Wold was born in Oakland, California. When he was four years old, his parents split up. His father played boogie-woogie piano and Wold tried to learn when he was five or six, but could not. At the age of eight, he learned to play the guitar from K. C. Douglas, who worked at his grandfather's garage, later realizing that he had been taught the blues. Douglas wrote the song "Mercury Blues" and had played with Tommy Johnson in the early 1940s. Wold left home at 13 to avoid abuse at the hands of his stepfather, and lived rough and on the road in Tennessee, Mississippi and elsewhere, until 1973. He would travel long distances by hopping freight trains, looking for work as a farm labourer or in other seasonal jobs, often living as a hobo. At various times, Wold worked as a carnie, a cowboy and a migrant worker. Paraphrasing H. L. Mencken, Wold described this time of his life by saying "Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three."
When asked about his nickname, Wold has said: "because it's just true: I always get seasick". When he was ill on a ferry from Norway to Copenhagen, later in his life, a friend began playfully using the name and, despite Wold not rising to it for a while, it stuck. When asked about his name on British Sunday morning television show, Something for the Weekend, he replied, "I just get sick on boats". On Top Gear, when asked about his name, Wold replied "Well, I guess I just don't like boats!"
Wold made his first UK television appearance on Jools Holland's annual Hootenanny BBC TV show on New Year's Eve 2006. He performed a live rendition of "Dog House Boogie" on the "Three String Trance Wonder" and the "Mississippi Drum Machine". After that show his popularity exploded in Britain, as he explained in an interview:
"I can't believe it, all of the sudden I'm like the cat's meow!"
He was well received in the UK, winning the 2007 MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act and going on to appear at major UK festivals such as Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury. In 2007 he played more UK festivals than any other artist.
Wold toured early in 2008, playing in various venues and festivals in the UK. He was joined on stage by drummer Dan Magnusson. KT Tunstall also dueted with Wold at the London Astoria in January 2008.[20] Wold also played many other festivals throughout the world in 2008, including Fuji Rock in Japan, East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Australia, also in April 2008,[21] and Roskilde in Denmark.
Wold's major-label debut, I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left was recorded with Dan Magnusson on drums, was released by Warner Music on September 29, 2008, and features Ruby Turner and Nick Cave's Grinderman.
He has toured the UK extensively since 2007 being supported by Duke Garwood, Gemma Ray, The Sugars, Billie the Vision and the Dancers in January 2008, Amy LaVere in October 2008, Melody Nelson at the Brighton Dome on 7 October, and Joe Gideon & The Shark in January 2009. His tours in October 2008 and January 2009 were all sold out and included performances at the Royal Albert Hall, the Edinburgh Queen's Hall, the Grand Opera House in Belfast, the Apollo in Manchester, the City Hall in Newcastle and the London Hammersmith Apollo.
In 2009, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist, That same year, BBC Four broadcast a documentary of Wold visiting the southern USA entitled Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home. On January 21, Wold hosted "Folk America: Hollerers, Stompers and Old Time Ramblers" at the Barbican in London, a show that was also televised and shown with the documentary on BBC Four as part of a series tracing American roots music.
In an interview with an Australian magazine, Wold attributes much of his unlikely success to his cheap and weather-beaten guitar, "The Trance Wonder" and reveals the guitar's mojo might come from supernatural sources. "I got it from Sherman, who is a friend of mine down in Mississippi, who had bought it down at a Goodwill store. When we were down there last time he says to me, 'I didn't tell you when you bought it off me, but that guitar used to be haunted'. I say, 'What are you talking about, Sherman?'. He says, 'There’s 50 solid citizens here in Como who'll tell you this guitar is haunted. It's the darnedest thing – we’d leave it over in the potato barn and we'd come back in and it would be moved. You'd put it down somewhere and the next morning you’d come back and it would have moved. When you took that guitar the ghost in the barn left'. He told me this not very long ago and I said to him, 'Sherman! Why didn't you tell me this before?' and he said, 'Well the ghost was gone – I didn't want it around here no more!'"
On January 3, 2010, Wold appeared on the popular BBC motoring show Top Gear as the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car. He was the last star to drive in the blue Chevrolet Lacetti.
In February 2010, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist for the second consecutive year.
In 2010, Wold made numerous festival appearances throughout the summer, including the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, the main stage at V Festival, the main stage at the Hop Farm Festival and many more.
In February 2011, Wold signed to Play It Again Sam to release his new album with the exception of the US, where it will be released on Third Man Records. Subsequently his new album You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks was released on his new labels and it was announced that former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones had played on the new album, and performed alongside Wold to promote it.
On 16 August 2014 he was the headline act at Beautiful Days in Exeter, UK, and on the 24th August he headlined at 'Victorious Festival' in Southsea, Portsmouth, UK.
