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))).
dimple
Scott Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eyes glistening in darkness
Like freshly crushed flies
Fourteen bones held together
By avian phlegm
When the whistling has ended
I won't stale again
Slurry soul, unbearable clink
Fraying through tartared chink
Took the Dorgi, left the dent
Frozen fast in the sagging night
4/4 of silence, 5/4 of shame
When the sneezings subsided
I won't stare again
Ink-a-dink-a-dink
(Hej do, hej do)
A-dink-a-dink-a-dink-a-doo
(Hej do, hej do)
Jutland is crooning narcrotic Lorilies
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
Awaiting command
Its huge snout wedged between my thighs
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
Ink-a-dink-a-dink
(Hej do, hej do)
A-dink-a-dink-a-dink-a-doo
(Hej do, hej do)
Jutland is hvining while stars fall in thuds
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
Flattening the cheek, like soft muffled scuds
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
Tongues lick the lead Lego
They won't be denied
If you're listening to this
You must have survived
My only pige passed your only dreng
In Jutland's sheer city
(Farvel, farvel)
November in July
Apropolis lip to where acid-fast fly
Crepey and shiny guanine restrain
While out lifting scalp
I will not glare again
Took the shilling, ditched the score
Frozen fast in the lowering night
In the lowering left-testicle night
The lyrics to Scott Walker's song "Dimple" are cryptic and full of imagery that can be difficult to decipher. The song starts out with the line "November in July," which suggests that the setting is bleak and out of place. The next line, "Eyes glistening in darkness like freshly crushed flies," creates an unsettling image that sets the tone for the rest of the song. The following lines are equally enigmatic, mentioning "aviar phlegm" and "slurry soul," which suggest sickness or disease.
As the song continues, the lyrics become more abstract, using phrases like "Ink-a-dink-a-dink" and "narcotic Lorilies." It's difficult to say exactly what these lines mean, but they add to the strange, dreamlike atmosphere of the song. The final lines of the song mention "lowering left-testicle night," which is both graphic and bizarre.
Overall, the lyrics of "Dimple" create a surreal, unsettling mood that is difficult to shake. The images are vivid and strange, but the meaning behind them is left up to interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
November in July
The season has been inverted, and nothing is as it should be
Eyes glistening in darkness
Tears are being shed at night, without reason or explanation
Like freshly crushed flies
The tears are pointless and fleeting, like the death of a fly
Fourteen bones held together
The body, riddled with disease or injury, is about to break apart
By avian phlegm
The illness is likened to phlegm that is produced by a bird
When the whistling has ended
The sign of breathing has ceased, and the person has died
I won't stale again
The body will no longer decay, as it has been preserved in death
Slurry soul, unbearable clink
The person's soul is weak and crumbling, and the sound it makes is unpleasant
Fraying through tartared chink
The soul is falling apart and leaving behind traces of decay and disease
Took the Dorgi, left the dent
The person has taken their dog (Dorgi) and left behind the mess of their life (dent)
Frozen fast in the sagging night
The person is stuck in an unchanging, dark moment, without hope for a better future
4/4 of silence, 5/4 of shame
The silence is overwhelming and shameful, leaving no room for explanation or redemption
When the sneezings subsided
The symptoms of the illness or allergy have cleared up or ended
I won't stare again
The person will not be caught looking foolish or ashamed again
Ink-a-dink-a-dink
(Hej do, hej do)
A-dink-a-dink-a-dink-a-doo
(Hej do, hej do)
Nonsense words are being used to represent the randomness and confusion in the person's life
Jutland is crooning narcrotic Lorilies
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
Awaiting command
Its huge snout wedged between my thighs
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
The person is in a trance-like state, waiting for someone or something to take control, while feeling violated
Jutland is hvining while stars fall in thuds
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
Flattening the cheek, like soft muffled scuds
(Ingen, ingenting, ingen, ingenting)
Jutland, a place name, is in utter chaos and destruction, with no clear answers or hope remaining
Tongues lick the lead Lego
They won't be denied
If you're listening to this
You must have survived
The lead Lego represents something dangerous or poisonous, and the person is warning others who might come after them
My only pige passed your only dreng
In Jutland's sheer city
(Farvel, farvel)
The singer is saying goodbye to someone they loved, who has died in the chaos of Jutland
Apropolis lip to where acid-fast fly
Crepey and shiny guanine restrain
While out lifting scalp
I will not glare again
The person is dealing with a physical ailment or disfigurement, and is making peace with the idea of living with it
Took the shilling, ditched the score
Frozen fast in the lowering night
In the lowering left-testicle night
The person has given up on their goals or dreams, and is now stuck in a depressing and hopeless state
Contributed by Avery N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.