Today’s slow drag is with “The World and His Wife,” from “Punch the Clock,” released in 1983. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. If this piece were written by a lesser, or to be charitable, even just a different songwriter, we might be tempted to wonder if the events that unfold in this saucy tale were drawn, at least in part, from the writer’s real-life events. I cannot speak for you, of course, but for me anyway, this sort of pondering had never even crossed my mind. It hadn’t, that is, until this very moment in our slow drag. I take each Elvis Costello song on its face value, unless I’m told otherwise, with say, “Veronica” for example. But now that it has crossed my mind, I’ve rejected the notion, and have instead conjured a vision in my mind of our modern-day master himself conjuring in his mind own narrative whilst casually observing a neighbor’s rowdy garden party, perhaps. The family circle gathers 'round from very far and near To pass around the same remarks they passed away last year The little girl you dangled on your knee without mishap Stirs something in your memory and something in your lap Joy, banality, and a bit of brewing scandal come to life in four short lines in this first verse. The way this piece has set down is a fairly rare occurrence in the Mr. Costello pantheon, in that it has an aa/bb rhyme scheme, near/year, mishap/lap. This seems to assistant in yet another brilliant use of cognitive dissonance, a devise that is found in abundance in this pantheon. But it's a living This is the life For the world and his wife The world and his wife The idiom, “the world and his wife,” meaning a great many people, takes the place of any number of pedestrian descriptions of who these sorts of things happen to, namely, everyone. What is more, it’s simply remarkable that this short chorus, three novel lines in total, are all in themselves idioms. “It’s a living” helps to downplay an accomplishment. “This is the life” has the wonderful ability, in this context, to be either sincere or sarcastic regarding the current enjoyment of a particular situation. As you are probably very familiar with, the so called “live” version of “The World and His Wife,” a slower version, has two additional lines to begin the chorus, “the juniper berry has a very deadly kiss / I would say that something here is very much amiss.” Gin, of course, is made from juniper berries. These lines, at once, judge the situation and explain it away. And while it changes the voyeuristic view of the original, it is still set down in an /aa/ pattern. I’m glad I know both versions, as they help to provide different forms of theatrics. The kissing cousins slip outside to cuddle and confess She says sweet nothing at all, it's much more of a mess The conversation melts like chocolate down their open jaws As the juniper berry slips down just like last night's drawers Confess/mess, jaws/drawers, which doesn’t seem to rhyme in my accent, but nevertheless, we’re still working with the same jaunty aa/bb rhyme structure. And, this is another example of how we lesser poets and songwriters can learn a thing or two about a thing or two from the master. Instead of using the “gin” reference in the chorus, the juniper berry “slips” just like the “kissing cousins” “slip” out in this version. There’s no judgement, just observation. To tell the truth our Mum ran off with someone else's father Went for two weeks' holiday in Taramasalata Daddy went out with the rubbish and he kept on walking Between Mum and the walls God only knows who does the talking Father/Taramasala (again, my accent ruins this great rhyme), walking/talking. Still faithful to the structure. Taramasalata, Mr. Google tells me, is made from cured cod roe, mixed with olive oil and lemon juice. If there is an actual place with this name, please let me, and Mr. Google, know. It sounds delicious no matter what. I imagine this verse to be a conversation, a comparison of notes, if you will. Family member A: My mum ran off. Family member B: I went on holiday. Family member C is quick to cut in: My parent ran off too, but in a more shocking, heartbreaking fashion. Oh, how people love to “one up” each other. Then, all family members together: “between mum and the walls / god only knows who does the talking.” But late time in the evening through the tears and fol-de-rol Come the sentimental feelings for the lure of vitriol Longing thoughts go hankering for the old home overseas With a blindfold and a national anthem sung in different keys Overseas/keys, fol-de-rol/vitriol, just because he’s kept to a consistent rhyme structure doesn’t mean he has to be boring about it. Fol-de-rol, meaning nonsense, and vitriol, meaning cruelty, pair together nicely to capture the silliness of all this family histrionics. Of course, my favorite rhyme pair of Mr. Costello’s is ado/ballyhoo, but fol-de-rol and vitriol might be a close second. These words aren’t just pretty faces, however, oh no. The “sentimental feeling for the lure of vitriol” reminds us how they gather ‘round yearly to go through these same machinations. It’s stunning in its ability to sum up complicated emotions. I imagine you have some mental image of what the blindfold is for. I can’t say as I do. I suppose I wouldn’t have thought much about the national anthem “sung in different keys” had it not been spit out with, well, what sounds like complete vitriol. Someone, it sounds, has had enough. And, just one final comment on the difference between the recorded and live versions while we’re on this verse. Worded a little differently, this verse nevertheless stays pretty much intact, except for the first line in the live version, “through the loud appeal of laughter and the counting of score draws,” which changes the next line, the recorded version’s first line of this verse, from “but” to “and.” “And late time in the evening…” Mr. Costello and his conjunctions, brilliant. Again, Mr. Google informs me that a “score draw” is a soccer term which is the result of the match where “both teams have scored at least one goal, and then score the same number of goals.” All this talk of cheating moms and dads, it seems only apt to count up their statistics and conclude they’re all equally as bad. — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “The World and His Wife” from 1983’s “Punch the Clock.” So many idioms, so many messy scandals, all told in a very structured rhyme scheme. The contrast between the recorded and live versions are slight in reality, yet they both add their own particular flare. The live version is fed up from the beginning, the recorded version throws a bit of a fit right at the very end, maybe due to the caterwauling that’s meant to be a family singalong. Other precious gems from “Punch the Clock” you’ll enjoy a slow drag with are episodes 11, “Blow the Whistle on the Whole Design,” a slow drag with “King of Thieves,” episode 38, “His Tribute of a Rose,” a slow drag with “The Greatest Thing,” episode 60, “Sotto Voce,” a slow drag with “Charm School,” episode 94, “Faster and Faster,” a slow drag with “The Invisible Man,” and episode 97, “No Amount of Darkness,” a slow drag with “The Town where Time Stood Still.” 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. Show Notes: Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/ Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/indoorfirewords.bsky.social Email: [email protected] Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag References: Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The World and His Wife” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_World_And_His_Wife “The World and His Wife” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4wgrLmdVaI “The World and His Wife” Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJTTmA_vvs “The World and His Wife” idiom: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/world-and-his-wife#:~:text=a%20great%20many%20people%2C%20especially,his%20wife%20will%20be%20there. “It’s a Living” idiom https://www.englishforums.com/English/ItsALiving/mkphd/post.htm “This is the life” idiom https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/this-is-the-life “Score Draw” https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/score-draw#:~:text=Word%20forms%3A%20plural%20score%20draws,the%20same%20number%20of%20goals. 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 |