Today’s slow drag is with “I Almost Had a Weakness,” from “The Juliet Letters,” released in 1993. The songwriting is credited Elvis Costello’s birth name. As mentioned in episode 12 of Slow Drag with Remedy, entitled, “The Maddening Smile,” this entire album was borne of a single writing prompt: write a letter. Then, pairing Elvis Costello’s exquisite voice with the lush and exacting sound of the Brodsky Quartet, an entire masterwork was created. The first line of this piece, “thank you for the flowers,” gives us a clue as to what sort of letter “I Almost Had a Weakness” is. Thank you for the flowers I threw them on the fire And I burned the photographs that you had enclosed God, they were ugly children So you're that little bastard of that brother of mine Trying to trick a poor old woman 'Til I almost had a weakness A long-lost aunt, duty-bound to reply, but a woman who is not beholden to any social constraints, nevertheless. The slant rhyme of for/flowers/fire/photographs draws us into this tart piece of correspondence nicely. As with so many of Elvis Costello compositions, there is much that is revealed line by line, compounding intrigue upon intrigue, confirming and confounding as it goes. The four lines that follow the initial thank you, and the seemingly harsh response of throwing flowers and photographs on a fire, go on to unleash the vitriol through sharp imagery when the flower sender’s true motivations are deftly revealed: trying to trick a poor old woman. This is subjective, of course, at least for now. This first verse cuts through social conventions and defies its norms. A thank you note has devolved into a wonderfully paranoid rant. It’s a farce that could easily find itself as a pithy one-act stage play. Thankfully, Elvis Costello is an overachiever. “I Almost Had a Weakness” continues on for two more rant-filled verses of family correspondence. Last week Cousin Florence bit your Uncle Joe Hit him on the forehead with a knife and a fork Said that he looked like the devil Then she said... "pass the vinegar", I'm beginning to think That I'm the only one who hasn't taken to the drinking of it Though I almost had a weakness It’s all a bit mad, which Elvis Costello captures beautifully in linting tones that betray the gravity of the situation. Pairing the mundane with the sinister, highlighting the paranoia and the indifference to it all. And, of course, the brilliant slant rhyme of vinegar and beginning. French for “sour wine,” the mention of “vinegar” draws a pretty straight line to the idiom, “sour grapes,” which means to disparage something that you want but cannot have. The expression traces back to Aesop’s “The Fox and the Grapes,” where a fox tires itself out by leaping for and failing to reach a high branch of grapes, ultimately walking off in disgust. The moral, “There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.” The spirit of sour grapes runs through this phrase: it portrays both its literal and figurative forms in one swift motion as Cousin Florence finds the vinegar just out of her reach. As you probably know, Elvis Costello uses the idiom “sour grapes” in a drive-by metaphorical hit in “Trust’s” “Watch Your Step,” written 12 or so years before “I Almost Had a Weakness”: “They’re just two bitter kids from a bunch of sour grapes. You better watch your step.” And while many writers have familiar tropes and allusions that run through their canon, such as John Irving with wrestling and Charles Dickens with poverty, the possible little call backs and through lines in Elvis Costello’s work appear cleverly dressed up or dressed down and sprinkled sparingly so that they feel entirely novel from piece to piece. It pains me to mention These delicate concerns But while I have to tolerate you family jewels I really mustn't grumble 'Cause when I die, the cats and dogs will jump up and down And you little swines will get nothing Though I almost had a weakness Shifting an expression out of kilter ever so slightly, in this instance, “you family jewels,” instead of “your family jewels,” the flower sender’s family with the ugly children, are the possessions who are getting passed around within this family. Just another great example of how masterful Elvis Costello’s pen is. All these wonderfully withering comments, all the cunning vitriol, all the hope of decorum that disintegrates with the proclamation: “and you little swines will get nothing.” — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “I Almost Had a Weakness” from 1993’s “The Juliet Letters.” It’s a snide and clever tragicomedy that provides a cheer for the hero of the story at the end. Its use of suspense, misdirection, idiom, and phase busting conveys so much more than the mere 150 words themselves that are found in this piece. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. You can follow us on Twitter at slowdragremedy. We follow back. Visit our companion blog for transcripts and other useful references included in each episode. I highly recommend listening to episode 12 of Slow Drag with Remedy for a slow drag with “Damnation’s Cellar,” a gorgeous piece that is also found on “The Juliet Letters.” 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 |