The Norman Conquest, the Great Vowel Shift, Grimm’s Law: The history of the English language provides insights into its many built-in contradictions. It all depends on how far back you’d like to go, really, and how deeply you’d like to dive into fricatives, shifting sounds, loan words, and inconsistent rules, especially when it comes to verbs and spelling.
The complicated and fascinating evolution of the English Language comes to nothing, however, if we’re unable to communicate with each other. In pragmatics, Paul Grice has broken down the art of conversation into four maxims of what is called the Cooperative Principles of Effective Communication: the four maxims boil down to quantity (give only necessary information), quality (make sure that information is good), relation (make sure the information pertains to the topic at hand), and manner (be orderly and clear with your information). Many argue that there is far more nuance than these four column headings can convey, but it is a good place to start. My name is Remedy Robinson. And this is an appreciation. This is an exploration of linguists, language, writing, and clever word play as framed by the peerless poetry of the modern day master, Elvis Costello. --- Dig it Today’s slow drag is with “Pidgin English,” from “Imperial Bedroom,” released in 1982. The songwriting and is credited to Elvis Costello. Citing “hard-won wisdom” of his lyrics and “extraordinary attention to musical detail,” “The Rolling Stone” magazine review of “Imperial Bedroom,” proclaimed that, “Elvis Costello has made his masterpiece.” Agreed. Yet the review went on to give this masterpiece four out five stars. From the Chinese pronunciation of the English word “business,” the word pidgin was once spelled like the bird, p-i-g-e-o-n, but is now “simplified” to p-i-d-g-i-n. That’s what a Pidgin does; it seeks to simplify the communication process between groups of speakers who are without a common Lingua Franca. This piece is riddled with many drive-by clichés; it breaks many unwritten rules and dabbles in willful mucking about with familiar idioms, yet does so in such a way that many familiar turns of phrases begin to feel novel. There's a young girl with a old man who's too sick to mention She'll be turning twenty seven as she draws her widow's pension But he couldn't catch a common cold he couldn't get arrested Too terrified to answer back / Too tired to have resisted He’s too sick, but can’t catch a common cold, yet there’s a widow’s pension in the offing for the “young girl.” He’s her “old man,” but is he an “old man”? “Couldn’t get arrested,” means he’s unwanted. So far we have two pedestrian expressions that are polished up and placed in a beautiful prong setting. And of course there’s the exquisite consonance of “couldn’t catch a common cold couldn’t.” These first lines remind me of the movie “Brazil”; you think you know what’s going on at first, but then it goes in a direction that’s hard to follow. Who’s terrified? What’s being resisted? It’s possible to cast both the old man and the young girl into this role and come up with decidedly different narratives. And you’ll have to tell me, but I’m pretty sure he sings that the young girl has “a” old man, eliding the word and breaking the use of the article “an” before words with beginning vowel sounds in the process. In this second verse, listen for the idioms: Many hands make light work Shorthand makes life easy When he's out on night work Make sure no one sees me It all ends up in a slanging match with body talk and bruises A change is better than a rest Silly beggars can't be choosers The first of many familiar idioms in this stanza, “many hands make like work,” is credited to the 16th century dramatist, John Heyward, and suggests there are many players in this farce. A “slanging match” as defined by the Cambridge dictionary, means “an argument in which both people use angry uncontrolled language to insult each other.” The familiar expression, “a change is as good as a rest” bends to this poet’s will. The consonance of “better and beggar” is masterful, keeping its meaning clear while confessing there’s a person who wishes to not be seen while someone else is working the night shift. We’ve all heard, “beggars can’t be choosers,” so to place “silly” in front of it effectively brings a different, more contemptible aspect to the well-worn idiom. You’re a fool to mess with someone else’s partner, but if it’s your only option, well then. One of a thousand pities you can't categorize There are Ten Commandments of love When will you realize There are ten commandments of love Who’s talking? Who’s asking? I believe, I trust, I promise, I wish love's just a throwaway kiss In this Pidgin English In searching whether “a throwaway kiss” is a borrowed historical expression, I found a line out of a 2014 book called “Love Letters.” Quote: “Return his feelings? That was how he’d read the meaning behind that silly throwaway kiss?” And while I can’t speak to the quality of this writing, I’m not surprised to see Elvis Costello’s impact on contemporary writers themselves. In this podcast, I routinely use the dog whistle of Elvis Costello lines to entertain myself and other ardent fans, but I refrain from nicking his lines in my personal work. If my work ever gets quoted, I want it to be for something I’ve written or said. There are “ten commandments,” and then there are “ten commandments of love,” which are markedly different edicts. One seemingly does not include the bit about adultery. I’ve always had a theory about what the ten commandments of love are and will address this theory in a minute. First, there’s an eggcorn to contend with: If you're so wise, use your lips and your eyes Take it to the bridge of sighs I’ve always heard this line as the “bridge of sighs,” a reference to the overhead connecting arch walkways found between tall linking court buildings in such places as the famous Venice Bridge of Sighs constructed in 1600. It’s the last place many prisoners see the outside world before they are sent to prison. However, the trusty Elvis Costello wiki page for lyrics tells us in a quote that it’s “’take it to the bridge’” she sighs.” “Take it to the bridge” is a 1971 James Brown song and a lyric from the 1987 Squeeze song, “Hourglass.” Yet, I’m no closer to understanding why or what she’d request to have taken to the bridge. My instinct is to take the architecture route, partly because of the misquote that has been attributed to Elvis Costello. The quote “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” used to very often be attributed to him. From his autobiography, “Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink,” cleared