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))).
Farmer In The City
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
Do I hear 21, 21, 21?
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
This night you are mistaken
I'm a farmer in the city
Dark farm houses 'gainst the sky
Harness on the left nail
Keeps wrinkling, wrinkling
Then higher above me
Esau, esau
Can't go by a man from Rio
Go by a man from Vigo
Can't go by a man from Ostia
Hey Ninetto
Remember that dream?
We talked about it so many times
Do I hear 21, 21, 21?
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
Do I hear 21, 21, 21?
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
And if I'm not mistaken
We can search from farm to farm
Dark farm houses 'gainst our eyes
Every night I must realize
Harness on the left nail
Keeps withering and withering
Then higher above me
Esau, esau
Can't go by a man in this shirt
Go buy a man in that shirt
Can't go by a man with brain grass
Go by his long long eye gas
And I used to be a citizen
And I never felt the pressure
I knew nothing of the horses
Nothing of the thresher
Paolo, take me with you?
It was the journey of a life
Do I hear 21, 21, 21?
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
Do I hear 21, 21, 21?
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
"Farmer in the City" by Scott Walker is a song that presents the internal monologue of a person who has had to move from the countryside to the city. The farmer is alone in the new place, feeling dislocated and out of place, and the lyrics are the representation of the confusion that he feels in his new life.
The lyrics gain their intensity from the ambiguity that they introduce. At first, they seem to describe an auction, with the farmer asking if he hears a price, then raising it himself. However, this interpretation quickly falls apart, and the auction seems more like a hallucination than a real event. The farmer is stuck in the city and can't go back to the countryside, but he still hears the voices of the people he met there. The song's meaning is hard to pin down, with lyrics that echo dislocation and confusion but offer no solutions or suggestions.
The song's lyrics and instrumentation are similarly difficult to pin down. Some interpretations suggest that the song is about AIDS, as its release coincided with the height of the epidemic, but it seems more likely that the song is about alienation and dislocation, with the lyrics blending different experiences and voices into one confused whole. The song's instrumentation is also notable for its blend of traditional and modern sounds, with strings mixed with electronic effects to create a sound that is both timeless and modern.
Line by Line Meaning
Do I hear 21, 21, 21?
Asking for a bid or offer, possibly in an auction
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
Agreeing to the bid or offer
This night you are mistaken
Someone is misunderstanding or misinterpreting the situation
I'm a farmer in the city
Despite being in the city, the artist identifies as a farmer
Dark farm houses 'gainst the sky
The artist sees farms and farmhouses against the city skyline
Every night I must wonder why
The singer is questioning their situation in the city
Harness on the left nail / Keeps wrinkling, wrinkling
An image of a harness that is not being used, and therefore becoming wrinkled and unused
Then higher above me / Esau, esau
A reference to the biblical story of Esau and Jacob, possibly indicating conflict or struggle
Can't go by a man from Rio / Go by a man from Vigo / Can't go by a man from Ostia
Possibly a commentary on the limitations and restrictions of society, and how people are judged by their origin or appearance
Hey Ninetto / Remember that dream? / We talked about it so many times
Ninetto is a nickname or reference to someone, and the artist is reminiscing about a dream they shared together
And if I'm not mistaken / We can search from farm to farm / Dark farm houses 'gainst our eyes / Every night I must realize
Continuing to contemplate the idea of searching for something or exploring different farms, but still seeing the city skyline and feeling unsure
Harness on the left nail / Keeps withering and withering
The unused harness is now decaying and falling apart
Then higher above me / Esau, esau
The reference to Esau and Jacob continues, possibly indicating a feeling of being trapped or conflicted
Can't go by a man in this shirt / Go buy a man in that shirt / Can't go by a man with brain grass / Go by his long long eye gas
More commentary on societal limitations and judgements, possibly related to appearance or status
And I used to be a citizen / And I never felt the pressure / I knew nothing of the horses / Nothing of the thresher
The singer is reflecting on their previous life as a city citizen, with no knowledge or experience of farming
Paolo, take me with you? / It was the journey of a life
The artist is addressing someone named Paolo and asking to join them on an important journey
Do I hear 21, 21, 21?
Repeating the earlier lines, possibly as a refrain or to emphasize the auction/bidding aspect
I'll give you 21, 21, 21
The singer repeats their agreement to the bid or offer
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Scott Walker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tuanjim799
Probably the ballsiest karaoke request imaginable. lol
@toomuchrose
A voice that sounds like a sad Angel, almost at the point of heartbreak until it soars into another world. Utterly beautiful and unique.
@paulhardin9731
So my long musical quest has at last led me to Scott Walker. This is a remote place indeed. I'm not even going to bother to tell anyone about this incredible artist.
@MrSirDel
It is heart-stopping, it leaves me breathless....And this is probably the most accessible track on the album... Wonderful Anything else said would be pointless
@fencely
It sounds like a painting come to life.
@kajst
There is something magic in this song. The voice, the lyrics - very captivating.
@lyonslaforet
A bleak but rewarding album that reveals its richness after several repeated listenings!
@VuotoPneumaNN
They're both about Pasolini but, while Ostia is mainly about his death, this was inspired by Pasolini's poem "Uno Dei Tanti Epiloghi", which is about Pasolini's young lover Ninetto Davoli. This song contains many of the poem's lines.
@fusox
Mesmeric and profound. So utterly beautiful and transcendent!
@moonbeanification
+fusox yes.... once you hear it, you can't unhear it....