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))).
Angelica
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I missed her through the day
But I'd forget it
I never said it
I passed the flower shop
Lord knows I meant to stop
But I said tomorrow
Tomorrow there'd be time
There'd always be another spring
Time to make her laughter ring
Time to give her everything
Angelica, my Angelica
There's so much you never knew
So much I always meant to say
And do, for you, for you
Angelica
And then the cold winds came
And when I spoke her name
And felt her near me
She couldn't hear me
Her shadow had been cast
Too many springs had passed
For Angelica
Sweet Angelica
Now in my solitude
I tend the flowers that I buy
As they slowly fade and die
Watered by the tears I cry
for my Angelica, my Angelica
There's so much you never knew
So much I always meant to say
And do, for you, for you
Angelica
Angelica
Angelica
Angelica
The lyrics of Scott Walker's song Angelica express the sadness and regret of a man who failed to express his love and appreciation for a woman he loved. He reflects on missed opportunities to show her how much he cared, with lines such as "Each night I meant to say/ I missed her through the day/ But I'd forget it/ I never said it." He had planned to do things like buy her flowers, but continuously put it off until "tomorrow," until it was too late. The melancholic refrain of "Angelica, my Angelica/ There's so much you never knew/ So much I always meant to say/ And do, for you, for you/ Angelica," speaks to the regret and pain he feels for not expressing his love and providing her with everything she deserved.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that Angelica has passed away and the man is left with the flowers he had bought for her, now tending to them in solitude. The "cold winds" that came likely refer to the passing of time, and the realization that he had let too much time pass without showing Angelica how much she meant to him. The final lines, "for my Angelica, my Angelica/ There's so much you never knew/ So much I always meant to say/ And do, for you, for you/ Angelica," further emphasize the sense of regret and loss.
Overall, the lyrics of Angelica convey a powerful message about the importance of expressing love and appreciation while there is still time, before it is too late.
Line by Line Meaning
Each night I meant to say
Every night I had the intention to say
I missed her through the day
I regretted not being with her during the day
But I'd forget it
But I always ended up forgetting
I never said it
And I never got to tell her
I passed the flower shop
I walked by the flower shop
Lord knows I meant to stop
I intended to stop and buy her flowers
But I said tomorrow
But I always postponed it to the following day
Perhaps tomorrow
Thinking that there would be time for it in the future
Tomorrow there'd be time
I always believed that I could do it later
There'd always be another spring
I thought that there would always be a chance to make it up for her
Time to make her laughter ring
Time to bring joy and happiness into her life
Time to give her everything
Time to show her all my love and affection
Angelica, my Angelica
The person he loved and cared for
There's so much you never knew
There were many things he failed to communicate to her
So much I always meant to say
There were many things he always wanted to say to her
And do, for you, for you
And things he always wanted to do for her
And then the cold winds came
The cold and difficult times arrived
And when I spoke her name
Even when he thought of her
And felt her near me
And felt her presence close by
She couldn't hear me
He knew she was gone
Her shadow had been cast
Her memory still lingered
Too many springs had passed
Too much time had gone by
For Angelica
To ever make it up to her
Sweet Angelica
He still loved her deeply
Now in my solitude
Now alone
I tend the flowers that I buy
He takes care of the flowers he buys for her
As they slowly fade and die
As time passes, they slowly wilt away
Watered by the tears I cry
Emotional pain still lingers
Angelica
The person he still thinks about and loves
Angelica
The person he still deeply misses
Angelica
The person he never got to fully show his love for
Angelica
The person who will always hold a special place in his heart
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Itallia 3,6,9
@charmaine prince
Agree 100%
Thanks for replying
Its odd but years ago i was utterly convinced that the American guitarist
Randy Rhodes was Scotts son, no matter which way you view him & despite his gorgeous long hair
Facially hes Scotts image!
The age was right, i thought Randy had just changed his surname so as not to succeed on the back of his father, Scott
Whereas Scott was 6ft 4ins Randy was tiny, but one of the best rock guitarists ive seen or heard
He played with Black Sabbath singer Ozzie Osborne's band
Blizzard & it looked like he was heading for a huge success & brilliance but was very sadly taken from this world in a plane crash, he was still in his 20's
There are some good documentaries about Randy Rhodes worth watching, even if
You dont like heavy rock music
Just to see how much he looks like Scott & his mastery of as many instruments you could think of
Such a waste of a multi talented musician, personality, so kind & humble & his looks were gorgeous
So sad.