up this misattribution: It was a quote by comedian-musician Martin Mull’s that was “repeated so much among our company that it was eventually attributed to me.” In that same passage, he goes on to say that he was more interested in writing about architecture and leaving the dancing to the experts. Therefore, the bridge of sighs ticks two boxes in favor of my eggcorn. “The Hoover Factory” and the “Quisling Clinic” are two other buildings mentioned in song. It seems he enjoys a bit of Baroque and Art Deco styles. In the next chorus, there are three recognizable idioms, with one slightly exaggerated in the same vein of “a change is better than a rest,” and a couple other expressions that feel as if they’re actual places and organizations. You go cheep cheep cheep between bulleyes and bluster Stiff as your poker face Keener than mustard From your own back yard to the land of exotica From the truth society to neurotic erotica The words “between bullseyes and bluster” sound so natural together, it feel like an old adage. Not to mention how well it ties back to “slanging match with body talk and bruises” line beautifully. As with “a change is better than a rest,” we have “as keen as” elevated to “keener,” slotting in nicely with the –er in bluster and poker before it. And while “Your own backyard” is an idiom to express something very near, the land of exotica and neurotic erotica feel like whimsical places where the overly adventurous and the moderately conflicted reside. The truth society, as written in 1982, might just be defunct now, however, given that “the post truth society” was the Oxford English Dictionary’s “word of the year” in 2016. Quote: “Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion.” The last verse of this clever piece hits the listener with two more clichés before it launches into an impressive list. Silence is golden Money talks diamonds and ermine Silence is golden as money talks. These two idioms are quite well matched. Gold, diamonds, and furs. There's a word in Spanish, Italian and German In Sign Language, Morse Code, Semaphore and Gibberish Have you forgotten how to say it In your Pidgin English? Seven different alternatives, and still there’s no shared language to effectively convey what seems so difficult to say. And here is where my very childish brain developed its own theory about what the “ten commandments of love” are as the chorus repeats and the song ends with a repetition of: PS I love you Simply, the phrase is ten letters long. I did say it was my very young brain that came up with it at the time. Funny, though, I’m still sticking with it. There’s a million ways to not say, “I love you.” Adding it as a postscript turns it into ten simple letters. -- Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Pidgin English” from 1982’s four out of five star “masterpiece,” “Imperial Bedroom.” There are no fewer, and maybe more, than 12 idioms scattered throughout “Pidgin English.” Of the 12, three are amended to fit the narrative: a change is better than a rest, silly beggars can’t be choosers, and keener than mustard. Ermine and German are inspired rhymes, as is gibberish and English. Even “A thousand pities” comes with its own staggering pedigree: It’s the beginning of the Virginia Woolf quote: “it is a thousand pities never to say what one feels.” There is so much borrowing, lifting, and contorting going on in this song, yet each turn of phrase is placed in a pitch-perfect location, surrounded by imagery and alliteration that takes on a life of their own. Thank you so very much for finding this appreciation, this exploration of linguists, of language, and masterful turns of phrases, all framed by the peerless poetry of the modern day master, Elvis Costello.
Show Notes:
---------------------- Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_with_remedy/ Email: [email protected] Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag ---------------------- References: Elvis Costello Wiki Resource: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Pidgin_English Companion Blog: https://slowdragwithremedy.home.blog/2019/10/27/episode-14-pidgin-english/ The Great Vowel Shift: https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/history_early_modern.html Norman Conquest of 1066: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9606163/In-everything-we-say-there-is-an-echo-of-1066.html Great vowel shift: https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/history_early_modern.html Examples of Grimm’s Law in English: https://www.jpetrie.net/examples-of-grimms-law-in-english/ 44 English Phonemes: https://www.dyslexia-reading-well.com/44-phonemes-in-english.html Graphemes: http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/support-files/soundstographemesguide2.pdf Lingua Franca to Pidgin to Creole: http://www.differencebetween.net/language/the-difference-between-pidgin-and-lingua-franca/ Grice’s maxims: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/stylistics/topic12/14cp1.htm Pidgin word etymology: https://www.etymonline.com/word/pidgin Rolling Stone Review of “Imperial Bedroom”: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/imperial-bedroom-117931/ Slanging Match meaning: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/slanging-match “Many Hands Make Light Work,” John Heyward’s idiom: John Heywood Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 26, 2019, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_heywood_158880 “A change is as good as a rest” definition: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/a-change-is-as-good-as-a-rest “Love Letters” “throwaway kiss” mention: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hn0oAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT293&lpg=PT293&dq=%22throwaway+kiss%22&source=bl&ots=72fti9sMam&sig=ACfU3U1IRbQB0dVq0bXNqfBWHJ5C1NnAEQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZmuLB_brlAhWEQxUIHRK8BFwQ6AEwC3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22throwaway%20kiss%22&f=false Hunting down who coined “writing about music is like dancing about architecture”: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/11/08/writing-about-music/ Squeeze, “”Hourglass”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3PWVDzlfQ “Post Truth” Society OED word of the year, 2016: https://www.hau.gr/?i=culture.en.past_event.5196 Virginia Woolf quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/426030-it-is-a-thousand-pities-never-to-say-what-one Rod Stewart Axes Old Songs: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10122753/sir-rod-stewart-me-too-movement/ 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 |