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))).
Track Seven
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The delta holder.
Lowered up from his boulder
And riding pains
Steady blowout.
All those arms in the gullys
Chewed through at the wrists.
All that listens and lifts
Deserting your lead
While the figure is also carrying
Deserting your lead
While the figure is also carrying.
Your hands are drained.
Your skins are stained and heavy.
Go to ground
You are sealed against the night.
Spotted head blood head
Heat up the stars.
Polish and silence away your parole.
She's a dugout;
Her second sleeps
Dreagging the roads.
Her fixed strays
Shine from ditches
Wherever she goes-
Deserting your lead
While the figure is also carrying
Pry open those jaws
Try and hear your own way out.
Driven in deep;
You save yourself the burying.
The darkness swarms;
Try and hear your own way out.
The lyrics of Track Seven by Scott Walker present a surrealistic and obscure image of a drowned man being raised up from a rock, followed by a description of a desolate and abandoned landscape. The words paint a picture of a barren wasteland littered with dismembered arms, where everything is drowned out and nothing seems to awaken.
The lyrics continue with an enigmatic figure carrying the weight of the lead, which is then abandoned. In the midst of this dark and hopeless landscape, there is a woman traveling in a dugout, dragging her way along the road. The song ends with a call to pry open one's jaws and try to hear one's way out while being driven deep into the darkness.
The lyrics are cryptic and open-ended, leaving much to the imagination. It is unclear who the singer is or what the drowned man represents, and the symbolism of the arms and the woman in the dugout is also not explicit. The song seems to convey a sense of disorientation and confusion, as if the listener is walking through a dream that is both unsettling and fascinating.
Line by Line Meaning
Stump of a drowner.
The remains of someone who drowned and whose body was reduced to a stump.
The delta holder.
Someone who holds the delta or lower end of a river where it meets the sea.
Lowered up from his boulder
Someone who was sitting on a boulder, but got up from it and moved elsewhere.
And riding pains
The feeling of being physically ridden and tormented by pains.
Steady blowout.
An outflow of something, like air or gas, that is happening in a steady and continuous manner.
All those arms in the gullys
Many arms lying in the ditches or gullies.
Chewed through at the wrists.
The arms were cut off or damaged at the wrists.
All that won't flood awake-
Everything that won't be awakened or disturbed by the floods.
All that listens and lifts
Everything that pays attention and becomes elevated or inspired.
Deserting your lead
Abandoning your position as a leader or guide.
While the figure is also carrying.
While the person who may be taking your place is also carrying something significant.
Your hands are drained.
You have exhausted your resources or abilities.
Your skins are stained and heavy.
Your physical and emotional burdens have become unbearable.
Go to ground.
Find a hidden or safe place to take refuge.
You are sealed against the night.
You are protected or sheltered from the darkness or danger of the night.
Spotted head blood head
Having a spotted or speckled head, perhaps due to injury or illness.
Heat up the stars.
Create and intensify new opportunities or possibilities.
Polish and silence away your parole.
Eliminate any obligations or restrictions that may be holding you back.
She's a dugout;
She is like a shallow boat made by hollowing out a log or tree trunk.
Her second sleeps
Her companion or lover is sleeping.
Dreagging the roads.
Slowly and tiredly walking along the roads.
Her fixed strays
Her belongings or possessions left behind on the roadside.
Shine from ditches
Gleaming or reflecting from the ditches along the road.
Wherever she goes-
No matter where she is headed or travels to.
Pry open those jaws
Force yourself to speak or express your thoughts and feelings.
Try and hear your own way out.
Attempt to find and follow your own path or vision.
Driven in deep;
Having been pushed, forced, or sunk down deeply.
You save yourself the burying.
You avoid the fate of being buried or forgotten by taking control of your own life and destiny.
The darkness swarms;
The darkness seems to be closing in, growing thicker, or becoming more oppressive.
Try and hear your own way out.
Make an effort to overcome the obstacles and fears that are preventing you from moving forward and finding your own way.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wellandtruly joshed
Beautiful man beautiful voice ❤️ RIP Scott 💔 Outstanding creator of sound - we are still listening 👏
Wrighthouse Productions
This is one of my all time favorites by Scott Walker.
Justin Stanley
This song is a holy sacrament
Landrew120880
Sounds good.
Out Cast
R.I.P. Scott
Frisbieinstein
Who overmixed the drums?