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))).
Where Love Has Died
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd pack my things and I'd leave you
Hitch myself to some westbound train
You'd never see me here again
If I could dream as I once could
I'd be gone, and gone for good
I don't wanna live, and I never tried
We once had love, but it's gone now
Don't know where, don't know how
We're two strangers under one roof
No need to lie, we both know the truth
Love is gone, there's nothing left
I want to leave, I can't help myself
I don't wanna live, and I never tried
In some old house where love has died
Too many ghosts have walked the floors
Ghosts of a love that ain't no more
I'd like to have what we once had
But it's over now, and that's too bad
You're too much a part of me
For me to be ever free
We keep living and ever tried
In some old house where love has died
The lyrics of Scott Walker's song "Where Love Has Died" tell the story of a couple whose love has died, leaving them as nothing more than strangers living under the same roof. Walker paints a picture of a broken home in which the ghosts of a love that once was haunt the floors. The singer expresses a yearning to leave, to hitch himself to a westbound train and be gone for good, but acknowledges that he's too tied up in his partner to ever be truly free. The song is permeated by a sense of futility, of being stuck in a rut that one cannot escape, and of having tried and failed to keep the flame of love alive.
The verses of the song are punctuated by two memorable refrains: "I don't wanna live, and I never tried / In some old house where love has died," and "Too many ghosts have walked the floors / Ghosts of a love that ain't no more." These refrains serve to reinforce the feeling of being trapped in an unhappy situation, of being a prisoner of one's own memories of the love that once was. The song is a poignant exploration of the pain of lost love, and a lamentation for what could have been.
Line by Line Meaning
If my years were less, and my shoes were new
If I was younger and had a fresh start, I would leave you.
Hitch myself to some westbound train
I would run away and leave everything behind.
You'd never see me here again
I would disappear from your life forever.
If I could dream as I once could
If I could have hope and optimism again.
I'd be gone, and gone for good
I would leave and never come back.
I don't wanna live, and I never tried
I don't want to live like this, and I haven't even tried.
In some old house where love has died
Living in a loveless home with bad memories.
We once had love, but it's gone now
Our love has disappeared over time.
Don't know where, don't know how
We can't pinpoint the exact moment it happened.
We're two strangers under one roof
We live together, but we don't know each other anymore.
No need to lie, we both know the truth
We don't have to pretend everything is okay, we both know it's not.
Love is gone, there's nothing left
Our love is gone, there is nothing left to save.
I want to leave, I can't help myself
I want to leave, but I feel trapped.
Too many ghosts have walked the floors
There are too many memories of our past love.
Ghosts of a love that ain't no more
Memories of a love that no longer exists.
I'd like to have what we once had
I wish we could have our old love back.
But it's over now, and that's too bad
Our love is over, and it's sad.
You're too much a part of me
I can't imagine my life without you.
For me to be ever free
To be truly free, I would have to leave you.
We keep living and ever tried
We keep going and trying to make it work, even though it's hard.
In some old house where love has died
Living in a loveless home with bad memories.
Contributed by Zoe S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Morkel Jakeson
Why do people dislike these covers albums? I like them quite a bit. His voice and phrasing are everything
Willem Vandeursen
It depends on the covers. Some classic popsongs have been covered to death. With Scott it's - like you stated - his voice and phrasing that lifted them above par. He could have made bubblegum pop sound great, and Neil Diamond (whom I absolutely abhor...)
franzitaduz
Just discovered him in the Brel Sogs…. This was a unique voice from an insightful man singing of life. „Where does brown begin“…. Poignant! He was too classy and versatile for the country audience to embrace him. Great arrangement of the Bill Withers tune….
Anthony Mead
'Someone who cared' was released as a single in 1973 - the NME slated it to hell. The best thing he ever did and the point where I knew I was listening to a genius. Beautiful man.
Damian B
He had been delivering on all fronts, steaming ahead on overdrive, living possibly the greatest rock & roll/TV/film star calibre highlife... lowlife London-centric writers tend to hate that.
Dave D Music
The NME was always from its inception to the day it went bust a haven for wankers
stwads
@Damian B He wasn't living the high life at all. Scott himself was low key & turned his back on " showbiz". The man stayed true to himself & returned on his own terms facing criticism & ridicule & ultimately triumphed. He was a genius!
Damian B
@stwads oh sure but did enjoy Black Russians in clubs with the Stones fraternity, and date the odd playboy bunny: she was his his intro to Brel! He apparently became introvert later.
Anthony Mead
The silky power, harmonic delivery of note touches the soul - grabs it with both hands, won't let it go.
keith stevenson
23 Dec 2019 I did not know Scott recorded CW material. His voice: so deep, smooth, with perfect diction. We have lost an amazing voice.