Purple Shadows
Seasick Steve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fall across
And they soften
Everything they touch
And they give me
A place to hide
And the moonlight
All around
These troubles down
And cool the awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
I hear your echo
On the run
Them damn tears
They start to come
And they will dry me up
And I'll simply
Blow away
But while I'm blowin'
In the wind
Surely gonna feel again
Your soft skin
And remember
The awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
And the moonlight
All around
Surely gonna wash
These troubles down
And cool the awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
In "Purple Shadows," Seasick Steve sings of the power of the night and how it can offer solace to those who seek refuge from the constant struggles of love. The "purple shadows" are a representation of the mysterious and calming darkness that falls across everything it touches. The lyrics convey the idea that the moonlight and shadows will take away the pain and heartache of love and provide a respite from the "burningness." He refers to the burningness of love multiple times in the song, which seems to represent the intensity and all-consuming nature of love. The troubles and tears that often come with love can be calmed and soothed by the loss of oneself in the dark and cool moments of the night. The lyrics are all about giving into the emotions that come with love and allowing the darkness to wash them away.
The repetition of the chorus throughout the song helps to emphasize the message that the night can provide a release from the burningness. The verse about hearing the echo of the person's voice on the run represents someone who is either absent or no longer around. The tears that come with the thought of losing that person will eventually dry up with time and the person will "blow away." However, the memories will still be there, and the "soft skin" of the loved one can be remembered even in the darkest of times.
Line by Line Meaning
Them purple shadows
The shadows colored with purple that are visible fall across.
And they soften
These colors soften everything they come into contact with.
Everything they touch
The shadows cover everything they encounter and render it soft.
And they give me
I find solace in these shades of purple.
A place to hide
I discover a sanctuary in these shadows.
And the moonlight
The soothing light of the moon.
All around
The moon's light is everywhere.
Surely gonna wash
It will certainly cleanse.
These troubles down
These worries will wash away.
And cool the awful burningness
It will extinguish the tormenting fire.
Of love
Of the complex and troubled emotion of love.
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
I'm speaking of the intense sensation of love's passion.
Yeah, the burningness
Yes, the all-consuming burningness.
Oh, the burningness
Oh, the ever-present burningness.
We will cool down
We will find peace and relief.
The awful burningness
The stinging and oppressive sensation of love's fervor.
I hear your echo
I can still hear the sound of your voice, even though you are gone.
On the run
I am always on the move, trying to evade my past.
Them damn tears
Those painful tears.
They start to come
They start to flow.
And they will dry me up
They will ultimately leave me unfeeling and empty.
And I'll simply
And I will then have no choice but to simply.
Blow away
Disappear and fade out of existence like a gust of wind.
But while I'm blowin'
But for the moment that I'm fading away.
In the wind
In the endless gale of time.
Surely gonna feel again
I will certainly experience once more.
Your soft skin
The sensation of your soft skin.
And remember
And I will recollect.
The awful burningness
The unbearable heat of love's torment.
We will cool down
We will find tranquility.
The awful burningness
The excruciating ache of love's passion.
Of love
Of the complicated and chaotic emotion that is love.
Contributed by James W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vítor Viana
Them purple shadows
Fall across
And they soften
Everything they touch
And they give me
A place to hide
And the moonlight
All around
Surely gonna wash
These troubles down
And cool the awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
I hear your echo
On the run
Them damn tears
They start to come
And they will dry me up
And I'll simply
Blow away
But while I'm blowin'
In the wind
Surely gonna feel again
Your soft skin
And remember
The awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
And the moonlight
All around
Surely gonna wash
These troubles down
And cool the awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
Philip Geraci
This stuff is 1000000xs better than anything pop stars are putting out now days.
Andrew Knapp
That's because he's not a pop star, doesn't play pop, and would probably be dreadful at it. You can't compare apples and oranges.
MB2340
This is real handmade music from a guy love what he do.
Time for free time
Well, if he don't like pop music, then why the fork is he listening to pop music
Vítor Viana
Them purple shadows
Fall across
And they soften
Everything they touch
And they give me
A place to hide
And the moonlight
All around
Surely gonna wash
These troubles down
And cool the awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
I hear your echo
On the run
Them damn tears
They start to come
And they will dry me up
And I'll simply
Blow away
But while I'm blowin'
In the wind
Surely gonna feel again
Your soft skin
And remember
The awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
And the moonlight
All around
Surely gonna wash
These troubles down
And cool the awful burningness
Of love
I'm talkin' 'bout the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
Oh, the burningness
Yeah, the burningness
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
We will cool down
The awful burningness
Of love
Young Based God
Steve is a real poet. He's gotten me through some darker times.
Fritz Ritzinger
So true.
They call me M.
Purple Shadow is my personal life song and is part of my tattooed sleeve. This song has helped me through the tough times after a separation.
Thank you Steve, for bringing it into my life. ❤️
Bernd Kohler
How does he do it...yes indeed. Steve is unique. When I have a bad day, Steve his music and humor gets me out it
Danny Ingram
Straight from the heart, lives it