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.
Walking Man
Seasick Steve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Exactly you want me to jump to
And you say walk, I will walk
To the end of the line and back to you
My name is Steve and I'm your walking man
Yes, I am
Well, I ain't got much words to say
Let me write my answer
Down in the sand by the waves
My name is Steve and I'm your riding man
Yes, I am
My name is Steve and I'm your walking man
Yes, I am
If you want me to stay
I'll stash my sleeping roll under your bed
That says more than anything
In my life I ever said
My name is Steve and I'm your staying man
Yes, I am
My name is Steve and I'm your riding man
Yes, I am
My name is Steve and I'm your walking man
Yes, I am
The lyrics of Seasick Steve's song "Walking Man" capture the devotion and loyalty of a man towards his partner. Steve is someone who is always ready to comply with his partner's wishes, whether it is to jump or walk. He is obedient to her commands and is willing to go to the end of the line and back for her. Steve's identity as the "walking man" is established early on in the song, which adds to the characterization of someone who is reliable and dependable.
The next verse has his partner asking him whether he loves her, to which Steve doesn't seem to have many words to say. He chooses to write his answer in the sand near the waves, which is a poignant and romantic gesture. The fact that he chooses to write his answer rather than say it out loud shows his vulnerability and shyness. Despite this, he proclaims that he is her riding man and walking man, which highlights how much he values their relationship.
The final verse has Steve offering to stay if his partner desires him to. He talks about stashing his sleeping roll under her bed, which may be a subtle nod to wanting to move in with her. He believes that this action says more than anything he has ever said, which further emphasizes his devotion and commitment to their relationship. The song's lyrics are heartfelt, and the character of Steve is one that many people can relate to - someone who will go to any length to love and care for their partner.
Line by Line Meaning
You say jump, I say how high
You are ordering me to jump, and I am asking what height should I jump to.
And you say walk, I will walk
If you want me to walk, I will walk for you.
To the end of the line and back to you
I will walk as far as I can, just to come back to you.
My name is Steve and I'm your walking man
I am Steve, and I am willing to walk for you.
You say boy, do you really love me?
You are asking if I truly love you.
Well, I ain't got much words to say
I don't have many words to express my feelings.
Let me write my answer
Let me write my response to your question.
Down in the sand by the waves
I will write my answer in the sand near the water.
If you want me to stay
If you want me to remain with you.
I'll stash my sleeping roll under your bed
I am willing to put away my belongings so I can stay with you.
That says more than anything
This gesture is more meaningful than any words I could say.
In my life I ever said
This gesture is more meaningful than anything I've ever said in my life.
My name is Steve and I'm your staying man
I am Steve, and I am willing to stay with you.
My name is Steve and I'm your riding man
I am Steve, and I am willing to travel with you.
Yes, I am
I am indeed your staying, riding, and walking man.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: STEVE GENE WOLD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Quentin Fernandez
Great connection between the two. The crowd too loves every bit of this.
klistarf
Absolutely! This is beautiful. So chilled. Love it! Love it! Love it! Steve seems such a nice guy, and his talent is unquestionable. Go Steve, you are the man... \m/ (:o)
BLASTER MASTER
Why this guy is not more well known around the world has got me stuffed.He is good.
daveandmerlin
I reckon he prefers it this way .
Dan Collins
Been lucky enough to see this dude a couple of times live 👌🙏 Great musician, great story teller, great charisma…just great
Kevin Scott
This guy once complimented my harmonica playing at a car show in the UK ... probably the greatest music in my musical life..
The next year he brought a harp player with him who was quite frankly brilliant - but it still made me feel good that he thought I could play :-)
Dont go out
Dreadful cal reason walks over him he sounds like a bad country man
James Cagney
The inspiration was given I guess, but us gob smackers need to work hard...
I met many over the years bothe as a gob smacker and a bassist.
My high life was a cup of tea in Elton John Limo and then going back to his house, but I never got to meet him and it was never the intention to meat him.
Seasick is sick by definition I have much respect for his playing, perhaps he got some bad management around him in later life
Penelope G
I just lost my friend who was a father figure to me and he knew what I was talking about when I told him to play that song and this was it ❤️
Harry de Lange
⚘⚘⚘