Today’s slow drag is with “Men Called Uncle,” from “Get Happy!!,” released in 1980. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. According to the liner notes from 1989’s glorious mishmash of old, new, and obscure pieces, of which is piece appears, “Girls, Girls, Girls,” “Men Called Uncle” was “an amused look at true love and romance as offered (at a discount) in the nightclubs of America.” Now there's newsprint all over your face Well maybe that's why I can read you like a book Just when I thought I was getting my tasty bite I go and lose my appetite The joy and the peril of the chase. The newsprint launches this first line into a clever simile on the second, with a slight hint of fish and chip papers that seems to validate itself at the end. In a way, however, it puts me in mind of tar-like mascara that’s so sharp and thick at the beginning of the evening of drinking, but is then smeared and unruly by the end. What seemed so promising has been diluted by gin and getting to know someone better. Then comes the chorus, an extended glimpse into this lowly lit nightclub. Look at the men that you'd call uncle They'd like to sink their teeth into you For the pride and the pleasure And the privilege of having you The theme of appetite continues to extend itself. “For the pride and the pleasure and the privilege of having you”: it makes a stammering, popping sound when reeling off this alliteration; it rhymes and with and, then cinches it rhythmically with you/you. As we’ll soon see, however, only the first line of this evocative chorus will survive the rest of the song. If I say you're the one, do you think that I'm serious? You get that kind of talk from older men If I say I love you then I must be delirious So why are you trying to put my temperature up again? Relying on the a/b structure, this verse, rhyming serious/delirious and men/again, these words skirt past objectification, at least not in terms of personal gain at any rate. It merely wonders aloud how anyone can fall for these pickup lines. It’s amusing to think of how many times in our romantic lives we’ve chosen willful ignorance for want of a good flirt. Look at the men that you'd call uncle Having a heart attack round your ankles Uncle/ankles. Now the pride and the pleasure and the privilege of having you is implied. I know the liner notes claim this takes place in a nightclub, but it’s always struck me as a more much lurid strip club scene, with dancing women perched on a high stage, giving the old men a view from below, just out of reach. When you wake up with X-rated eyes When you wake up still shaking How can I apologize As you check your effects and check your reflection I'm so affected in the face of your affection The previous verse with its clever cluster of popping sounds was a wind up for this verse’s barn burner collection of words strung together. First, the X-rated eyes; it’s like having X-ray vision, but not needing it, since there are no clothes to be seen through. Eyes/apologize. Perhaps this sentiment will go on to be echoed in the next year’s “Trust,” “New Lace Sleeves” with the line, “Shy apologies and polite regrets.” The use of rhyme and slant rhyme together draws heavily upon the quirks of the English language. Check/effects, the linking a and f sounds, and then ending with reflection/affection: “as you check your effects and check your reflection. I’m so affected in the face of your affection.” Clever words that prove they’re not just pretty as they reveal the sequence: Dress, grab your purse, put your makeup back in place, and end with a friendly kiss. I could swear, I could promise that I'll always be true to you But we may not live to be so old I could even say I'm going to do something new to you Now the girls I see just leave me cold Still using the a/b structure, rhyming old/cold, and course, you/you, the familiar and effective habit of rhyming a word with itself. No one is fooling anyone in this scene. Look at the men that you call uncle... The chorus has shortened with each telling, leaving the scene, leaving the entire piece with an open-ended observation, or is it an admonishment? And if so, who is being berated? — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Men Called Uncle” from 1980’s “Get Happy!!” There are many reasons to like this 2:16 piece: the structure, the alliteration, the diminishing chorus that seems to track with late-night articulation after many drinks and small talk have been ingested. The story itself, again, highlights the lack of objectification, even in the face of willful objectification. It might sound preachy, but it’s important to continue to notice how it’s possible to make provocative statements that aren’t at the expense of someone else’s dignity. Even if it’s what everyone “did back then,” Elvis Costello’s words remain a bellwether of good taste and inspired human observation. 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 |