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))).
Jean the Machine
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She used to live down the hall from me
And all of the boys in the band
Miss her so bad now
Ain't it pitiful
She made her way from Hungary
A refugee with a voice like Callas
But somehow she couldn't get on
At the, the local Palace
Jean come back (Why'd you go now)
Jean come back (Things are slow now)
Jean come back
My landlady said Jean's a commie spy
And each time I asked for the reason why
My landlady said it's a front
She bumps and grinds codes
To an audience of immigrants
It blows my mind when I think of Jean
Every night with a new routine
'Cos I play drums in the band
She used me as part
Of her dirty commie plan
Jean come back (we forgive you)
Jean come back (boy scouts honour)
Jean come back (Spiro Agnew)
Jean come back (To the Bolshoi)
Jean come back (To your homeland)
Jean come back (bring the microfilm)
In Scott Walker's song Jean the Machine, he is singing about a woman named Jean who used to live down the hall from him. Jean was a refugee from Hungary with a beautiful voice, but she couldn't make it in the music industry so she turned to stripping at the local Palace instead. The boys in the band miss her terribly and want her to come back to them.
However, there is a twist to the story as Scott's landlady informs him that Jean is a communist spy who uses her stripping routines to pass along secret codes to an audience of immigrants. Scott is flabbergasted at this revelation and can't quite wrap his head around the idea. He even admits that he was part of Jean's "dirty commie plan." Regardless, Scott still wants Jean to come back and sings several lines urging her return.
Overall, the song is an interesting look at the intersection of art, politics, and immigration. It highlights the struggles that refugees face when trying to make a new life for themselves in a foreign country. At its core, the song is a plea for compassion and understanding towards those who may be different from us.
Line by Line Meaning
Whatever happened to Jean the machine
Wondering what happened to Jean who used to live down the hall
She used to live down the hall from me
Jean used to be Scott Walker's neighbour
And all of the boys in the band
All the guys in the band miss Jean
Miss her so bad now
They really miss her
Ain't it pitiful
It's really sad
She made her way from Hungary
Jean came from Hungary
A refugee with a voice like Callas
She was a refugee who could sing really well like Maria Callas
But somehow she couldn't get on
Jean, for some reason, was struggling to succeed
So she took it off
She took her clothes off to perform
At the, the local Palace
She performed at a local venue called the Palace
Jean come back (Why'd you go now)
They're asking Jean to come back and wondering why she left in the first place
Jean come back (Things are slow now)
They're telling Jean that things have been slow without her
My landlady said Jean's a commie spy
Scott's landlady accused Jean of being a communist spy
And each time I asked for the reason why
Scott is asking for proof of these accusations
My landlady said it's a front
His landlady claims that her stripping is just a front
She bumps and grinds codes
Jean supposedly communicates coded messages through her performances
To an audience of immigrants
Her audience is made up of immigrants
It blows my mind when I think of Jean
Jean's situation is confusing and unbelievable to Scott
Every night with a new routine
Jean performs a different routine every night
'Cos I play drums in the band
Scott plays the drums for Jean's performances
She used me as part
Jean supposedly used Scott as part of her communist plan
Of her dirty commie plan
Her plan was supposedly communist and immoral
Jean come back (we forgive you)
They're forgiving Jean and asking her to come back
Jean come back (boy scouts honour)
They're emphasizing their sincerity in wanting Jean to come back
Jean come back (Spiro Agnew)
Spiro Agnew is mentioned for unknown reasons
Jean come back (To the Bolshoi)
They want Jean to come back to the Bolshoi Ballet
Jean come back (To your homeland)
They want Jean to return to her home country
Jean come back (bring the microfilm)
They're jokingly asking her to bring the microfilm as part of her spy work
Contributed by Maya R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
wellandtruly joshed
Beautiful man beautiful voice ❤️ RIP Scott 💔 This is one brilliant track 👏
annikapc
@bumblebert I am so glad you discovered this. It is a great tune. This came from the album after Scott 4 failed and the last solo with Scott Walker-composed songs until 1978 (Walker Brothers' Nite Flights). I think "Til the Band Comes In" is one of his best, in addition to Scott 1-4, Tilt and The Drift. Then again, I love everything by Scott Walker.
edgarholland
I love this LP. Ok so it's not Scott 4 -but so what? It harks back to Scott 3 in that they are mostly charactor driven songs. It also reminds me of the Walker Bros as Scott's voice is double-tracked on some tracks that it sounds like he is singing to himself - wonderful! Scott had to compromise a lot on this record due to record company pressure because Scott 4 didn't sell, with his manager getting co-writing credits and the second side of the LP with covers , even if they were great. Love him!
charmaine prince
Love this. Scott having a bit of fun.xx
The James brothers band
Till the band comes is hella good.
Bumblebert
I'd never heard this! fantastic! youve made my week! Wheres my ipod?!
R. ROOKSBY
'Til The Band Comes In is a fine LP - Scott 4½, basically...
Tom Byrne
I've been trying to get my hands on Til The Band Comes for some time now . Thanks for posting this track. I've decided that I want to complete my Scott collection so it looks like in going to have to fork out some for it. I adore Scott .
annikapc
@edgarholland Totally agree with you 100%. It is such a shame that after having only one failed album when ALL his records were successful that the record company lost faith in his compositions. The record company then made him sing movie song covers after "Til the Band Comes In" flopped.
annikapc
@bumblebert I LOVE most of Scott Wlker's albums. I made this video.I think you misunderstood what I wrote. It was regarding him not being able to write and sing his own songs after "Til The Band Comes In." No need to get rude!