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))).
Plastic Palace People
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A string tied to his underwear
Through cobbled stone streets a child races
And shouts "Billy, come down from there"
"My mother's calling" his voice whimpers
A string clutched in his tiny hand
Not till I've seen the sky's not lit up
Don't pull the string, don't bring me down
Don't make me land
Plastic palace people
Sing silent songs, they dream too long
Their memories just stare
Plastic palace Alice
She steals her cards tomorrow deals
With deafening despair
Hurry, you've got to get in line
Your nose might start to shine
And sweat it out and dance about
The whole eternal life
A harvest of stars surrounds Billy
The night clings to his happy eyes
A sleeping town square beneath a fountain
A child murmurs a weary sigh
My mother weeps, and weaves her hair
With worries please, Come down from there
Plastic palace people
Through fields of clay and granite grey
They play without a sound
Plastic palace Alice
Blows gaping holes to store her fears
Inside her lovers head
Listen, they're laughing in the halls
They rip your face with lies
To buzzing eyes you cry for help
Like gods they bark replies
Over the rooftops burns Billy
Balloon sadly the string descends
Searching its way down through blue submarine air
The polka dot underwear
To meet the trees, in morning square
Just hanging there, just hanging there
In the song "Plastic Palace People" by Scott Walker, the singer describes a scene where a child named Billy is flying a kite over the rooftops. As he reaches higher, a child from the street calls out for him to come down. Billy insists that he must not come down until he has seen the sky, bringing down the child's spirits. Throughout the song, we are introduced to several "Plastic Palace People" who exist in an artificial world, dreaming and playing silently without making any sound. One such person is Alice, who deals with her fears and anxieties by tearing holes in her lover's head to store them away.
The song is a commentary on the isolation and emptiness that can come with living in an artificial world. The Plastic Palace People represent a society of individuals who are consumed by their own self-interests and are unable to connect with the world around them. The child-Billy, on the other hand, represents a childlike spirit that is independent, hopeful, and curious, and is not afraid to face the world around him. The imagery used in the song is both playful and sinister, at once evoking a sense of bright colors and polka dots but also drowning in despair and anxieties.
Line by Line Meaning
Over the rooftop sails Billy
Billy ascends to the top of a building.
A string tied to his underwear
A string attaches to Billy's underwear and hangs behind him as he climbs.
Through cobbled stone streets a child races
A child runs through the streets of town.
And shouts "Billy, come down from there"
A child yells for Billy to come back down to the ground.
"My mother's calling" his voice whimpers
Billy cries out in response to his mother calling for him to come inside.
A string clutched in his tiny hand
Billy tightly grasps the string he used to climb to the top of the building.
Not till I've seen the sky's not lit up
Billy wants to stay on the roof until he can see that the sky has gone dark.
In tears, child try and understand
Billy pleads with the child below to try and understand why he wants to stay on the roof.
Don't pull the string, don't bring me down
Billy doesn't want the child below to pull the string to bring him back down to the ground.
Don't make me land
Billy wants to stay on the building and not come down to the ground.
Plastic palace people
People who live in a figurative palace made of plastic.
Sing silent songs, they dream too long
These people sing songs quietly and daydream excessively.
Their memories just stare
These people's memories are stagnant and don't progress.
Plastic palace Alice
A woman named Alice who lives in this plastic palace.
She steals her cards tomorrow deals
Alice takes what she thinks she will experience tomorrow and creates her own experience with it today.
With deafening despair
Alice feels overwhelming sadness.
Hurry, you've got to get in line
People urge others to hurry up and conform to their expectations.
Your nose might start to shine
People warn others that they will stand out if they don't conform.
And sweat it out and dance about
People pressure others to constantly move and follow current trends.
The whole eternal life
This behavior consumes people's entire lives.
A harvest of stars surrounds Billy
Billy is surrounded by many stars in the sky.
The night clings to his happy eyes
Billy enjoys watching the night sky and his eyes reflect the happiness he feels.
