothing left to look for.
But nobody there remembers me.
Even if I find someone who knew me back then, they won't remember me anymore.
It doesn't matter now to me cause I lost my baby.
Nothing else matters to me anymore because I lost the one thing that truly mattered to me.
Nothing means that much to me without my baby anyway.
Everything else in life has lost meaning for me since I lost my baby.
Look at all you lucky people think of all the things you do.
I envy all of you who still have something to live for and can enjoy life.
Look at all you happy people wish I could be like you.
I wish I could be happy like you all seem to be.
Look at all your smiling faces think of all the things you've done.
I see all of you smiling and enjoying life, and it reminds me of what I used to have.
and I've lost my only one.
I lost the only thing that truly mattered to me, and now I'm alone and lost.
Lyrics © CTM Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRIS ISAAK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Julie Stabile
So sorry for your loss. I knew a woman all my life that was the mist beautiful person and she died a few years ago. Her husband was married to her for 30 years and they have 3 SONS.
FOR RHE PAST YEAR I BECAME VERY CLOSE WITH HER HUSBAND AND NOW WE ARE BEST FRIENDS, PLUS MORE. We
Are almost Luke soulemates. He never got over her and is still very attached to her. I understand, after all, she was my friend that I knew all my life. He is without her for a little over ,2 YEARS NOW. EVERY SINGLE THING ON THIS PLANET REMINDS HIM OF HER. I KNOW UTS GOING TO TAKE TIME, BUT HE WILL BE O.K. ,he doesn't believe this right now, but I know this will happen.
I also know you will be o.K. to. You want people to hear about this and believe me, people hearing this will care and share with you. I'm glad you can talk about it. I know it's very painful but you will be healed little by little. My friends wife died if a blood clot that spread to her brain. Her parent died the same way.
I wonder, how did your love die. Is it o.K. to ask?
I also had a love 11 years ago. I was with him only 1 Year he wanted to marry me, I loved him with all my heart, but I love living alone.he even said he would marry me and we could live separately, to please me.
I never told him how much I loved him. He always wanted me so say it but I was stupid and thought I had all the time in the world. When he stopped calling me I thought he got fed up and walked out on me. 11years later I found out he had a blood clot in his brain and died instantly.
I'm so sorry I never told him how much I loved him.
I'm glad that you and your solemate told each other.
If you ever feel something for someone, please let them know, even if you think nothing will become of it. I know you can't engine yourself with anyone else but don't box yourself up inside of yourself. Reach out to people, talk about her and some day you will have room in you heart to love again.
Sedanur Başpınar
I go walking down there I go searching down there
There's nothing left for you and me.
I go walking down there I go searching down there
But nobody there remembers me.
It doesn't matter now to me cause I lost my baby.
Nothing means that much to me without my baby anyway.
Look at all you lucky people think of all the things you do.
Look at all you happy people wish I could be like you.
I go walking down there, I go searching down there,
There's nothing left for you and me.
I go walking down there, I go searching down there,
There's nothing left for you and me.
Look at all you lucky people, look of all the things you do.
Look at all you happy people, wish I could be like you.
Look at all your smiling faces, think of all the things you've done.
Look at all you happy people, and I've lost my only one.
BoingoTarash90s
One of Isaak's best songs and videos.
Basil H. White
Absolutely!
ReverbAndBeer
When "Wicked Game" came out my soon-to-be wife and I heard it in the car; it was such a sad song - and it made us feel so lucky that we had each other. She died five years later and the first time I heard Go Walking Down There I just stared into space for a few minutes. Then I played "Wicked Game" and "Go Walking" back to back and it felt like the universe(s) was speaking directly to me through Chris Isaac.
Look at all you lucky people. Oh oh...
Julie Stabile
So sorry for your loss. I knew a woman all my life that was the mist beautiful person and she died a few years ago. Her husband was married to her for 30 years and they have 3 SONS.
FOR RHE PAST YEAR I BECAME VERY CLOSE WITH HER HUSBAND AND NOW WE ARE BEST FRIENDS, PLUS MORE. We
Are almost Luke soulemates. He never got over her and is still very attached to her. I understand, after all, she was my friend that I knew all my life. He is without her for a little over ,2 YEARS NOW. EVERY SINGLE THING ON THIS PLANET REMINDS HIM OF HER. I KNOW UTS GOING TO TAKE TIME, BUT HE WILL BE O.K. ,he doesn't believe this right now, but I know this will happen.
I also know you will be o.K. to. You want people to hear about this and believe me, people hearing this will care and share with you. I'm glad you can talk about it. I know it's very painful but you will be healed little by little. My friends wife died if a blood clot that spread to her brain. Her parent died the same way.
I wonder, how did your love die. Is it o.K. to ask?
I also had a love 11 years ago. I was with him only 1 Year he wanted to marry me, I loved him with all my heart, but I love living alone.he even said he would marry me and we could live separately, to please me.
I never told him how much I loved him. He always wanted me so say it but I was stupid and thought I had all the time in the world. When he stopped calling me I thought he got fed up and walked out on me. 11years later I found out he had a blood clot in his brain and died instantly.
I'm so sorry I never told him how much I loved him.
I'm glad that you and your solemate told each other.
If you ever feel something for someone, please let them know, even if you think nothing will become of it. I know you can't engine yourself with anyone else but don't box yourself up inside of yourself. Reach out to people, talk about her and some day you will have room in you heart to love again.
David Beck
I'm sorry to hear that your wife died. If I may ask, how did she die? I've never been married and haven't experienced that kind of grief or loss.
David Rushing
Hey I did all the props for this video 25 years ago! Cut out all the daisies, lol. I was in love with the girl in the blue bikini. Isaak and company were very cool and not affected by fame. Thx for posting.
Bikewithlove
Your work in this video is amazing. I just watched this video for the first time. I bought the CD when it came out. At that time in my life I was going through a tough breakup, and Chris’s music helped to process those feelings of being cast out of a life you wanted and worked for that turned out to be baseless and nonexistent. This video nails it - the bright spring pastels and the manic mockery of an illusive happiness. It’s the death of an ego projection. Every breakup and irreconcilable loss of a friendship is like someone dying, except there’s no closure so it’s just hellish. So yeah, I’ve been there and this video is a beautiful depiction of that place. It’s really well done in every detail 👍🏻
st3lio0s
I see Queen break free 17 years old and now I am 27 :(
Brock Autry
Pretty damn cool for sure😎😎
Lord Gallo
Very lucky guy. I am smitten by her too. Hahahaha. Damn.