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))).
Frisco Depot
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it might as well be to the moon, when you're as broke as I
Here I sit, with my head in my hands, and watch the trains roll
By
Lord, the helping-hand mission man warned me the nights here got
Cold
When you're cold, there's nothing as welcome as sunshine
When you're alone, there's nothing much slower than passing
Time
When you're afoot, there's nothing as fast as a train
Yes, Frisco's a mighty rich town and that ain't a lie
Why, they've got some buildings that reach a mile into the sky
Yet no-one can even afford the time just to tell me - why
Is this world full of people, and so many people alone?
When you're alone, you ain't got much reason for livin'
But while you're alive, you just got to live with your pain
Unless you've been alone for so long, there's no-one left for
Giving
And you find yourself searching your past, for the links to the
Chain
In Scott Walker's song "Frisco Depot", the lyrics revolve around the theme of loneliness and isolation. The lyrics describe the main character's experience being broke and alone in a rich town. The character feels helpless and hopeless, as if he's stranded on the moon. He watches the trains go by, wishing he could escape his situation. The lyrics also mention the difficulties of enduring the cold nights, and the bitter realization that there's so many people in the world, yet so many are alone.
Despite his struggles, the character finds solace in the sun, rain and passing time. He realizes that despite his isolation, life moves on and waiting for the train feels like the fastest thing in his world. The lyrics also comment on the nature of society, with towering buildings yet no one willing to explain why so many people are left alone. The character acknowledges the pain of loneliness but realizes that he must live with it unless he can find a way to break the cycle and move on from his past.
Line by Line Meaning
Frisco's a full day from home, when you can afford to fly
Frisco is far away from home when you can travel by plane.
But it might as well be to the moon, when you're as broke as I
When you're poor, Frisco is just as remote as the moon.
Here I sit, with my head in my hands, and watch the trains roll By
I sit and watch the trains go by while feeling defeated.
Lord, the helping-hand mission man warned me the nights here got Cold
The man at the mission warned me that the nights in Frisco are harsh.
When you're cold, there's nothing as welcome as sunshine
Sunshine brings comfort when you're cold.
When you're dry, there's nothing as welcome as rain
Rain is a welcomed relief when you're thirsty.
When you're alone, there's nothing much slower than passing Time
Time passes slowly when you're lonely.
When you're afoot, there's nothing as fast as a train
Trains feel incredibly fast when you're walking.
Yes, Frisco's a mighty rich town and that ain't a lie
Frisco is a wealthy city.
Why, they've got some buildings that reach a mile into the sky
Some buildings in Frisco are incredibly tall.
Yet no-one can even afford the time just to tell me - why
No one in Frisco has the time to explain why the world is full of lonely people.
When you're alone, you ain't got much reason for livin'
Being lonely gives you little motivation to live.
But while you're alive, you just got to live with your pain
You must accept the pain while you're still living.
Unless you've been alone for so long, there's no-one left for Giving
If you've been lonely for too long, there's no one left to give you company.
And you find yourself searching your past, for the links to the Chain
You search your past to find the reasons for your loneliness.
Contributed by Caden K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.