Today’s slow drag is with “Hand in Hand,” from “This Year’s Model,” released in 1978. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. It’s a heated discussion filled with veiled threats that are far too charming to be taken seriously. The piece is also structured in a rather unusual way that might have otherwise been overlooked had it not been for this slow drag. No, don't ask me to apologize. I won't ask you to forgive me. If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me It’s amazing to think that in four lines, along with some quick consonance from the /g/ sound, the most prevalent rhyme comes from the four instances of the word “me.” An honorable mention goes the subtle slant rhyme of forgive me/with me. Elvis Costello is a man who can bend a sound into any shape he wants. Phonological brilliance is what it is. Note that, missing only the title, “Hand in Hand,” starts with its chorus. A quick mental rundown of many of Mr. Costello’s other songs, I’ve come up with only “Senior Service” from “Armed Forces” as another example of this structure in his work. Are there more than I’ve overlooked? Other notable songs of that era that begin with the chorus are “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones, “Pretty Woman” By Roy Orbison, and “Roxanne” by The Police. And what a way for a song to announce itself, chorus first. Ground rules and consequences. There’s very little wiggle room when contrition has nowhere to run. Why the declaration, why this ultimatum right out of the gates? Conjecture tells me the first verse might not have caught the ear as quickly as the chorus most certainly has. As it stands, the verse has no need for further preamble. You say 'Why don't you be a man about it, like they do in the grown-up movies?' But when it comes to the other way around, you say you just wanna use me. Oh, you sit and you wonder whether it's gonna be syndicated. You sit with your knees together. All the time your breath is baited. The skillful planting of the rhyming pair use me/movies sends up sparks as they swim in an ocean of /w/ sounds: why/when/wanna/wonder/whether. “Hand in Hand” is shaping up to be some sort of lover’s quarrel, the kind where neighbors hush one another in order to listen. We’ve all done it. It passes the time. But who are the players and who needs to be a “man about it?” Why does the person need to a “man about it?’ This open-ended rebuke enters the vaunted rolls of a timeless assertion. Accusatory, sure, but the infuriating “me? what about you” tactic can be oh so effective when locked in this sort of combat. Hand in Hand No, don't ask me to apologize I won't ask you to forgive me If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me Now that the piece has qualified the chorus with its subsequent verse, this second iteration of chorus, now with the title leading the way, the picture becomes a little clearer. It’s an argument, alright, and most likely a circular one that has been trotted out a few times. Don't you know I got the bully boys out changing someone's facial design, sitting with my toy room lout, polishing my precious china Don't you know I'm an animal? But don't you know I can't stand up steady? But you can't show me any kind of hell that I don't know already This second verse provides little insight into the situation, just a bit more angst, and what a wonderful mash up of images that tumble out of it. Seemingly surrounded by an unsavory bunch, both out in the streets looking for fight, and inside, indulging in more refined activities. It’s all so wonderfully dissonant. The ominous last two lines: “but you can’t show me any kind of hell that I don’t know already” spins the narrative into a different, opaque direction. Hell can take the form of anything we so desire. It’s lines like these that keep this 40+ year old song vivid and alive for ever and always. A “bully boy,” as I’m sure you know, is British slang for a rough and aggressive person, conceivably a male, given the collocation. A “lout” is pretty much the same thing. I love these British-centric phrases that are peppered generously throughout Elvis Costello’s first 9 albums, culminating with “Goodbye Cruel World.” And while “King of America” on through to “Look Now” use wonderful colloquialisms, the more concentrated British idioms certainly shine in his earlier works. As an American, it still makes me feel as if I’m now privy to a secret club where these clever turns of phrases turn out to be the passwords. The first time I heard the term “bully boy” was from “The Young Ones,” when Neil was writing a letter to his bank manager, asking for more money. “Right, okay, here we go,” Neil said after consolation with Mike, Rick, and Vyvyan, “Darling fascist bully boy, give me some more money, you bastard. May the seed of your loin be fruitful in the belly of your woman, Neil.” The piece of paper he has written this one is then promptly thrown in the fireplace for warmth. It’s a very silly show. Hand in Hand. No, don't ask me to apologize I won't ask you to forgive me If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me If I ever get married, I might seriously consider incorporating this chorus into my vows. After all, it does seem to be the best of all worlds. Togetherness, sewn into the same fabric of never needing to apologize and therefore never needing to forgive or to be forgiven. Now all lyrics needs to be cynical. — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Hand in Hand” from 1978’s “This Year’s Model.” For those of you who are familiar with this piece, did you recognize that it starts with the chorus? If not, do you find this fact as enjoyable as I do? I never noticed. I love when what should be obvious somehow remains unrevealed. It’s the small things in life that make me happy. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. It’s been fun scouring the past with you. I’m so glad you’re here. I encourage you to re-listen to Episode 20 of “Slow Drag with Remedy,” “Now It’s Much Too Dangerous,” a slow drag with “Living in Paradise,” another gem from “This Year’s Model.” So, until next time, adieu, my little ballyhoo. Comments are closed.
|
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 |