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))).
Jolson and Jones
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As the grossness of spring lolls its bloodshot head
Curare! Curare! Curare!
Brogue cries from the street
Curare! Curare!
As the grossness of spring rose
A tumor balloon to squeak against the window
With the grossness of spring staining into the walls
Say five feet or two centimeters
The prints of my fingers dusted from doorknobs
A lamp had been dimmed
Some sawdust where a ring had been
Where nice girls were turned into whores
Gardens with fountains where peacocks had strutted
Where deaf children were born
The splendor of tigers turning to gold in the desert
Pale meadows of stranded pyramids
Sonny boy
Such a sonny boy
There's a song in the air
Curare! Curare! Curare!
But the fair senorita don't seem to care
Curare! Curare! Curare!
As the grossness of spring lolls its head against the window
As the grossness of spring lolls its bloodshot head
I merely got up so slowly
Shuffled across the floor
Closed the door on the landing
Descending the stairs
Dipping into the street
The paralysed street
Brogue says "Good afternoon!"
I say "Good afternoon!"
"It's a lovely afternoon"
"Yes, it's a lovely afternoon"I
Into pockets unstitching so weighted with pins
Into eyes imploding on mazes of sins
The puddle beneath the cork
Bobbing on a mild chop that rolled in
Off the river Dix and the open water beyond
Brogue says
"I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY"
Then me
"I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY"
Brogue
"I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY"
"I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY"
Sonny boy
Such a sonny boy
In her voice, there's a flaw
Sonny boy
Such a sonny boy
E-e-aw and e-e-aw
The lyrics of Scott Walker's Jolson and Jones are surreal, ambiguous, and open to interpretation. The song seems to paint a picture of a bleak and sordid city life plagued by poverty, disease, and corruption. The grossness of spring implies that even the season of renewal and rejuvenation has lost its charm and exuberance. The entreaty for curare, a poisonous substance, could be a metaphor for a desire to escape or end one's suffering. The references to turning nice girls into whores, deaf children being born, and splendor turning to gold in the desert, allude to the inevitability of decay, death, and degradation. The song's title, Jolson and Jones, refers to Al Jolson and Spike Jones, popular entertainers from the early 20th century, who could be seen as representing contrasting styles and sensibilities. Sonny Boy, a song famously sung by Jolson, is also referenced in the lyrics, perhaps ironically or nostalgically, as a remnant of a bygone era.
Line by Line Meaning
As the grossness of spring lolls its head against the window
As spring arrives in all its sordid messiness
Curare! Curare! Curare!
Someone on the street is shouting 'Beware! Beware! Beware!'
As the grossness of spring rose A tumor balloon to squeak against the window
Spring's ugliness is growing and invading the room
With the grossness of spring staining into the walls
The room is being stained by the filth of spring
The chair had been shifted ever so slightly
Someone has been in the room and moved the chair a little
Say five feet or two centimeters
It was only a small movement, but noticeable
The prints of my fingers dusted from doorknobs
The singer has been touching the doorknobs and left his fingerprints on them
A lamp had been dimmed
Someone, perhaps the artist, had turned down the lamp
Some sawdust where a ring had been
Someone has removed a ring and it has left a residue on the surface
Where nice girls were turned into whores
A place where young women are corrupted
Gardens with fountains where peacocks had strutted
A luxurious place where peacocks once roamed
Where deaf children were born
A place where physically handicapped children were born
The splendor of tigers turning to gold in the desert
Beautiful creatures becoming corrupted and worthless in an inhospitable environment
Pale meadows of stranded pyramids
Ruins in a barren, lifeless landscape
Sonny boy Such a sonny boy There's a song in the air Curare! Curare! Curare!
Someone is singing and shouting, possibly on the street outside
But the fair senorita don't seem to care Curare! Curare! Curare!
Someone is trying to get the attention of a woman, but she is ignoring him
I merely got up so slowly Shuffled across the floor Closed the door on the landing Descending the stairs Dipping into the street The paralysed street Brogue says 'Good afternoon!' I say 'Good afternoon!' 'It's a lovely afternoon' 'Yes, it's a lovely afternoon'
The artist leaves the room and goes outside into the street, where he greets someone in a thick Irish accent
Into pockets unstitching so weighted with pins Into eyes imploding on mazes of sins
The singer is carrying a heavy burden of guilt and shame
The puddle beneath the cork Bobbing on a mild chop that rolled in Off the river Dix and the open water beyond
The singer sees a cork floating in a puddle on the street, which reminds him of the river Dix and the sea beyond
Brogue says 'I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY' Then me 'I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY' Brogue 'I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY' 'I'LL PUNCH A DONKEY IN THE STREETS OF GALWAY'
The conversation turns to a ridiculous threat to punch a donkey in Galway
Sonny boy Such a sonny boy In her voice, there's a flaw Sonny boy Such a sonny boy E-e-aw and e-e-aw
The woman the artist is interested in is not as perfect as she seems
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
shango02005
I've been listening to this album for around a year, now. It still scares me, but I also see so much beauty in it and I've gotten to the point where it gives me chills like any other great music I can think of. I can see why it took him so long to complete the album. It's a true masterpiece!
Benito Mussolini
Not often has a song sent shivers down my spine in such a literal sense.
Fazal Miles
...Yes the music does say enough. This is great. I'm buying this album today!!!
658magnus
"I'll punch a donkey in the streets of Galway". One of my favorite lines from The Drift. It's so catchy, in an odd and morbid way.
Evert Kramer
I don't do drugs and I think this music is insanely good.
Half Rutter
Same here. Walker is the absinthe in my tea.
ketsubansama
A totally piece of art on his most pure state.
Wally Toynbee
This and Cue (track 5) are brilliant tracks. Always play them after each other.
Some Guy
You're right, the order of the tracks is really important, at least fo me, it sounds like a concept album
Wally Toynbee
It is indeed the order, Matt. It's just that people who listen to tracks on You Tube don't always go through every track on an album. They'll tend to pick favourites from a number of albums - and not always even by the same artist.