Today’s slow drag is with “Stations of the Cross,” from “National Ransom,” released in 2010. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. It’s a stunning song, in both sound and intent, the latter of which often remaining just out of reach. This piece explores many forms of brutality, or at least the notion of brutality, or at least that’s my suspicion. Not surprisingly, the images in this piece are moving targets made out of glass and brick. The contradictions are as gorgeous as they are maddening. The tempest blows up from a squall Past the Cape of Bad Conscience Into the Gulf of the Cauldron Roars over the coastline to batter and flatten Exposing the roots like the dyed hair of slattern A squall, deftly paired here in a slant rhyme with cauldron and coastline, is a localized rain storm, typically found near sea. It can also mean to cry out sharply, as if in pain or fright. A tempest is very much like a squall, another word for a storm with severe winds; both involve volatile and often violent outbursts. The word, “blow” hides in plain sight throughout this piece, tapping into its many different definitions as it proceeds. As far as I am aware, there is no actual place named “The Cape of Bad Conscience.” This nevertheless seems to work well as the antonym to the Cape of Good Hope. Drawing a line that the storm takes past this Cape and into the “Gulf of a Cauldron,” which itself is not a literal place either, a picture starts to come into sharper focus. This very well could be a reference to the lingering effects of the 2005 severe weather events wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans, Louisiana. A tempest and a squall: They batter and flatten as they come across the coastline, leaving exposed ground where houses and lives once stood. The simile of roots, comparing torn up structures with the exposed scalp of a slattern is, at once, vivid in the image it wants to convey, and also another stellar example of how Mr. Costello’s lyrics refrain from overtly degrading women. A slattern is an “untidy slovenly woman,” but why bother using a few twenty-cents words when this one five-dollar word will do? Even Miss Macbeth was given the benefit of the doubt: as the song goes, “was she really evil, or was she only pantomime?” Scrapper and mauler in a rope ring this small Outside the wind is punching There's no one to hear it No one hears the bell ring but the one who comes to fear it And they continue to brawl The difference between a scrapper and a mauler is akin to the difference between a tempest and a squall. A scrapper is a fighter, a mauler is combatant. A mauler is a scrapper and a scrapper is a mauler, yet these words have different linguistic feelings surrounding them; one somehow feels blunt while the other feels sharper. These word choices are truly inspired. “A rope ring this small” evokes a boxing ring as it conveys the confinement of the situation. Notice how the wind from the first verse is mentioned again in this verse, rather than blowing, however, it is “punching,” to extend the metaphor. The rhyme of small and brawl bookends the ethereal mention of bells unheard and how someone comes to fear it. It might be gibberish, or it might hold the secrets of the universe. Either way, it’s worth the effort to continue to puzzle through its meaning. I simply don’t have the answer and thrilled that I don’t. This piece buzzes with electricity. He's buying his way into heaven I suppose He weeps at the blows But down in a location that we cannot disclose He turns the dial slowly Through the Stations of the Cross The meaning of “blow” seems unclear in this chorus. Is he weeping at the punches, or is he weeping at the wind’s destruction? Both, I suspect. The dexterity in these lines is something to behold. Here also, we find the title, the stations of the cross, presumably the 14 stations of the passion play of the crucifixion, yet it is nullified, or at least undermined by the double meaning of the word station when paired with how a dial is turning, like that of a radio dial. Crowd done up dandy In diamonds and finery Baying and howling All bloodlusty calling Fists like pistons Faces like meat spoiling Haul, boys, haul, bully-boys haul These first two lines connote an Easter parade, perhaps, where people once took to the streets on Easter Sunday to preen about in their finest new clothes. But then, as quickly as this scene is recognized, we are transported back to the scrapper and mauler match. “Baying and howling,” bloodthirsty. We’re once again provided with two disparate scenes in one finely-tuned passage. Perhaps it might sound strange when exploring a lengthy piece like this, but the economy of words to express this pugilistic scene, “fists like pistons” and “faces like meat spoiling,” sail by smoothly, and are punctuated nicely with the taunt or the cheer of bully-boys haul. Seemingly not content with the complicated world he’s invented thus far, the next two verses feature even more characters to confound and challenge. The result is sheer entertainment. Later in the evening Molly and her gunman Go down the stairs to a dive like a dungeon Meanwhile in the backroom there's a girl like a sponge Saying, "Bring him along as a constable's truncheon" It’s difficult to say if Molly and her gunman are new characters in this piece, or characters who hadn’t been properly introduced until now. The rhyming pair of dungeon and truncheon is a natural fit, but as for a girl like a sponge, the interpretation seems to be left to our individual imaginations. The gunman wants Molly to kingdom come Then blows them all to the hereafter Who's scuttling away now and hidden from our view? Who tightened the tourniquet, turning her blue? As opposed to wind and punches, the use of “blows” in this instance is more in line with killing, presumably initiated by a gunman’s bullet. Kingdom come and the hereafter. As in the previous verses, here we have yet another example of two meanings that are closely related but different enough to create a disruption. They're hurling themselves into heaven I suppose Before the gates are closed But down in a location that we cannot disclose They'll turn the dial slowly through the Stations of the Cross With this chorus, it is no longer one person who is buying his way into heaven, but a raft of people “hurling” themselves. Clearly, the world has turned upside down. The gale of hale laughter Scales up the ivory The black keys of her fine wine descend into the minor Die away breathless Diminishing behind her Haul boys haul, bully-boys haul Hiding in plain sight again, once again, we find the word blow. This time it’s masquerading as a strong wind of healthy and hardy laughter. There is musical joy that turns into a sad song, much like a funeral lament. The water came up to the eaves You'd think that someone had opened a valve It's too soon to stay now and too late to leave So spare your remorse all the way up to Calvary Calvary, of course, calls back to the stations of the cross. There is a conspiratorial aspect to this verse, as if it’s begun speaking in code. The feeling that it is too late to leave is a sinking and familiar feeling, placing it in sharp contrast to the riddle of when it is ever too soon to stay. This entire verse suggests to me that, don’t pretend to regret what is happening as you’re right in the middle of perpetrating so many injustices that you have the ability to put an end to. They're hurling themselves into heaven I suppose Before the gates are closed But down in a location that we cannot disclose They turn the dial slowly through the Stations of the Cross — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Stations of the Cross” from 2010’s “National Ransom.” It’s a complex and challenging piece that twists phrases and pushes the bounds of pragmatic mean to its limit. Tempest and squall, scrapper and mauler, kingdom come and the hereafter, the radio dial and the crucifixion, the shifting meaning of blow. The structure of this piece is rock solid as Mr. Costello details the frailties of the world and the people who inhabit it. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. It’s a mind-boggling piece, isn’t it? Just stunning. As always, though, this is just one interpretation. What do you think? I encourage you to re-listen to Episode 3 of “Slow Drag with Remedy,” “Sing Hallelujah, Sister,” a slow drag with “Church Underground,” as well as Episode 37, “Gallivant in Peg-Leg Pants,” a slow drag with “A Voice in the Dark.” Both episodes are slow drags with more gems from “National Ransom.” 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 |