Today’s slow drag is with “This Sad Burlesque,” from “The Juliet Letters,” released in 1993. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name. This piece, presented in the form of a letter, is part of the many different types of letters that can be found on this album. Paired to perfection with the Brodsky Quartet, the framework of this album was inspired by the centuries-old custom of sending letters of heartbreak to Juliet in Verona, Italy. Written in what feels like faint pencil rather than thick ink, “This Sad Burlesque” uses a light touch as it reports upon gloom and doom. I write in hope by the time you get this letter We may live to see a change for the better Or are we so devoted to these wretched selfish motives? When the cold facts and figures all add up They cannot contradict this sad burlesque What starts with a hope ends in comedy. If we follow the etymology of the word, “burlesque,” it’s from the 17th century Italian word, “burla,” meaning a joke, a parody, a mockery. Interestingly, Mr. Costello modifies this word with sad, yet it’s told using the repetition of the /k/ sound, cold/facts/cannot/contradict/burlesque, the auditory result is a phonetic device often found in comedy: From the book, “Comedy Writing,” Mel Brooks points out that, “instead of saying salmon, [the word] turkey is a funnier sound. It just helps,” he says. Why is the /k/ sound funnier? It could be traced to infancy and how the sound provides comfort, but I tend to think, simply, it sounds kind of like laughter. If I came up to you and said, “moo,” you’d probably wonder what I was on about. Conversely, if I came up to you and said “quack, quack,” you’d still wonder what I was on about, but it would occur while you were chuckling a bit. In sum, in this first verse, the listener is presented with verbal sincerity, the hope for something better, just before what might be considered an oxymoron of a sad comedy is expressed; all the while using inherently comical phonology to tell the story. This sad burlesque With miserable failures making entertainment of our fate Laughter cannot dignify or elevate this sad burlesque The practice of Burlesque is a wonderfully nostalgic pursuit that began in Victorian England in the mid 19th century. Taking culturally lofty material, such as operas and Shakespeare plays, burlesque shows created pantomime extravaganzas rather than sincere art. Today it conjures ornate and risqué dances and costumes, often associated with night clubs and cabarets. Now can they recall being young and idealistic Before wading knee-deep in hogwash and arithmetic? The pitying smirk / The argument that runs like clockwork Will run down eventually and splutter to a stop According to an article I found on “Mashable,” burlesque can also “be applied to literature, music, and theater.” Described as lowbrow by many, the philistine audience were nevertheless assumed to have had a fair level of literacy in order to get the “high-brow” references. It seems burlesque is quite the confounding form of entertainment. Rhyming the low frequency words of idealist/arithmetic certainly pays credit to the reader of this letter. Hogwash/clockwork are also a truly inspired pairing, as are smirk/clockwork. There’s a gorgeous play on words where predictable arguments break down like an old car. It’s the embodiment of a modern world that eventually dies of its own hubris. P.S. Well, by now you know the worst of it And we've heard all the alibis that they've rehearsed The smug predictions / If it's not a contradiction Please have faith in human nature And have mercy on the creatures in this sad burlesque This is such a beautiful afterthought, conceding that the letter has probably not arrived in time to see changes for the better. The smug predictions might very well describe the predisposition of the letter’s author, providing a “nevertheless” kind of caveat. What started as a salutation seems to have evolved into a prayer, perhaps. The reference to having mercy on the creatures puts me in mind of James Herriot’s novel, “All Creatures Great and Small,” with a sense that the mercy is extended to far more than what we as individuals can see in our “wretched selfish motives.” This sad burlesque With miserable failures making entertainment of our fate Laughter cannot dignify or elevate this sad burlesque — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “This Sad Burlesque” from 1993’s “The Juliet Letters.” If it’s not meant as a prayer, then I cannot begin to guess what type of letter this is or who it is intended for. That’s part of its appeal, I’d argue. It’s a sincere piece that echoes with contradictory and universal truths. Just lovely. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. I encourage you to re-listen to Episode 12 of “Slow Drag with Remedy,” “The Maddening Smile,” a slow drag with “Damnation’s Cellar,” as well as Episode 32, “Pass the Vinegar,” a slow drag with “I Almost Had a Weakness.” Both episodes are slow drags with more gems from “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 |