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))).
Rawhide
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out between midnight,
Called up under valleys
Of torches and stars.
Foot, knee, shaggy belly, face
Famous hind legs,
As one of their own
You graze with them.
Cro-magnon herders
Will stand in the wind,
Sweeping tails shining,
And scaled to begin,
Shutting down here
Shutting down here
To where necks
Leave the air
Unpossessed
And giant heads lock
Constellations.
A last grain of dust
Lands in the darkness
On tongues laid bare,
And turning to chalk.
Shutting down here.
Freezing in red,
Bent over his ice skin,
The insomniac gnaws
In the on-offs;
He is glazed
In the hooves
All round.
It is losing its shape.
Losing its shape,
As the heat
In your hands
Carve the muscle
Away.
And he grins
From a break
In a backflash.
Delivers it up
On a break
In a backflash.
Motionless brands
Burn into a hip frame
As a savior
Loads sight lines
Backlit by fires,
On the ridges
Of the highest
Breeder
The song "Rawhide" by Scott Walker is a poetic and introspective look into the life of a cow that is about to be slaughtered. The song starts with the lines “This is how you disappear, Out between midnight, Called up under valleys of torches and stars" which paints the picture of the cow's final moments, as it is led away from the barn and into the night.
Throughout the song, Walker describes the physical characteristics of the cow in detail, including its foot, knee, shaggy belly, famous hind legs, and giant head. The imagery is vivid and sensory, allowing the listener to conjure up an image of the animal in their mind.
As the cow is led to its death, it is described as “freezing in red,” with the insomniac gnawing on its hooves. This creates a sense of discomfort and unease, highlighting the brutality of the process. The song ends with the savior loading sight lines backlit by fires, and the ridges of the highest breeder - indicating the end of the cow’s life.
In conclusion, “Rawhide” is a powerful and moving song that offers a unique perspective on the process of animal slaughter. The lyrics are insightful and introspective, allowing the listener to connect with the cow on a deeper level.
Line by Line Meaning
This is how you disappear
Learn how to disappear and blend in with the natural environment
Out between midnight,
Leave when it's dark and quiet
Called up under valleys
Go deep into valleys
Of torches and stars.
Where the only light comes from torches and stars
Foot, knee, shaggy belly, face
These are the different parts of a grazing animal
Famous hind legs,
The hind legs are the most significant of an animal
As one of their own
Blend in with the grazing animals
You graze with them.
Eat with them
Cro-magnon herders
The ancient herders who lived during the Cro-magnon period
Will stand in the wind,
They are tough and endure the wind
Sweeping tails shining,
Their tails are shining as they move in the wind
And scaled to begin,
Their skin is like scales, tough and impenetrable
Shutting down here
Surviving in this place requires becoming still and shutting down
Shutting down here
Again, becoming still and shutting down is necessary for survival
To where necks
Where necks of the grazing animals
Leave the air
Extend high into the sky and separate from the rest of the body
Unpossessed
Have an emptiness about them, detached from the rest of the body
And giant heads lock
Their large heads become locked into the darkness of the night sky
Constellations.
They become one and blend into the night sky like constellations
A last grain of dust
The last remaining piece of dust
Lands in the darkness
Finally falls and lands in the darkness
On tongues laid bare,
On tongues that are exposed and vulnerable
And turning to chalk.
It connects with the dry air, and becomes chalk-like
Shutting down here.
The shutting down of the grazing animal has been reiterated
Freezing in red,
Freezing and becoming motionless with a red glow
Bent over his ice skin,
Bending over their tough skin
The insomniac gnaws
The insomniac starts to chew
In the on-offs;
They chew while drifting in and out of consciousness
He is glazed
He has become covered with a translucent layer of ice
In the hooves
The ice has formed mainly in the hooves
All round.
Everywhere around the insomniac
It is losing its shape.
The animal is losing its form while frozen and covered in ice
Losing its shape,
Reiterated that the animal is changing form
As the heat
As the temperature begins to rise
In your hands
From the warmth emanating from your hands
Carve the muscle
The warmth of your hands is melting the muscle away
Away.
This is melting it to the point of being removed
And he grins
The animal begins to smile
From a break
From taking a break, it felt warmth and thus began to melt
In a backflash.
It experienced a short, quick, and intense heat moment
Delivers it up
The warmth eventually frees the animal and the surrounding ice, that is then picked up
On a break
It becomes free while taking a break
In a backflash.
The intense heat is felt quickly, freeing the ice rapidly
Motionless brands
The logos that are usually emblemized on/in the animal are now without motion
Burn into a hip frame
Being burnt and etched into the animal's hip frame
As a savior
Like a savior, the animal is rescued and freed from the ice
Loads sight lines
From many angles, there is a view of the animal being liberated
Backlit by fires,
The view is clear as the scene is silhouetted by firelight
On the ridges
At the highest point of the natural landscape, where the ridges are located
Of the highest
The absolute best and most breathtaking location
Breeder.
This must be a valuable and important breeder animal
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