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))).
Joe Hill
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died", said he
"I never died", said he
"The copper bosses killed you, Joe
They shot you Joe", said I
Says Joe, "I did not die"
Says Joe, "I did not die"
Standing there as big as life
And a-smiling with his eyes
Says Joe, "What they can never kill
Went on to organize
Went on to organize."
"From San Diego up to Maine,
In every mine an' mill
Where working men defend their rights,"
It say, "You'll find Joe Hill
It's there you'll find Joe Hill
It's there you'll find Joe
Joe Hill, Joe Hill"
The lyrics of Scott Walker's song Joe Hill seem to be a conversation between the singer and the ghost of Joe Hill, the American labor activist and songwriter who was executed by a firing squad in 1915. The singer dreams he sees Joe Hill alive and well, but is puzzled by the fact that he has been dead for ten years. However, Joe tells him he never died and explains that he is still alive in the hearts and minds of those who fight for workers' rights. He declares that "what they can never kill went on to organize," which suggests that the legacy of his work and ideas has lived on long after his death.
Joe Hill then talks about the widespread influence of his message, mentioning that his spirit can be found "from San Diego up to Maine" in all the places where working people are defending their rights. The song ends with a powerful repetition of his name, emphasizing that Joe Hill's memory and influence live on as a symbol of labor activism and the fight for social justice.
Line by Line Meaning
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
The singer recounts a dream about meeting Joe Hill
Alive as you or me
In the dream, Joe Hill appears alive and well
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
The singer recalls informing Joe Hill that he has been dead for a decade
"I never died", said he
In the dream, Joe Hill claims that he never died
"The copper bosses killed you, Joe They shot you Joe", said I
The singer reminds Joe Hill of his assassination by copper bosses
"Takes more than guns to kill a man" Says Joe, "I did not die"
Joe Hill claims that his death by gun did not kill him entirely
Standing there as big as life And a-smiling with his eyes
In the dream, Joe Hill is depicted as confident and happy
"What they can never kill Went on to organize
Joe Hill appears to suggest that his spirit lives on in the labor movement
From San Diego up to Maine In every mine an' mill Where working men defend their rights
Joe Hill's influence is felt across the country where working people fight for their rights
It say, "You'll find Joe Hill
Joe Hill is remembered and celebrated in these struggles
It's there you'll find Joe Hill It's there you'll find Joe Joe Hill, Joe Hill"
The song concludes with a repetition of Joe Hill's name as a tribute to his legacy
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