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))).
Orpheus
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So it smiles once again
And harpoon you like a whale
With a bent and rusty nail
If your husband knew, he'd say
That you're living in sin
Well, if grinnin' is a sin
Back with you, Mrs Blear
Sleep on, dear
Deep and easy, our night man is here
I'll steal your dreams for my shiny gold chain
And you'll wake with your eyes full of rain
Finding I've disappeared
I don't think of yesterday
Merely drum out the sound
But forgetting you was hard
That's why I'm back in town
And you had a loveless week
And the world's let you down
But I'll make it up somehow
There are ways, Mrs Brown
That's why I'm back in town
Sleep on, dear
For the night wouldn't dare interfere
And the ghosts of my cigarette play
On the ceiling, and time drifts away
With the burden it bears
Remember me
I've already forgotten you
And make your beds for me
For the things we ought not to do
Drive us all
'Round the bend
The lyrics of Scott Walker's song Orpheus are mysterious and intense, that can be interpreted in many different ways. On the surface level, the song is about a man who has returned to a woman named Mrs. Blear, who is married to someone else. He claims to have returned to make her happy again, even though her husband would consider their rekindled relationship to be sinful. He goes on to say that he'll steal her dreams for his "shiny gold chain," which can be interpreted as an allusion to his desire to control her. Furthermore, the lyrics suggest a certain level of danger and violence, as the man claims that he'll harpoon Mrs. Blear like a whale with a rusty nail.
There are different layers to the song that make it complicated to interpret. Some have suggested that Orpheus is an allegory for artistic inspiration that is being reborn. Others believe that the character represents death, and the woman he's speaking to represents someone on the edge of the line between life and death. The lyrics also contain references to Greek mythology, as the title of the song is the name of a musician in a famous Greek myth, and the references to harpooning and whales could point to the story of Jonah.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I'm back to make your face
Returning to bring joy and happiness into your life
So it smiles once again
So that it can wear a genuine smile like before
And harpoon you like a whale
And deeply hurt you with a sharp and rusty nail
With a bent and rusty nail
With a weapon not fit to use anymore
If your husband knew, he'd say
If your partner finds out about us, he would disapprove
That you're living in sin
That you're doing something immoral and against the values of society
Well, if grinnin' is a sin
If being happy is frowned upon
That's the reason I'm here
That's why I have come back into your life
Back with you, Mrs Blear
Back with you, the woman who always weeps and is in pain
Sleep on, dear
Keep sleeping, my love
Deep and easy, our night man is here
Rest well, with my presence calming you
I'll steal your dreams for my shiny gold chain
I will take your dreams away and make them mine
And you'll wake with your eyes full of rain
You'll wake up with tears in your eyes
Finding I've disappeared
And realizing that I have left you once again
I don't think of yesterday
I don't dwell on past events
Merely drum out the sound
Only focus on the beat and rhythm
But forgetting you was hard
But it was challenging to forget about you
That's why I'm back in town
That's why I've returned to your city
And you had a loveless week
And you've had a week without any affection
And the world's let you down
And the world has disappointed you
But I'll make it up somehow
But I'll compensate and make you happy
There are ways, Mrs Brown
There are several things I can do to improve your mood
Sleep on, dear
Keep sleeping, my love
For the night wouldn't dare interfere
For the night would not disturb you in any way
And the ghosts of my cigarette play
And the smoke from my cigarette forms ghostly images
On the ceiling, and time drifts away
They dance on the ceiling, and time passes by
With the burden it bears
With the weight it carries
Remember me
Keep me in your thoughts
I've already forgotten you
I have already moved on from you
And make your beds for me
And make the bed for me as I'm going to stay the night
For the things we ought not to do
For the things we should not be doing
Drive us all
Overwhelm us all
'Round the bend
To the point of losing our sanity
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SCOTT ENGEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@trytocalmmenow2473
Well, I'm back to make your face
So it smiles once again
And harpoon you like a whale
With a bent and rusty nail
If your husband knew, he'd say
That you're living in sin
Well, if grinnin' is a sin
That's the reason I'm here
Back with you, Mrs Blear
Sleep on, dear
Deep and easy, our night man is here
I'll steal your dreams for my shiny gold chain
And you'll wake with your eyes full of rain
Finding I've disappeared
I don't think of yesterday
Merely drum out the sound
But forgetting you was hard
That's why I'm back in town
And you had a loveless week
And the world's let you down
But I'll make it up somehow
There are ways, Mrs Brown
That's why I'm back in town
Sleep on, dear
For the night wouldn't dare interfere
And the ghosts of my cigarette play
On the ceiling, and time drifts away
With the burden it bears
Remember me
I've already forgotten you
And make your beds for me
For the things we ought not to do
Drive us all
'Round the bend
@beverleyeden1741
I was hooked from the moment I heard his voice on Love Her listening to Pirate Radio station late at night aged 13. Im 71 now and never tire of hearing his beautiful, beautiful voice.
@beverleyeden1741
Beautiful.
@juliocesarvivassarria1355
His songs are a star in the musical heaven and will shine, eternally.
@NWG92
I'm 19, but I've been listening to Scott religiously since I was 16...nobody else (my parents and grandparents included) knows nor cares for Scott or his music.
@scott7521
A life of intelligence and good taste is a lonely life.
@jenniferwhitney919
Not true, I've been playing Scott records & still have them all since he came to England, & I'm 68 now
@florenceworley9024
This song is so profound. The lyrics are powerful with an interesting take on Orpheus and his lost wife.
The harmony is terrific
@suebloo12
For one so young to do this work show what a genius he is. I have listened to Scott walker all my life. In the 60s he was great, and he still is.
@avantifl
Until You tube, only a few of us knew of this awesome talent since 1965, i hope to hear his voice for another 45 years ,thank you much "guidofski' and you SCOTT/NOEL....Michael (63 years young)
@ahmedmahon2022
It sounds like a misty, drunken evening in a French provincial capital and you've just discovered a bottle of calvados in the fourth floor broom cupboard.