Today’s slow drag is with “White Knuckles” from “Trust,” released in 1981. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. “White Knuckles” might have been released in 1981, but it’s germ can most likely be traced back to pre-1977’s “Wave a White Flag,” a little bedroom-recorded acoustic ditty only brought to light for most of us with the re-issue of “My Aim is True” on Rykodisc in 1993. The last known live performance of “White Knuckles,” as noted by the invaluable “Elvis Costello Wiki,” was in November of 2013. Why do I mention this? Well, in the immortal words of Elvis Costello from nearly 40 years in the future from when “White Knuckles” it was released, “those were different days, those were different drugs.” White knuckles came down to put the frighteners on I believe she's the one that he's got his heart set on It doesn't matter if your face doesn't fit There's no charge for changing it With a deceptively simple aa/bb rhyme construction, using the identical rhyme of on/on to begin, this first verse is chock full of idioms, metaphors, at least three mentions of different body parts, and some keen alliteration thrown in at the end. In the first line alone, we have the title words that depict a display of extreme excitement or fear, the tight grip of “white knuckles.” Immediately following this vivid metaphor is an early calling card of Mr. Costello’s work, a distinctly British idiom, “put the frighteners on,” which means to intimidate or threaten someone. Put together, it seems we have the groundwork for a tumultuous young love story. Knuckles/heart/face begin the many mentions of body parts that’ll be found throughout the piece. Face/fit and charge/changing provide a pleasing sound to an otherwise sinister proposition. Oooh ooh What are you doing You see right through him You don't have to take it when he gets cruel As if to drive the point home from the first verse that something is not quite right, here’s a warning, a pep talk, a bit of admonition perhaps. It is starting to feel very much like a product of its time. White knuckles on black and blue skin You don't have to take it so you just give in White knuckles sweatin' on the headboard Never found out what the kisser was for There are so many dark traits hanging around and hiding behind these four simple lines. “Black and blue” denotes something habitual, a back story if you will, a cycle. The end rhymes of skin/in and headboard/for hem in more mentions of body parts. Two mentions of the white knuckles, then skin, and finally, a provocative and aggressive sounding slang word, “kisser,” that evokes old-timey bravado, such as when Ralph Kramden of “The Honeymooners” proclaimed “one of these days, Alice, pow right in the kisser.” The phrase, “never found out what the kisser was for” has the ability to send us in so many different directions, with an exact meaning never actually decided upon. Just another example of Mr. Costello’s brilliance. Losing face with the boys while she's whispering in his ear They never found out why they called it laughing gear Maybe they weren't loved when they were young Maybe they should be hung by their tongues Face, ear, tongue, and laughing gear are four more body parts mentioned in this piece, but there’s so much more to it, isn’t there? To “lose face” means to be embarrassed or humiliated, accusing “the one that he’s got his heart set on” of unsavory behavior, it seems. In the parlance of our time, this is what we might call “victim blaming.” Then, to add a synonym we didn’t know we needed, “they never found out why they called it laughing gear” swoops in to provide another British idiom and to further amuse ourselves with inexact meanings. Oooh ooh Under the blankets with the body jerk He needs her like the axe needs the turkey Thinking of après all this fancy footwork Jerk/turkey/work, they add such a melodic punch to his second bridge. Does “body” count as a body part mention? If so, then we’re up to eight. Or does it disqualify itself from our count due to its reference to a spasm? What a great way to insinuate the word “jerk” into the conversation. The expression, “like the axe needs the turkey,” is an idiom that means to be extremely attracted to someone. Also referred to as “like the axe wants the turkey,” it’s an idiom that’s referenced in the 1941 film, “The Lady Eve,” with Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck. It’s a movie about deception and how it turns into obsession. White knuckles on black and blue skin Didn't mean to hit her but she kept laughing White knuckles sweatin' on the headboard Never found out what the kisser was for Is it still a chorus if a line changes? If so, here’s a chorus, only with the second line changed. In the first mention, it was, “you don’t have to take it so you just give in,” now we’re venturing back into “Wave a White Flag” territory with a more distancing, rounded edge of “didn’t mean to hit her but she kept laughing,” as opposed to the first-hand account in “Wave a White Flag”: “oh but you didn’t have to laugh that way,” There's always someone new to toy with when the penny drops in the slot Now it's a petty crime on the news at nine, but it's all she's got Love on the never never dreams don't come cheap I don't close my eyes when I go to sleep Slot/got, cheap/sleep. Each verse has followed the same aa/bb rhyme structure throughout the piece. It should come as no surprise how well structured this complicated piece truly is: so far, we have slow dragged with a verse (in aa/bb structure), a bridge, a chorus, a second verse, a second bridge, another chorus with alternating second line, and now this third verse. This will be the final verse before one more bridge, two more rounds of the changing second line choruses, and an ending coda. I can’t decide if this last verse is a confession, a regret, a qualification, or merely a well-placed change of topic, or possibly it’s a little bit of everything or nothing at all. Let’s be quick to point out how Mr. Costello’s pronoun placement is in top form. With “I don’t close my eyes when I go to sleep,” it’s the only place in the piece where he uses the first person “I.” It nearly recontextualizes everything that has come before it. Oooh ooh It gets right under your skin It makes you as miserable as sin You don't have to take it so you just give in Doubling down on the sentiment posited early on, “you don’t have to take it so you just give in.” It’s as if the final verse tried but made no difference in the lives of these romantics. Why you don't come round anymore Mother said He's using you Sister said I told you so too When he goes to your head You took it to be true As with many a tense and tumultuous love affair, it can run off your friends and lead to people who don’t usually give their opinions to speak up. “When he goes to your head, you took it to be true” is both a great parting shot and a way to send this entire piece back into a circular argument that starts the piece all over again. — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “White Knuckles” from 1981’s “Trust.” Beautifully structured, cleverly told with all the metaphors and idioms we love, this piece is nevertheless from a very different time. Somehow, though, its message keeps the tarnish off its reputation. It might very well be a cautionary tale to young lovers who seem to mistake tumult for passion, sex for love, and violence for a physical embrace. Other gems from “Trust” you’ll enjoy a slow drag with are episodes 18, “Rowdiest by Slightest,” a slow drag with “Luxembourg,” episode 41, “Money’s Gone Already,” a slow drag with “Clubland,” episode 66, “A Lifer at Large,” a slow drag with “Fish n Chip Papers,” and episode 80, “Hobson’s Choice,” it’s a slow drag with “Pretty Words." And as always, thank you for helping to get the word out about this little passion project. Truly, it means the world. So, until next time, adieu, my little ballyhoo. 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 |