Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying that sarcasm is the highest form of intelligence, but the lowest form of wit. Modern day sarcasm, it seems, can be distilled down to two words, “yeah, right.” So, it seems that it doesn’t take a genius to come up with a snarky remark. Take, for example, a recent Elvis Costello concert review. The article’s subtitle is “and the encore didn’t suck either.” Bemoaning everything from the “muddied” sound mix, to Mr. Costello’s “rumpled gray suit,” the reviewer, Eric Snider, wanting for both intelligence and wit, went around the block three times to give a compliment that was wrapped in fingernail gazing apathy: “Artists tend to breathe a little easier when they’re comfortably ensconced in legendhood and the world regards them as one of the top songwriters of their generation,” he said. Clearly, sarcasm is not Eric Snider’s strong suit. The official twitter retort to this crybaby review, on the other hand, drips with wit, intelligence, and an abundance of self-restraint: “Snider by name, Snider by nature.” Intelligence and wit, therefore, might not live on opposite poles as Wilde once quipped after all. My name is Remedy. And this is an appreciation. This is an exploration of linguists, language, poetry, and staying true to your own vision as framed by the peerless poetry of the modern day master, Elvis Costello. --- Dig it Today’s slow drag is with “Living in Paradise,” from “This Year’s Model” released in 1978. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. The finished product appears on Elvis Costello’s second, and “The Attractions” first album, but the roots of the lines go back well before even “My Aim is True.” Both the early and the published versions use roughly the same structure: three verses and a chorus. And while the chorus is the same for each version, the verses become increasingly different as the song progresses. In terms of theme, the earlier version appears to be idle musing about fame and mortality, whereas the published version is more pointed toward fidelity and the not so subtle art of jealousy and revenge. So, let’s take this slow drag a little out of order. First, let’s hear the anchoring chorus that runs through both: Here we are living in paradise, living in luxury Oh, the thrill is here but it won't last long You better have your fun before it moves along And you're already looking for another fool like me It’s that last line, “and you’re already looking for another fool like me” that somehow takes an unexpected turn from the first three lines yet slots into both versions nicely. Both versions use paradise and luxury as an ideal, but ideals that have fallen well short of the mark. The first verse of each version concludes with the same two lines, changed slightly by pronouns and conjunctions. Here are the first four lines of the earlier version. Every day I see a rich man in a poor man's disguise He's counting on the future while the past plays on his mind Once when he had diamonds replaced in his eyes He couldn't see so well, but ooh how they shined Introspective. Moody. Fanciful. The end rhymes are staggered: disguise/eyes, mind/shined. Compare this inward look with the published version’s first verse. I don't like those other guys looking at your curves I don't like you walking 'round with physical jerks Everything they say and do is getting on my nerves Soon they will be lucky to be picking up the perks The can hear the same staggered rhyme scheme on display in the published version: curves/nerves, jerks/perks. Still standing next to the action and not actually in it, interestingly, the pronoun has shifted from “he” to “I,” yet it’s still focused on the second person, as in “your curves.” “He’s counting on the future while the past plays on his mind” is self referential, but it’s an observation, a projection much like “I don’t like you walking around with physical jerks.” These shifts in pronouns and conjunctions inform the final two lines. For the earlier version, the lines start respectively with “and” and “he”: And when they pull the shutters down and throw up in the dark He finds that all the dogs outside bite much worse than they bark This is opposed to the published “‘cause” and “they’ll.” 'Cause when they pull the shutters down and throw up in the dark They'll find that all the dogs outside bite much worse than they bark There in this version there is someone “in the know,” a narrator in the published version; there’s a cause and effect. When they do something, they’ll learn something he already knows, as opposed to what he himself finds out in the earlier version. These small shifts of language create a different kind of power relationship. The first two lines of the next verse diverge greatly, yet both come back together with nearly the same ending four lines. Well place your hand upon your heart and tell me you won't lie Are you holding out for guarantees before you go to die This version as you can hear still clings to the second person, even though it feels a bit more self referential. The published version, on the other hand peaks behind the curtain a bit, revealing the first person with a little less projection and a little more personality. I call you Betty Felon 'cause you are a pretty villain And I think that I should tell them that you'd make a pretty killing 'Cause meanwhile up in heaven they are waiting at the gate Saying "We always knew you'd make it, didn't think you'd come this late" And now it's much too dangerous to stop what you've begun When everyone in paradise carries a gun Note those last four lines. The only difference between the versions is “’cause meanwhile up in heaven” versus “but meanwhile up in heaven” of the earlier version. These small changes continue to distinguish the power dynamic. “Because” is an explanation. “But” is a negation. Here we are living in paradise, living in luxury Oh, the thrill is here but it won't last long You better have your fun before it moves along And you're already looking for another fool like me As mentioned, this is the same chorus in both versions. Any similarities past the cadence end in the third verse, however. Where the published version lashes out, the first version goes deeper into introspection, still stuck in the thinly veiled second person. Looking down upon the earth you still can't understand How I can't argue with the man who's got the money in his hand You talk as if you had no choice, you took all you could grab But it looks just like a bed, but it must feel just like a slab You don't have to worry and you don't have to try Just lay down your body, it's a lullaby Here we feel the seemingly dire choices we are forced to make throughout our in lives. Confusing a bed with a mortuary “slab.” Trying is difficult. There’s always someone we have to answer to. Whereas dying, or giving up, is easy. Just “lay down your body, it’s a lullaby.” It seems a bit downtrodden, less than optimistic, to be sure. But it’s not vengeful or angry. That was left to the published version: Later in the evening when arrangements are made I'll be at the keyhole outside your bedroom door 'Cause I'm the first to know whenever the plans are laid That never go further than floor to floor You think that I don't know the boy that you're touching But I'll be at the video and I will be watching The ramshackle meaning of paradise persists through each version, yet one is more literal while the other is more figurative, more mocking. A relationship filled with suspicion, jealousy, and covert confirmation is much different than a “rich man in a poor man’s disguise.” The early version seems to care little for love or loss, focusing instead on material gain and the earthly sacrifice needed to obtain these riches. The published version brings this bitter point home with a repeat of “here we are living in paradise” four times before the final chorus of how the thrill is gone. The lingering effects of a relationship marred by jealousy, perhaps. The earlier version, conversely, leaves the repeated lines until after the lament of how the thrill is gone and how “you’re already looking for another fool like me.” Perhaps this is in the aftermath of naively being taken for a ride by a sly impresario, having sold his soul for pennies in the negotiations. It’s exciting to be able to place separate versions of one piece side by side, to glimpse the creative process of a true master. A change in pronoun here or there, a familiar rhyme scheme to work within, or a different perspective seems to only augment the anchoring chorus. The result of comparing these two versions is remarkable in so many ways; in particular, the bouncing from the concrete to the abstract and back in such a way that embeds, that obscures the conceivably sarcastic through line. -- Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Living in Paradise” from 1978’s “This Year’s Model.” It was a great opportunity to do an a/b comparison between two versions of one piece and to see how drastically a few changes here and there make so much different. The simple shift from “but” to “because” is remarkable. In the end, it’s a sardonic piece that feels far more optimistic than the words intend. These a/b comparisons are only possible due to the re-releases of older and demo material. And what an utter treasure trove of insight and intrigue they are. 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/Living_In_Paradise Companion Blog: https://slowdragwithremedy.home.blog/2019/12/01/episode-20-living-in-paradise/ Concert Review, “Creative Loafing: Tampa Bay” by Eric Snider https://www.cltampa.com/music/reviews/article/21096905/elvis-costello-gives-hardcore-fans-the-goods-at-st-petes-mahaffey-theater 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 |