👧🇬🇧
PS forgot to say, Randy was not Scotts son, Scott just had one child, a daughter, Leigh
Plus a grand daughter
Emmy Leigh
Itallia 3,6,9
@charmaine prince
Oh yes, there was no one like Scott, my bedroom walls even my ceiling were covered with Scott & Walker Brothers pictures!
I once had the chance to meet all of the Walker Brothers in 1965 when they were appearing in my Home city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the far north of England
They were playing at the large cinema that my best friends dad managed & i did go & see them there
( i say seeing because you couldnt hear a word they sang as the screaming of teenage girls drowned everything out !)
After they left the stage & my ears felt like they were stuffed with cottonwool, Frans dad asked us if we'd like to meet them
I felt such conflict within, i loved Scott so desparately & not just his looks but his torchured soul & the thought of me going in to meet him & knowing he'd be thinking
" oh Lord little school girls all giggly & shy"
I couldn't bare this, i couldnt see his eyes & know what he'd be thinking
What i felt was 100% real & genuine, ok i was 12 & a half & quite tall but i still looked a schoolgirl
So i went with Fran along the backstage corridor & in she went but i could not! I pressed myself close to the wall outside the dressing room, as tears poured down my face, so near yet so far away
If only id been 18yrs or so, well i could dream, who knew what could happen at least i would have been seen as a woman
I quickly snooped round the doorframe to see if i could see anything & i saw some very very long denim clad, skin tight, legs stretched out just feet from the entrance, the visible hand held the neck of a whisky bottle
I could hear the deep bass rumble of American voices & laughter
Then i fled
Couldnt take any more, i hid in the upstairs foyer where i called my dad to pick me up.
So so long ago, but i still remember how i felt then & feel so sad for my little self & fully understand it all
The body of a child but the heart of a woman.
Poor little me back then
Im pleased i didnt see him actually, the fantasy image was still mine & not spoilt by seeing the look in Scotts eyes & knowing id been right as he went along with the managers little schoolgirl daughter & her pal.
Pleased you thought Randy was good, everyone said what a lovely person he was, very un rockstar like & genuine in his affections & helped any young talent to get on
Poor Ozzie Osborne was utterly devasted by Randys death, right up to today he says he misses him so badly & has never met a kinder humble person as him in all of rock guitar history
So i shall leave here, so nice to connect to long term fans of Scott, i still play his music on a weekly basis & think back to almost 2 years ago when i woke to the news of Scotts death & cried all day, playing non stop Scott music
( sorry but his music just prior to his Tilt period, after that i only played his early stuff)
Stay cool, enjoy every day, smile & think good happy thoughts esp a young Scott singing Angelica or Worlds Strongest Man, or In My Room, Amsterdam, No Regrets, Mathilda, Copenhagen, Montague Terrace in Blue.. wonderful
🎶🎵💖💓💘🕶😢😢🍃
John Patton
Through headphones you hear the full complexity of the orchestration - so rich and beautiful...
Philip Mayer
Rest in peace, Scott.
My favourite singer for over 50 years.
Beautiful, as well as being a musical genius.
Clásico
Still the best. In our days everything is mediocrity and noise.
daubreyjaneweirdsley
I've been listening to Scott Walker since the mid - sixties and now over fifty years later when ever I feel blue and I play this song it breaks my heart, more now than when I was a young woman. I was Angelica and Scott Walker was the English speaking Jacques Brel chanson.
Florence worley
Absolutely .
bob
I would like to know what someone who listened to his music since the 60s thinks of Tilt and Bisch Bosch
rebecca whitney
Scott Walker, so much talent, incomparable voice, no one can match his amazing voice, will listen to you forever, sadly missed.
rebecca whitney
I am so sad thinking what an incredible 💔 talent we have lost. I will listen to Scott sing forever.
Julie Robinson
The perfect man with the perfect voice. Rest in peace singing with the angels Scott💔💔💔
paddywackswanson
Absolutely glorious voice of the magnificent Scott Walker. Beautiful song sung with passion.