Originally coming to fame in the mid-1960s singing orchestral pop ballads as the frontman of The Walker Brothers, Walker went on to a solo career balancing a light entertainment/MOR ballad approach with increasing artistic innovations in arrangement and writing. Despite a series of acclaimed albums, a disastrous drop in sales forced him back into straight Middle of the road recordings with little of his own artistic input. This in turn eventually led to a Walker Brothers reunion in the mid-1970s (although the latter eventually moved, by mutual consent, into more avant-garde areas).
From the mid-1980s, Walker revived his solo career while drastically reinventing his artistic and compositional methods, via a series of acclaimed and vividly avant-garde albums. These combined his iconic voice with an unsettling avant-garde approach which owed more to modernist and post-modernist classical composition than to his pop singer past. This change in approach has been compared to "Andy Williams reinventing himself as Stockhausen".
Walker has been a continuing influence on other artists, in particular The Last Shadow Puppets, Marc Almond, Goldfrapp, Douglas Pearce of the band Death in June, Billy MacKenzie of The Associates, David Sylvian, Julian Cope, Antony Hegarty, Thom Yorke, Steven Wilson, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Trey Spruance, Perry Blake, Radiohead, Noah Lennox, Mikael Åkerfeldt, and the Divine Comedy/Neil Hannon.
Walker continued to release solo material until his death, and was signed to 4AD Records. As a record producer or guest performer he worked with a number of artists including Pulp, Ute Lemper, Bat For Lashes and Sunn O))).
Ain't no sunshine
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not warm when she's away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And she's always gone too long
Anytime she goes away
Wonder this time where she's gone
Wonder if she's gone to stay
And this house just ain't no home
Anytime she goes away
And I know, I know...
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Only darkness everyday
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't no home
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
Anytime she goes away
When she's gone
It's not warm when she's away
Scott Walker's song "Ain't no sunshine" is a somber ballad that speaks about the void left in a man's life when his lover is away. The song starts by expressing the fact that without his partner, there isn't any warmth or love. The repetition of "ain't no sunshine when she's gone" emphasizes the emptiness that the singer feels when his partner is away for too long. What makes this song so touching and powerful is the fact that the singer is expressing his helplessness in the situation.
The song goes on to express the singer's fear of his partner leaving him for good. He wonders if she's gone for good, making the home feel more empty and hollow. The absence of his lover makes everything bleak, and the man feels that there's only darkness every day.
"Ain't no sunshine" is a song about loneliness, loss, and longing. The lyrics are straightforward, but the emotions that they convey are incredibly powerful. The repeated chorus is simple yet haunting and has become one of the most recognizable refrains in the history of popular music.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Everything feels dark and cold when she's not around
It's not warm when she's away
Her absence makes everything feel cold and empty
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Without her, there's no light or warmth in life
And she's always gone too long
It feels like forever when she's not here
Anytime she goes away
Her departure leaves a void that can't be filled
Wonder this time where she's gone
Wondering where she's gone this time feels like torture
Wonder if she's gone to stay
The thought of her leaving forever is unbearable
And this house just ain't no home
Without her, the place where they lived together feels empty and soulless
Only darkness everyday
Every day without her feels like a never-ending night
Anytime she goes away
Her absence always brings pain and sadness
When she's gone
Life becomes unbearable when she's not around
And this house just ain't no home
The place where they used to live together now feels like a shell of what it used to be
Anytime she goes away
Every time she leaves, the loneliness and pain return
Anytime she goes away
The emptiness she leaves behind never goes away
Anytime she goes away
Her absence is a constant source of sadness and despair
Contributed by Cooper T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@wellandtrulyjoshed
This is how I felt when my hubby died - I didn’t want the sun to shine - Genius Scott RIP💔
@ellenfransen1825
One of my favorites...What a voice, what a beautiful lyrics
@helenastokes3694
Love this song by Scott and that guitar 🎸. Love all his music
Rip.Scott ❤
@thomasgage9518
Pretty much my favorite song by Scott Walker
@coldyer7795
Thaks for uploading. Great voice,great song, wonderful steel from Red Rhodes
@jamesnorwood4084
Please believe me, I lived it, by 69/70 everything changed. The sounds just didn't sound the same. Then again, there is only so much good material to cover or discover and etc ....?
@moodyharvest
I prefer the music from 69-76. Because the party was over.