Elvis Costello Fan Forum

An angry song directed at a man who uses women to get back at one who rejected him. It seems a rather altruistic sentiment until one realizes that the narrator has been rejected in favor of this cad. The lyrics are extraordinary, everything fits together like a timepiece. The emblems of youth and be...

In his Esquire interview EC said he doesn't do "joyful" well. But he excels at darkness, in this song and its companion piece on North 'You Left Me in the Dark.' There is darkness and gloom that feels total and devastating. "I'm lost, I have abandoned every hope. Maybe you'll understa...

A list song done brilliantly, cataloging the difficulties of love at high verbal velocity, to the accompaniment of a powerful rock beat. Double meanings abound: lover's walk can be a romantic place or it can feel like walking the plank. EC said there were hints in it of the disintegration of his fir...

The liner notes to the reissue of Mighty Like A Rose reveal that the song was inspired by a newspaper article stating that the body the composer Bela Bartok would tour through Europe before burial. It touches on the frailty of life, the caprices of fame, and the finality of death, sometimes with dar...

Mr. Misery, thanks for transcribing this. Did it also come with the interviewer's questions, or come as is? I'm just wondering how EC was prompted to come up with his responses. You're welcome and I appreciate your courtesy, Bambooneedle. I transcribed the article exactly as it appeared in the maga...

I had the same reaction as Lapinsjolis, though I didn't want to editorialize in the initial post. EC is usually brilliant in interviews, I think this was just an off day. He says that we are merely animals with instincts, but it completely lacks logic to say that that's where music and romantic poet...

Perhaps Romeo has other ways of communicating with you... :wink: 'Expert Rites' is a seldom discussed song, old ways and spiritual emotions are contrasted with harsh modern realities: "I marvel at the wonder of it in our soulless age." The singer is united with the woman he addresses becau...

Last year an extremely nervous boy appeared at my door selling magazine subscriptions. I shocked and delighted him by agreeing to buy one, and chose Esquire because it used to feature interesting writers. My purchase did wonders for the kid's self-confidence. I heard him give a much more convincing ...

Grim housing and even more grim family life are highlighted, although times and manners change the cycle of violence between the generations can tragically continue. EC's vocal delivery is suitably savage, his anger almost palpable.

Romeo's Seance.

Co-written by EC and Aimee Mann. A bitter song about being hurt, leavened with humor: "Remember when I cried/ And swore I'd never wash the lips you kissed/ I bet you're really glad that I lied." An improved lyric that brings into focus the theme is found on the version titled 'Fall of the ...

Written by Steve Nieve and a collaborator, EC sings it feelingly to an insistent piano-driven backdrop. I like the line about the "polythene world" and the girls who visit but "escape" the next morning, while the focus narrows to someone truly loved: "He's so sad about this ...

I love the wordplay here, with notions of legal tender/tenderness, bankrupt/at a loss, counterfeit/insincere and the line "You might get much more than you bargained for." The delivery is urgent, as is almost all of my favorite EC album Get Happy!! ; the reissue features an interesting slo...

A torch song and a very powerful one. He's often accused of excessive wordplay (when he should be celebrated for doing it at such a high and artistic level) but here the words are as straightforward as the pain and regret. The line "when I think back a couple of days" has always moved me; ...

Another example of a minor artist turning down the work of a genius, as Phil Collins refused 'Seconds of Pleasure' from Elvis Costello. It's not a work of genius in itself, but very witty (perhaps that was the stumbling block) and mordant. It has lyrics later incorporated into the songs 'Love Went M...

North seems to me an organic whole, it is to be listened to of a piece, and every single song is worthy though all will have their individual preferences. I'm baffled by reactions sometimes--such as disappointment with the first three songs, which are very moving and beautiful to me--but again that...

She evidently thinks "opine" means he's pining after Cait. There are obviously many words and much music that she doesn't comprehend, and like a black hole in space her darkness is not penetrable. "Fallen," which made the reviewer laugh aloud (what a disturbing image), is such a ...

An obscure delight. I remember discovering it as the b-side of the single Everyday I Write the Book and transcribing my best version of the lyrics. It treats the lure of indulgence in the night life of the city, and the prices paid in money and remorse. A number of memorable lines: "There's a c...

Welcome back! You describe the delirious despair so well, Lapinsjolis. There is a sense of disillusionment in "Inch by Inch" ("Write my name in heaven in invisible ink/ I just woke up from dreaming I think") combined with a heavy erotic undertone that makes up in passion what it ...

All the words you say to me Have music in them All the sorrows and the joys Like magnetism A selfish boy looks through a prism And says what is but never asks what isn't. Read these beautiful, artfully rhymed lines (music in them/magnetism/prism) and then re-read the Independent's review and you'll ...

I heard this in the supermarket today:

"The next time I fall in love I'll know better what to do
The next time I fall in love it will be with you."

I don't know if Peter Cetera wrote that, but oh did he sing it!

It's wonderful, I think you will love it.

My favorite CD is the first, Live at the Troubadour, with brilliant readings of "Temptation" (in a new arrangement) and "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself," among others. But all five CDs are great, you are in for a treat.

Lapinsjolis, the poignant song you quote reminds me of a love that used to be. But I forgot about Julie when I found my Juliet. X! "Eternity is in our lips and eyes"--Antony and Cleopatra.

SweetP: Hope you got some shut-eye!

El Vez, about Virginia Woolf and Charles Bukowski being the modern woman and man, I'm afraid you're right. Blue Chair, it has gone off topic, but we should not allow ourselves to be imprisoned by etiquette. Who was it who said: "When the sea was calm all boats alike showed mastership in floatin...

Mr. Misery wrote:There are many beautiful women but it's so wonderful and miraculous when the one who floats your boat has her boat floated by you in return. True love floats my boat!

Well put, Mr. Misery. You have a good heart and a wise perspective.

When Catherine Zita-Jones came on the screen my sister said "Isn't she annoying?" Five minutes later I replied, "Did you say something?" There are many beautiful women but it's so wonderful and miraculous when the one who floats your boat has her boat floated by you in return. Tr...