A sleeping town square beneath a fountain
Below Billy is an empty town square with a fountain that isn't running due to the late hour.
A child murmurs a weary sigh
A child is tired and emits a soft, exasperated breath.
My mother weeps, and weaves her hair
Billy's mother cries and runs her fingers through her hair in worry for him.
With worries please, Come down from there
Billy's mother begs for him to come back down to the ground.
Through fields of clay and granite grey
The plastic palace people play in dull and barren fields.
They play without a sound
These people make little to no noise while they play.
Blows gaping holes to store her fears
Alice creates space in her mind to house her fears.
Inside her lovers head
She imagines that her lover houses her worries and fears inside their own mind.
Listen, they're laughing in the halls
They can hear others laughing and mocking them.
They rip your face with lies
Others judge and deceive them, which causes them emotional pain.
To buzzing eyes you cry for help
They cry out for help to those who ignore them.
Like gods they bark replies
Those whom they cry out to respond in a callous or godlike manner.
Over the rooftops burns Billy
Billy, holding a balloon, floats over the rooftops.
Balloon sadly the string descends
The balloon secures to a string that slowly lowers it to the ground.
Searching its way down through blue submarine air
The balloon travels down through a hazy blue sky.
The polka dot underwear
The string is attached to Billy's polka dot underwear.
To meet the trees, in morning square
The balloon finally comes to a stop in a square amongst the trees.
Just hanging there, just hanging there
The balloon floats motionless in the air, hanging among the trees.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SCOTT ENGEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kiyorik
Over the rooftop sails Billy
A string tied to his underwear
Through cobbled stone streets a child races
And shouts "Billy, come down from there"
"My mother's calling" his voice whimpers
A string clutched in his tiny hand
Not till I've seen the sky's not lit up
In tears, child try and understand
Don't pull the string, don't bring me down
Don't make me land
Plastic palace people
Sing silent songs, they dream too long
Their memories just stare
Plastic palace Alice
She steals her cards tomorrow deals
With deafening despair
Hurry, you've got to get in line
Your nose might start to shine
And sweat it out and dance about
The whole eternal life
A harvest of stars surrounds Billy
The night clings to his happy eyes
A sleeping town square beneath a fountain
A child murmurs a weary sigh
My mother weeps, and weaves her hair
With worries please, Come down from there
Plastic palace people
Through fields of clay and granite grey
They play without a sound
Plastic palace Alice
Blows gaping holes to store her fears
Inside her lovers head
Listen, they're laughing in the halls
They rip your face with lies
To buzzing eyes you cry for help
Like gods they bark replies
Over the rooftops burns Billy
Balloon sadly the string descends
Searching its way down through blue submarine air
The polka dot underwear
To meet the trees, in morning square
Just hanging there, just hanging there
@NinA64ontheroad
Disturbing, sweetness, brilliant, such a beautiful voice, Scott was talented beyond amazing! No words to describe him, if your soul can hear his art, it's all right.
@paulturzio1472
My bucket list is forever incomplete with his passing.
Loved him from the first day I ever heard him sing in 1966.
Thought I'd get to see him one more time. RIP Scott.
@Andrewsmate
One of the most beautiful songs ever written and sang by Scott Walker.
@cosmicdrifter287
It was a true musical blessing the day i discoverd Scott Walker"s discography.
@gatewayski1
Producer Johnny Franz and orchestrator conductor Wally Stott deserve much of the credit as well.
@AEMachinas
cats pajamas Scott Walker produced this tho, his vision, the director gets the credit and gives to the machine men who make it happen
@MrBobbychestnut
Is that a compliment? Scott Walker is not only a pioneer in this sound, but an extraordinary survivalist in the scene. I have nothing but admiration for the man...today or in 1968.
@jkirtleyheacting
This brings back memories. Superb. RIP Scott xx
@TWOCOWS1
Scott has the single most beautiful voice I have ever heard. WOW
@Mandrake591
I agree, the best!