Today’s slow drag is with “They’re Not Laughing at Me Now” from “Hey Clockface,” released in 2020. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. As I hope this podcast has demonstrated, we can learn so much when we slow down the more frenetic Elvis Costello of a long time ago. There’s pure genius going by at a hundred miles per hours. Recent Elvis Costello endeavors, while they might not require as much deceleration, still continue to pack a joyous punch of contradictions, subterfuge, and misdirection. Now, I’m not saying all these attributes can be found in this one piece. But I’m not saying they aren’t either. What I am saying is his smooth voice is only rivaled by this sharp tongue. For every failed poet who aspired to emulate Mr. Costello, myself included, “They’re Not laughing at Me Now” demonstrates how to wield purple language and make it crisp and inviting, instead soggy and cringeworthy. Tell me, how does it feel? In the hour of deception and the moment of pretend To be scorned by those rank and those unkind strangers You were fool enough to call your friends Will you say as the curtain descends? "They're not laughing at me now" Of the myriad words and phrases that Mr. Costello has set to rhyme, he never seems to rely on the familiar or the easy. The off-meter rhyme of pretend/friends/descends gives this verse a running start toward its thesis statement that will go on to be heralded and then turned on its head. Notice how “They’re not laughing at me now” is placed with quotes around it. It’s not the narrator uttering these words…not yet. Of course, this verse evokes a stage, but I’d like to hope the descending curtain is metaphorical, not one of death, but of triumph, those small triumphs can add up, just like the “small humiliations that your memory piles on.” When the last of the garlands and laurel crowns and fine bouquets have all been swept away You were lost in the smokescreens and cavalcades and accolades instead of traitor's pay Where will you find the courage to say? "They're not laughing at me now" This verse in particular puts me in mind of the silly poems I used to write; filled with big words strung together that threatened to blow away at the slightest provocation. What was lacking was the gravity to keep it nailed down. And this is the master class Mr. Costello is conducting with this verse. All it took was a tweak of the thesis statement, asked in a thoughtful manner that funnels all of the florid imagery that came before it, giving depth and importance to an otherwise spiteful notion. You could shake my hand If I could unfold my fist If I were a gentleman If I were a Christian But I wouldn't risk it Why would you? You know my name now And it's "Mister" to you. There are so many things to like about this bridge; the repetition of “if I,” the effortless comingling of rhyme, slant rhyme, and consonance with hand/fist/gentleman/Christen/risk it, the pointed question of “why would you,” and then my very favorite turn of phrase, “you know my name now and it’s “Mister” to you. It’s put someone, I don’t know who, but it’s certainly put someone in their place. Now we're back at the start, no forgiveness in your heart, you turned your coat and asked me to turn my cheek And it's all in a language that I can understand but never bring myself to speak I'll leave it to you, if you dare It's a peal too appalling to bear I wonder if you're here or you're there They're not laughing at me now This final verse follows an incredible aa/bb/ccc structure. Start/heart, cheek/speak, dare/bear/there. Just gorgeous. The line, “and it’s all in a language that I can understand but never bring myself to speak,” is a great example, I think, of how we can use contradiction and/or subterfuge to paint the negative space around the sentiment. I can hear this line twisted: I speak the language but I’ll never understand. That’s my thoughts. Mr. Costello, on the other hand, makes every line so much more interesting. And then, wouldn’t you know it, just as he’s done since a little record called “My Aim is True,” Mr. Costello has taken a phrase and driven it a mile away from where it began. In the first verse, there’s “Will you say as the curtain descends, ‘they’re not laughing at me now,’” then in the second verse, there’s “where will you find the courage to say, ‘they’re not laughing at me now,’” and finally in this last verse, after that swashbuckling bridge, ‘I wonder if you’re here are you’re there, they’re not laughing at me now.” There are no quotes surrounding that last use of the phrase. This devise takes it from a question in the second person to a statement in the first person. It’s all, I dare say, downright Gestalt in its construction. Proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, and closure. — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “They’re Not Laughing at Me Now” from 2020’s “Hey Clockface.” Greater than the sum of its parts, this piece capitalizes upon flowery words and sour sentiments. It’s so well constructed, slowing down in unexpected places, making the listener feel as if they’ve stumbled. All the better to take our time with it. The entire “Hey Clockface” album was put together in such a difficult time. What started as the Helsinki sound, ended with Mr. Costello’s typical firebrand defiance. Another gem from “Hey Clockface” you’ll enjoy a slow drag with is Episode 99, “Listen to Me,” that’s a slow drag with “No Flag.” So, until next time, adieu, my little ballyhoo. 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, “They’re Not Laughing at Me Now” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/They%27re_Not_Laughing_At_Me_Now “They’re Not Laughing at Me Now” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_uR6jvQKAI Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y 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 |