For some reason I used to hear the "capital punishment" line as "daddy's little girl" . . .
way, way off . . .
Misheard Lyrics
Two Little Hitlers
"why are we racing to be so old"
at first I thought it was "why are we racing to be sold"
Daddy Can I Turn This
"you got a girl you keep in a cage" sounded like "you got a girl, you're cupid and kid"
15 Petals
I took "down in the tavern with Mary and Joe" for "down in the tavern with merry angel"
By the way what is the correct line in Oh Well - "I'm sitting helpless with my paper and..."? Internet sites say it's "paper and charts" but I hear "paper and chalk", besides it makes more sense.
"why are we racing to be so old"
at first I thought it was "why are we racing to be sold"
Daddy Can I Turn This
"you got a girl you keep in a cage" sounded like "you got a girl, you're cupid and kid"
15 Petals
I took "down in the tavern with Mary and Joe" for "down in the tavern with merry angel"
By the way what is the correct line in Oh Well - "I'm sitting helpless with my paper and..."? Internet sites say it's "paper and charts" but I hear "paper and chalk", besides it makes more sense.
Libraries filled up with failed ideas
There's nothing more for me there
I trust in tender ink and gentle airs
There's nothing more for me there
I trust in tender ink and gentle airs
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Monkey Girl
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 9:09 am
- Location: North Carolina
Hi Meg,
I was not familiar with the song "Oh Well" ...and wondered why....so I did some research. This comes from a Bright Blue Times review of When I Was Cruel. Link:
http://www.astheygo.com/wiwcbbtreview.html
Still don't know about the correct lyrics!
POSTSCRIPT: There is some confusion as to the album's "official" running order, as it varies from country to country. In the US and mainland Europe, the album has 15 tracks, while the UK edition adds a 16th song, "Oh Well." The song, co-written with Q-Tip, is another aborted number from the "Prison Song" movie-- it is a somber, sad song which fits in between "My Little Blue Window" and "Episode of Blonde." Meanwhile, the Japanese edition adds a 17th track, a cover of the song "Smile" which Costello has recorded for a Japanese TV show.
All this confusion begs the question: Is "Oh Well" just a "bonus track"? Or is the US missing out on a vital part of the "complete" album? And what about "Smile"?
My two cents: "Oh Well" isn't included on the European vinyl release of WHEN I WAS CRUEL, which is a 2-LP set. My first instinct would be to consider the vinyl version to be the definitive running order, but then again, "Coal Train Robberies" wasn't included on the vinyl issue of SPIKE, so maybe not.
Then again, Costello has remarked that he prefers the album WITHOUT "Oh Well." And I have to admit that it seems a shame to break up "My Little Blue Window" and "Episode Of Blonde" which run together so well.
AND SO, the answer is: I like the album better without "Oh Well." But US listeners ARE missing out on hearing another good song, which definitely belongs in the same musical neighborhood as the rest of WHEN I WAS CRUEL. And "Smile," which I have NOT heard, sounds more like a "bonus track" which probably doesn't sit well as part of the album as a whole. But then again, I've been wrong before...
POST-POSTSCRIPT: Now that the dust has settled, it is clear that US listeners seem to have gotten the best of both worlds. The US version of WHEN I WAS CRUEL has 15 tracks, and "Oh Well" can be found on the limited edition CRUEL SMILE, along with other b-sides and bonus tracks from other territories...
I was not familiar with the song "Oh Well" ...and wondered why....so I did some research. This comes from a Bright Blue Times review of When I Was Cruel. Link:
http://www.astheygo.com/wiwcbbtreview.html
Still don't know about the correct lyrics!
POSTSCRIPT: There is some confusion as to the album's "official" running order, as it varies from country to country. In the US and mainland Europe, the album has 15 tracks, while the UK edition adds a 16th song, "Oh Well." The song, co-written with Q-Tip, is another aborted number from the "Prison Song" movie-- it is a somber, sad song which fits in between "My Little Blue Window" and "Episode of Blonde." Meanwhile, the Japanese edition adds a 17th track, a cover of the song "Smile" which Costello has recorded for a Japanese TV show.
All this confusion begs the question: Is "Oh Well" just a "bonus track"? Or is the US missing out on a vital part of the "complete" album? And what about "Smile"?
My two cents: "Oh Well" isn't included on the European vinyl release of WHEN I WAS CRUEL, which is a 2-LP set. My first instinct would be to consider the vinyl version to be the definitive running order, but then again, "Coal Train Robberies" wasn't included on the vinyl issue of SPIKE, so maybe not.
Then again, Costello has remarked that he prefers the album WITHOUT "Oh Well." And I have to admit that it seems a shame to break up "My Little Blue Window" and "Episode Of Blonde" which run together so well.
AND SO, the answer is: I like the album better without "Oh Well." But US listeners ARE missing out on hearing another good song, which definitely belongs in the same musical neighborhood as the rest of WHEN I WAS CRUEL. And "Smile," which I have NOT heard, sounds more like a "bonus track" which probably doesn't sit well as part of the album as a whole. But then again, I've been wrong before...
POST-POSTSCRIPT: Now that the dust has settled, it is clear that US listeners seem to have gotten the best of both worlds. The US version of WHEN I WAS CRUEL has 15 tracks, and "Oh Well" can be found on the limited edition CRUEL SMILE, along with other b-sides and bonus tracks from other territories...
