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))).
The Shut Out
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those gimmicks
To the boys
Let them
Send it all up
In the air
There is
Crouching and wailing
Down here
We must freeze off
This atmosphere
Scraping out noise
Across night wires
Runs for the distant cities
There is never
A lock
In the fall
Down here
As the
BIG FULL
Pours away
In the shutout
In the shutout
How will we know
The great doll
Something attacked
The earth last night
With a
Kick that man habit
Eye
Cut the
Sleep tight boys
Who dreamed
And dreamed
Of a city
Like the sky
There were faces
Bobbing in the heat
For some rising
From her zone
Moving, hitting,
Holding on
For the promise
To carry us home
In the shutout
In the shutout
Never a lock
In the fall
In the shutout
In the shutout
How will we know
The great doll
The lyrics to Scott Walker's song, "The Shut Out," capture a sense of desperation and chaos. The opening lines, "Throw off those gimmicks to the boys, let them send it all up in the air" suggest a sense of rebellion and throwing aside societal norms. The following lines, "There is crouching and wailing on stones down here, we must freeze off this atmosphere," depict a sense of struggle and hardship. The imagery of "scraping out noise across night wires" and "distant cities" adds to the sense of isolation and disconnect.
The refrain, "In the shutout, in the shutout, how will we know the great doll?" creates a sense of confusion and uncertainty. The use of the term "shutout" suggests a sense of exclusion and being left behind. The line, "something attacked the earth last night with a kick that man habit eye" adds to the sense of chaos and destruction.
As the song progresses, there is a sense of longing for a better life, with the lines "who dreamed and dreamed of a city like the sky," and "for the promise to carry us home." The closing lines, "never a lock in the fall, in the shutout, in the shutout, how will we know the great doll?" leave the listener with a sense of unanswered questions and uncertainty.
Overall, "The Shut Out" conveys a sense of struggle and hardship, as well as a longing for something better, while also capturing a sense of chaos and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
Throw off
Let go of, discard
Those gimmicks
Tricks or devices used to attract attention or business
To the boys
To the men, possibly referring to the music industry or society in general
Let them
Allow them
Send it all up
Elevate or boost everything
In the air
Upward or suspended
There is
Existence of
Crouching and wailing
Bending down and crying out in misery or distress
On stones
Possibly a reference to a biblical scene or a desolate place
Down here
Referring to a lower, lesser or darker place
We must freeze off
We have to endure or withstand harsh and cold conditions
This atmosphere
The mood or feeling of the environment
Scraping out noise
Producing sounds with effort or difficulty
Across night wires
Communicating or connecting over long distances or time zones
Runs for the distant cities
Going towards or aiming for faraway urban centers
There is never
Always absent or missing
A lock
A secure or guaranteed way out
In the fall
During the autumn or decline
Down here
In a lower or inferior position
As the BIG FULL
Possibly a metaphor for the risks or consequences of taking decisive action
Pours away
Escapes or disappears in large quantities
In the shutout
In a situation when one is excluded or denied access
In the shutout
In a situation when one is excluded or denied access
How will we know
A question about recognizing or understanding a certain state or phenomenon
The great doll
Possibly a person, object or system with enormous power or influence
Something attacked
An unknown or unexpected force or event which affects or damages
The earth last night
Possibly referring to a catastrophe or disaster
With a Kick that man habit
Possibly a metaphor for breaking free from destructive or addictive behavior
Eye
Possibly suggesting the need for clarity or perspective
Cut the Sleep tight boys
Possibly suggesting the end of a comforting or ignorant state
Who dreamed
Those who had hopes, aspirations or idealistic beliefs
And dreamed
Repeatedly or continuously having fantasies, visions or illusions
Of a city Like the sky
Possibly a metaphor for a utopian, heavenly or unreachable place
There were faces
Possibly referring to people who suffer and strive for a better life
Bobbing in the heat
Moving or fluctuating under intense or arduous conditions
For some rising
Possibly suggesting hope, achievement or triumph
From her zone
From a particular area or environment which influences or shapes the behavior or experience of individuals
Moving, hitting, holding on
Continuously pushing through obstacles, resisting or enduring tough situations
For the promise
In pursuit of an expectation or reward
To carry us home
Possibly suggesting a longing for a return to a better or safer place
In the shutout
In a situation when one is excluded or denied access
In the shutout
In a situation when one is excluded or denied access
Never a lock
Always absent or missing a secure or guaranteed way out
In the fall
During the autumn or decline
In the shutout
In a situation when one is excluded or denied access
In the shutout
In a situation when one is excluded or denied access
How will we know
A question about recognizing or understanding a certain state or phenomenon
The great doll
Possibly a person, object or system with enormous power or influence
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SCOTT ENGEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
biznatchio
Insane , how have I lived 41 years , heard everyone come and go that was influenced by this man and still never come across this guys music. Walker brothers or not, this is Scott'sinfluence from what I can tell. Please help me out if I'm wrong.
Chad Fjerstad
One of my favorite songs of all time. Gonna attempt to cover it next Friday night at Basic Flowers in downtown Los Angeles. Get down.
wizard101'er
How did it go
Nick Morfitt
Scott's four songs on Nite Flights rank as some of the best music i've ever heard.And to be fair,even though they are not in the same class,think the Gary Leeds songs have some merit.The other Walker Brother's songs on it(John Maus) get a bit campy though.Oh the lead guitar on this is wild!!!
Scott
Scott's tracks are so beyond the other guys in the band.
wellandtruly joshed
RIP Scott 💔 Outstanding creator of sound ❤️ If only they knew then what we know now😢👏
The Truth 82
Unbelievable guitar solo from Les Davidson. It's quite simple as far as the note selection but the way he just lets rip and totally commits to it, really is impressive. Fretboard on fire.
ronrr26
This was 1977 and it still sounds like the future. And that's not taking the guitar solo into account.
Daniel Plainview
it's like future-goth disco. the harmonies are absolutely bizarre in a spellbinding way
Zoran Taylor
I was just thinking about how that solo seems to anticipate the EVH cameo on "Beat It"....