Today’s slow drag is with “You Little Fool” from “Imperial Bedroom,” released in 1982. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. It’s an impassioned pop song glimpse into the very beginning of a coming-of-age story that is usually reserved for the more distancing past tense, rather than present tense. The titular “you” might suggest a sort of scolding directed toward a young girl. Yet, the strategic use of pronouns might reveal a different story as we take a slow drag with these incredible lyrics. As we will see, when the boy in this story is mentioned, he is on an island, all alone with his thoughts and feelings; there are no supporting characters past the girl herself. Whenever the girl in this story is mentioned, on the other hand, it’s typically alongside mentions of her father, her mother, and what seems to be her first crush. Maybe it’s not fair to keep banging on about it, but Imperial Bedroom was released when Mr. Costello wasn’t even 30 years old yet. How was he able to slide around in the sticky angst of puberty that he’d only left a decade before, when the rest of us at that age seemed to deny these kinds of events even happened? It’s just another testament to a prolific career that was destined to thrive over the next 40+ years to come. Daddy's best girl in the world is not supposed to have a boyfriend But she's never wanted at home Other girls are allowed to wear their makeup She sneaks out her lipstick, powder and comb Straight from the jump we are witness to a complex story that necessarily follows any narrative of human relations. “Daddy’s best girl in the world” is subverted by the revelation that “she’s never wanted at home.” If our most trustworthy relationships are fraught with these sorts of contradictions, what hope do we have of venturing out into the world of romantic love? She surrounds his name with hearts and flowers Talks on the telephone for hours and hours But with a bird in his hand And two on a string The words of love have an imitation ring The staggered rhyme pattern throughout this verse dazzles in its use of rhymes that have different spellings, such as home/comb, flowers/hours. Hearts and flowers and talking on the telephone for hours situates the girl in a very believable, and familiar, throes of a first crush. Easily guessed at, perhaps. But this is what I mean by Mr. Costello’s word economy. He has taken the shortest path to the heart of where a girl’s heart lies; no metaphor, just truth, pure imagery. The boy’s predicament, on the other hand, is much more nuanced, and as a consequence, more crushing. With a brilliant restatement of the idiom “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” a string replaces the word bush, just after we hear the familiar British English slang for woman. Then the whole vision dovetails nicely into a metaphor about how something sounds insincere as it evokes cheap costume jewelry. Well, I ask you, is it possible to overuse a word such as “genius” in light of all this compounding evidence? You little fool, you little fool I suppose that you're going to stay all night You little fool Don't look at me that way, you know it isn't right You little fool As mentioned, the pronouns in this piece are used to perfection. And now with this chorus, who exactly is the “you” in this circumstance? And perhaps more intriguingly, who is the first-person narrator speaking to “you”? “Don’t look at me that way.” Is it the girl finding her strength and pushing the boy aside? Is it the boy warning her off? Or, is it an older man, much like the school principal Mr. Costello portrays in the piece’s music video? It’s fun to picture it in all different ways in order to think about each potential outcome. In the end, it’s simply a genius imponderable that helps to keep this relatively old piece alive and relevant. They say no news is good news The little girl wants information Mother just gives her some pills to choose And says go and use your imagination I love the mondegreen that inhabits this bridge that sums up “the talk” and the consequences of not really having it. “Mother just gives her some pills to…” I’ve always heard “chew,” which becomes a nice slant rhyme with news/use, yet the lyrics on the very reliable Elvis Costello Wiki page notes that it’s “some pills to choose,” making it a smoother rhyme, and an even more harrowing scene. Free will is a great thing, of course, but to have it so young makes the first line “no news is good news” sound as if it actually comes as quite a surprise. Daddy's best girl in the world says just look what I got As she sits beside him on the high stool With his arm around her neck, snowball in one hand And the other full of imitation jewels And here again, she’s referred to as “Daddy’s best girl in the world,” leading to the possibility that she is not the “little fool.” She seems beside herself with pride. Stool/jewels is another exquisite rhyme pair. If “the high stool” is British slang for something, perhaps a bar stool in a more grown-up place, please let me know. Nevertheless, it does seem to hold more weight than just a mere mention of a place to sit. “Snowball”: again, an economy of words to depict the inexperienced/childish expression of romance. The imitation jewels call back to the imitation ring above, only this time it’s become more tangible. The lyrics in the demo version of this piece are nearly identical, except