Monkey Girl
You haven't heard Oh Well - does that mean that you have't heard When I Was Cruel No.1 either? To me Oh Well has something in common with Soul For Hire and Radio Silence, while When I Was Cruel No.1 - with Alibi. Lucky you are, how I wish I had a couple of When I Was Cruel songs I haven't heard yet! When I Was Cruel No.1 is kind of outlet for me now - I was so crazy about WIWC and I couldn't find that sound, that attitude and that spirit in any other Costello's works(to say nothing of non Costello's works), I listend to the album over and over again, almost with tears, thinking that I would never hear anything like these unique sixteen songs, that Costello wouldn't repeat this thing anymore...and how I wanted to! I want, I want, I want another When I Was Cruel, I don't care if it's secondary, I want more of it....And a couple of weeks ago I got a little piece of it - When I Was Cruel No.1....one more wonderful song from a kid's beatbox with orange buttons...and the last one.
P.S. It's paper and chalk. no doubt.
You haven't heard Oh Well - does that mean that you have't heard When I Was Cruel No.1 either? To me Oh Well has something in common with Soul For Hire and Radio Silence, while When I Was Cruel No.1 - with Alibi. Lucky you are, how I wish I had a couple of When I Was Cruel songs I haven't heard yet! When I Was Cruel No.1 is kind of outlet for me now - I was so crazy about WIWC and I couldn't find that sound, that attitude and that spirit in any other Costello's works(to say nothing of non Costello's works), I listend to the album over and over again, almost with tears, thinking that I would never hear anything like these unique sixteen songs, that Costello wouldn't repeat this thing anymore...and how I wanted to! I want, I want, I want another When I Was Cruel, I don't care if it's secondary, I want more of it....And a couple of weeks ago I got a little piece of it - When I Was Cruel No.1....one more wonderful song from a kid's beatbox with orange buttons...and the last one.
P.S. It's paper and chalk. no doubt.
Libraries filled up with failed ideas
There's nothing more for me there
I trust in tender ink and gentle airs
There's nothing more for me there
I trust in tender ink and gentle airs
-
Monkey Girl
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 9:09 am
- Location: North Carolina
Hi Meg,
Cruel Smile is remarkable!....actually prefer it over When I was Cruel. Softer...richer....more complete. Your right...WIWC 1 feels alot like Soul for Hire. Love that song. I can just see EC singing it...spitting just a little as he enuncuates those many words.
Wouldn't it be great to hear Soul for Hire live? WIWC1 as well. I think of that because I have been close enough to see EC spit and it's a sight to see! Endearing, really.
I also have to say I have never been dissappointed with ANY live version of ANY song EC has EVER performed. (should say those that I have seen....I've seen him 6 times over the last 2 years) That's the sign of an awesome perfomer with incredible talent.
It's got to be paper and chalk. I can hear the K!
Cruel Smile is remarkable!....actually prefer it over When I was Cruel. Softer...richer....more complete. Your right...WIWC 1 feels alot like Soul for Hire. Love that song. I can just see EC singing it...spitting just a little as he enuncuates those many words.
Wouldn't it be great to hear Soul for Hire live? WIWC1 as well. I think of that because I have been close enough to see EC spit and it's a sight to see! Endearing, really.
I also have to say I have never been dissappointed with ANY live version of ANY song EC has EVER performed. (should say those that I have seen....I've seen him 6 times over the last 2 years) That's the sign of an awesome perfomer with incredible talent.
It's got to be paper and chalk. I can hear the K!
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spooky girlfriend
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3007
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:19 pm
- Location: Huntsville, Alabama
- Contact:
Bump.
When this thread first started, I wasn't familiar enough with many of EC's songs to participate much, but I've been thinking about this thread a lot lately and decided to dig it back up.
KOA - Little Palaces
"And there's a rat in someone's bedroom
And they're shutting someone's trap"
Sounded like:
"And there's a rat in someone's bedroom
And there's shit in someone's trap"
KOA - I'll Wear it Proudly
"And I wear it like a badge that you put all over my face"
Sounded like:
"And I wear it like a bastard you put all over my face"
Not that that makes any sense. . . . .
When this thread first started, I wasn't familiar enough with many of EC's songs to participate much, but I've been thinking about this thread a lot lately and decided to dig it back up.
KOA - Little Palaces
"And there's a rat in someone's bedroom
And they're shutting someone's trap"
Sounded like:
"And there's a rat in someone's bedroom
And there's shit in someone's trap"
KOA - I'll Wear it Proudly
"And I wear it like a badge that you put all over my face"
Sounded like:
"And I wear it like a bastard you put all over my face"
Not that that makes any sense. . . . .
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StrictTime
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- Location: Philadelphia
- Contact:
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verbal gymnastics
- Posts: 13648
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- Location: Magic lantern land
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just a lackey
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- Location: Boston
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thepopeofpop
- Posts: 414
- Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 7:19 am
- Location: Newcastle, Australia (& Citizen of the World)
Well. this might be four years too late, but I wasn't on this forum four years ago, so there you are!laughingcrow wrote:Something about the moody doomed love of the Fish-Finger King
Noone got an inkling what he's on about then?
It's a joke. It's a pun on The Fisher King :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_King
And what, I hear you say, does this have to do with Charlie Sedarka? Well, around that time (in the late eighties) I remember reading interviews with Sting where he was going on about the Fisher King... For example, his song "The Lazarus Heart" is a retelling of the Fisher King story: http://stason.org/TULARC/music-genres/s ... -List.html
EC is well known for his little digs at Sting. "Look out, there goes Gordon" and all that. So my theory, which we may call "My Theory The First", goes like this: Charlie Sedarka is Sting. Then it basically all falls into place.