About the track Walker commented: "My own personal favourite. The arrangement, melody, colouring - everything worked out exactly as I pictured it. About an ageing transvestite. I try to get across what this track means to people like that. A guy who has split,
finished raving around - and is growing old. A real experience to hear, I think."
Big Louise
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can hear her hum softly
From her fire escape in the sky
She fills the bags 'neath her eyes
With the moonbeams
And cries 'cause the world's passed her by
Didn't time sounds sweet yesterday?In a world filled with friends
You lose your way
She's a haunted house
And her windows are broken
And the sad young man's gone away
Her bathrobe's torn
And tears smudge her lipstick
And the neighbors just whisper all day
Didn't time sounds sweet yesterday?
In a world filled with friends
You lose your way
The lyrics of Scott Walker's song Big Louise are about an elderly woman who is living a lonely life. She stands alone on her fire escape, humming softly and filling the bags under her eyes with moonbeams. She cries because she feels like the world has passed her by. The song evokes a sense of sympathy for this woman, who is living in a haunted house with broken windows. She wears a torn bathrobe and her lipstick is smeared from tears. The neighbors whisper about her all day, adding to her sense of isolation and loneliness.
The song speaks to the universal human experience of feeling disconnected and left behind by the world. It is a haunting and melancholic song that captures the essence of loss and loneliness. The lyrics are powerful in their simplicity and evoke a strong emotional response from the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
She stands all alone
The subject of the song stands by herself without anyone else.
You can hear her hum softly
Her humming can be faintly heard by those nearby.
From her fire escape in the sky
She is on a high fire escape above the ground.
She fills the bags 'neath her eyes
She has dark bags underneath her eyes, indicating she is tired or has been crying.
With the moonbeams
She uses the reflection of the moon to aid her in filling her bags.
And cries 'cause the world's passed her by
She cries because she feels left behind and forgotten in the world.
She's a haunted house
She is like a house that is haunted - with hidden emotions and sadness.
And her windows are broken
Her windows are shattered, much like the parts of herself.
And the sad young man's gone away
The lady is sad because the young man she loves has left.
Her bathrobe's torn
Her bathrobe is damaged, maybe due to neglect or lack of care.
And tears smudge her lipstick
Tears have smudged and stained the lipstick on her face.
And the neighbors just whisper all day
She hears her neighbors whisper about her from her apartment.
Didn't time sounds sweet yesterday?
The lady reflects on the past when things were simpler and less lonely.
In a world filled with friends
She is surrounded by people, but none of them are true friends.
You lose your way
In a world where people are your friends for their own gain, it is easy to lose your way and get lost in the emptiness.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SCOTT ENGEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@trendydelquendy
E
She stands all alone
You can hear her hum softly
E7 A G#
From her fire escape in the sky
C#m Cmaj7
She fill's the bags
G Em
'neath her eyes with the moonbeams
C D E
And cries 'cos the world's passed her by
G A E
Didn't time sound sweet yesterday?
A Amaj7
In a world filled with friends
E
You lose your way
She's a haunted house
And her windows are broken
E7 A G#
And the sad young man's gone away
C#m Cmaj7
Her bathrobe's torn
G Em
And tears smudge her lipstick
C D E
And the neighbours just whisper all day
G A E
Didn't time sound sweet yesterday?
A Amaj7
In a world filled with friends
E
You lose your way
@somethingwentwrong3298
Mere words can't describe the brilliance of this song or the album it comes from (Scott 3).
@langlopaniflax5597
The way he delivered that final lyric hoooo boy gets me everytime!! Love ya Scotty!!
@exitthelemming145
Fantastic song, brilliant arrangement and the vocal is unmatched. It also contains what is possibly the greatest lyric in history that sums up our perception of the ageing process: Didn't time sound sweet yesterday? i.e. only the young are oblivious of their youth.
@W00DSMAN
One of his greatest songs imo. The instrumental alone is completely mesmerizing and his vocals/lyrics so vivid. Its perfection
@horofhay
Simply the most beautiful male voice of the era.
@tenchahoy47
Yep. But from the era though in a different style, Steve Marriot of Small Faces had an amazing voice.
@ebaylistentomusic
None do or can compare.
@lisamayberry5189
So haunting and emotional. Scott was so tuned into love and loss. Perfection ❤
@shuroom57
Scott Walker is my favorite artist --- across all genres! Not solely from the world of music.
@stevenbinns2244
Most haunting and heartbreaking song ever. She's a haunted house and her windows are broken. What a lyric, sheer genius. Sadly missed. No one comes close today.