for the beginning of this verse that instead starts: “and you’re so surprised she’s up to hijinks out on the high stools.” In this version, the “you” of “you little fool” gets its only reference outside of the chorus, and places “Daddy’s girl” into more of an antagonist role, as opposed to the innocent role of having to use her “imagination.” The second line in the demo, “sitting with a snowball in one hand, the other full of imitation jewels” makes it unclear who exactly is holding these items. A small flourish of a pen and it changes the mood of the piece drastically. She fingers a string of pearls An imitation but he'll never know it Imitation lashes flutter above Looking for an imitation of love Is it the pearls or her actions that the boy will never know are imitation? I’d like to believe both. Mistaking body language is a boy’s rite of passage into an adulthood of misinterpreting signs. The last part of this second verse feels as if it turns the tables just a bit, a femme fatale in the making? She’s stringing him along, knowing it’s not the “real” thing, maybe? The chorus of “you little fool” does immediately follow the reality of how “he” (note the stellar pronoun use?) will never know “it.” —Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “You Little Fool” from 1982’s “Imperial Bedroom.” It’s a piece with fewer than 200 words, yet there is so much going on, and so much more that could be assumed to be going on. It’s a very grown-up piece about a typically immature topic that has the ability to speak to many people, regardless of other life experiences. And let me be quick to point out yet again that there is not a hint of misogyny in this piece, just the opposite, really. The boy is criticized and questioned for his behavior and actions, not the girl. If I had to say who I believe is the “you” in “you little fool,” I’d be apt to say it’s the boy. Then again, I could be wrong. That’s the triumph of free will. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. Other gems from “Imperial Bedroom” you’ll enjoy a slow drag with are episode 14, “Silly Beggars Can’t Be Choosers,” a slow drag with “Pidgin English,” episode 31, “Verbal Gymnastics,” a slow drag with “The Loved Ones,” episode 68, “Nothing but an Afterthought,” a slow drag with “Man Out of Time,” and episode 82, “In Your Heyday,” a slow drag with “Human Hands.” Show Notes: Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy Email: [email protected] Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag References: Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “You Little Fool” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/You_Little_Fool “You Little Fool” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYmVfF3WX_Q “You Little Fool” Demo version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEo40X9_HUs Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” Comments are closed.
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AboutSlow Drag with Remedy is an Elvis Costello podcast appreciation. It's an exploration of linguistics, language, poetry, and clever wordplay as framed by the peerless poetry of the modern-day master, Elvis Costello. Slow Drag by Song
Poor Napoleon Alibi Church Underground The Big Light Georgie and Her Rival Joe Porterhouse No Hiding Place 20% Amnesia All This Useless Beauty Let Him Dangle King of Thieves Damnation's Cellar Stripping Paper Pidgin English Riot Act Bedlam The Quickening Art Luxembourg Chemistry Class Living in Paradise My Mood Swings Waiting for the End of the World Little Atoms Two Little Hitlers Crimes of Paris You Tripped at Every Step Needle Time Men Called Uncle Peace in Our Time The Loved Ones I Almost Had a Weakness Our Little Angel Invasion Hit Parade Turpentine Miracle Man A Voice in the Dark The Greatest Thing Satellite Hand in Hand Clubland Tart Glitter Gulch Stations of the Cross Science Fiction Twin Possession This Sad Burlesque Flutter and Wow Soul for Hire After the Fall Blue Chair Monkey to Man Mouth Almighty Watch Your Step ...This Town... Distorted Angel Worthless Thing No Dancing Miss Macbeth Charm School Poor Fractured Atlas Brilliant Mistake My Little Blue Window Suspect My Tears Coal Train Robberies Fish 'n' Chip Papers I Hope You're Happy Now Man Out of Time 13 Steps Lead Down Go Away Sweet Pear The Name of This Thing is Not Love Jimmie Standing in the Rain The Deportees Club The Birds Will Still Be Singing Starting to Come to Me Pay It Back Five Small Words Pretty Words Radio Silence Human Hands Night Rally I'll Wear It Proudly Motel Matches Drum and Bone Harpies Bizarre Nothing Clings Like Ivy Why Won't Heaven Help Me Next Time 'Round The River in Reverse A Room with No Number Clown Strike The Invisible Man My Most Beautiful Mistake All the Rage The Town Where Time Stood Still Episode of Blonde e of Blonde No Flag A Slow Drag with Josephine That Bridge I Burned Sour Milk Cow Blues You Little Fool Spooky Girlfriend Suit of Lights There's a Story in Your Voice Dishonor The Stars The Other Side of Summer Mischievous Ghost They're Not Laughing at Me Now White Knuckles Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind? Black and White World The World and His Wife
God's Comic The First to Leave Green Shirt The Man You Love to Hate Lip Service American Gangster Time Blame It on Cain The Spell That You Cast Lipstick Vogue The Difference Stella Hurt Tears before Bedtime |