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))).
Do I Love You?
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As the mighty river flows
As the meadow gave me place
With the wind on summer days
About as deep as deep can go
From the canyons to the sky
Like a mother as she cares
For the baby that she bares
Do I love you, let me show you how
Do I love you, do I have to say
Do I love you, yes, in every way
About as sacred as a hymn
Or a Bible full of prayers
From a whisper to a roar
Very much and even more
And I will show it with my eyes
And cherish with the night
If in death the good Lord's kind
You'll be the last thing on my mind
Do I love you, don't you know by now
Do I love you, let me show you how
Do I love you, do I have to say
Do I love you, yes, in every way
Do I love you, don't you know by now
Do I love you, let me show you how
Do I love you, do I have to say
Do I love you, yes, in every way
In Scott Walker's song "Do I Love You?", the lyrics speak of the depth and certainty of love. The metaphorical comparisons of the mighty river, the meadow, and the mother's love are used to describe the intensity and care of the singer's feelings. The song speaks of love as something beyond doubt and as sacred as a hymn or a Bible full of prayers. The lyrical message of this song is that love is not just an emotion, but an action expressed through eyes, actions and cherishing moments.
The song has a repetitive structure, with the line "Do I love you, don't you know by now" appearing three times throughout the chorus, emphasizing the certainty of the singer's love. The song builds up to the line "if in death the good Lord's kind, you'll be the last thing on my mind," which expresses the depth of love that will follow the singer even after death.
Overall, "Do I Love You?" conveys a timeless and universal message of love that can be appreciated by anyone who has ever felt the power of true love.
Line by Line Meaning
Be on the shadow of a doubt
Without any doubts whatsoever
As the mighty river flows
As endlessly and powerfully as a river
As the meadow gave me place
As welcome and inviting as a meadow
With the wind on summer days
As gentle and refreshing as a summer breeze
About as deep as deep can go
As deep as the deepest depths imaginable
From the canyons to the sky
From the lowest points to the highest heights
Like a mother as she cares
As caring and nurturing as a mother
For the baby that she bares
For the child that she brings into the world
Do I love you, don't you know by now
Is it not obvious that I love you?
Do I love you, let me show you how
I will demonstrate my love for you
Do I love you, do I have to say
Must I put my love into words?
Do I love you, yes, in every way
Yes, I love you completely and unconditionally
About as sacred as a hymn
As sacred and meaningful as a religious hymn
Or a Bible full of prayers
Or a book full of meaningful and heartfelt prayers
From a whisper to a roar
In every possible volume, from the quietest whisper to the loudest roar
Very much and even more
To a great extent, and even beyond that
And I will show it with my eyes
I will demonstrate it through my gaze
And cherish with the night
And value throughout the night
If in death the good Lord's kind
If God is merciful in death
You'll be the last thing on my mind
You will be my final thought
Contributed by Aaliyah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alan Au Yong
What a voice! The song flows like a mighty river and Scott is the creative genius that gives the world so much love. Scott does not need to experiment something new for there is so much beauty in what he has already shared with us all and this is priceless!
Sadakichi Hartmann
It's just PERFECT delivery, I can't even....I know Scott didn't think too much of his early 70s records but listen how relaxed, natural his voice is on those. It's absolutely flawless, a beauty only found in nature.
Mr B
Scott is a life changer and opens your ears and mind. Still in 2019 and always.
Jason Brown
Fantastic breath control.
Mike Luke
If an angel could sing, this is what it would sound like, the most beautiful voice I have ever heard, almost indescribable. RIP beautiful man.
Pepper Williams
Man, I love this dude!! His voice is so smooth and soothing. Whoever did his arrangements on his albums is (or was), such a great musician.
Bobbi Wolfgang
Is it possible to fall in love with a man by just the sound of his voice? If so, then I am. Truly, madly, deeply! He is beautiful. ❤
Helena Stokes
Oh yes.❤❤❤
Janet Smith
Scott's voice is perfect and I can't stop listening to him. So sad he's gone. Janet Lancashire
Jason Brown
Great song, great singer. It almost feels like this sort of song would not be able to be written today. It comes from a more carefree and wholesome era.