Today’s slow drag is with “…This Town…,” from “Spike,” released in 1989. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name. From an album that is, ostensibly, five albums in one, it is a marvelous piece of writing that is a three-act play, a classic film noir, and, as referred to in the liner notes of “Spike,” something straight out of newspapers at the time, but with a patented Elvis Costello dagger twist, of course. That Charlie Sedarka was a-playing the piano like he was pawing a dirty book He bit a hole in his big bottom lip and gave his very best little boy look It was a song with a topical verse which I'm afraid he then proceeded to sing Something about the moody doomed love of the Fish-Finger King The faithful end rhymes and an aa/bb scheme of book/look and sing/king are nearly beside the point of the masterful internal structure of this first verse. Taken line by line, “that Charlie Sedarka was a-playing” starts the piece off in a convivial, whimsical, and almost folksy manner. Good ole Charlie, he’s at it again, yet we soon learn it’s in a ham-fisted way that looks very much like he’s “pawing a dirty book.” The second line, filled with alliteration brings Charlie’s description, demeanor, and intent into sharper focus with just a few strokes of the pen. The consonance of Bit/big/bottom/best/boy bubble up to the surface where the lilting /l/ sound echoes: hole/lip/little/look. He’s a pouty boy who is practiced at the art of superficial charm. Two more perfectly matched opening lines to a song or an album are difficult to find: “That Charlie Sedarka was a-playing the piano like he was pawing a dirty book. He bit a hole in his big bottom lip and gave his very best little boy look.” Any other writer might construct an entire piece around these powerful lines. But we’re just getting started. So what was that Charlie Sedarka a-playing on the piano? “Moody doomed love” rolls off the tongue, just before spark fly from the “fish finger king.” Notice how these four lines are comprised almost entirely of keen observations, with very little to no judgment or opinion proffered past the constrained “a topical verse which I’m afraid he then proceeded to sing.” And still, that is a small lament, not an outright judgment. The lines fit together so well, right down to their syllable count: the first and third lines: 22 syllables each. The second and fourth lines, 18 syllable each (if you count the held last word). Remarkable. Certainly, there is more to Charlie. Well, ole Charlie was just the first act. But first, the interlude. You're nobody in this town / You're nobody in this crowd You're nobody till everybody in this town knows you're poison Got your number, knows it must be avoided You're nobody till everybody in this town thinks you're a bastard Judgement or keen observation? What do you say? You’ll get another chance to think about it after the second act. Mr. Getgood moved up to Self-Made Man Row Though he swears that he's the salt of the earth He's so proud of the "kick-me-hard" sign that they hung on his back at birth He said "I appreciate beauty, if I have one, then it's my fault" "Beauty is on my pillow, beauty is there in my vault" The idiom “salt of the Earth” denotes a very good and honest person. Making your own way in the world seems admirable, yet the need to defend your accomplishments suggests the self-made man might not have come by his wealth and station without having committed a few transgressions. Nevermind all that, Mr. Getgood will never let go of the hardscrabble upbringing. He understands the finer things in life and it’s by no accident that it’s lying in his bed or stashed away in his safe. You're nobody in this town / You're nobody in this crowd You're nobody till everybody in this town knows you're poison Got your number, knows it must be avoided You're nobody till everybody in this town thinks you're a bastard So, with the refrain, we now move on to the third act in this noir character examination. The girl with the eternity rock went down on her bookie to buy some stock Now all the signs in the shopping arcades Say "The corporation thief is the new Jesse James" Rock and stock, as good as this pair is in the middle of one line, this verse gets better and better, with arcades/James. “The corporation thief is the new Jesse James” is a loaded idea indeed. Written in the late 1980s when the marauding and pillaging of corporate culture was reflected in personal conspicuous consumption, this line speaks to how corporations were being fully thought of and treated as if they were human beings, right down to freedom of speech and religion. Her clothes and her attention were scant Her eyes were everywhere, her eyes were like absinthe The little green figures that dance on your screen Say everything you want to hear and nothing they mean The “little green figures that dance on your screen” takes us back to a time before graphic interfaces, when computers were black screens emblazoned with jagged green characters made out of phosphor. Much like the spirit itself, the line “her eyes were like absinthe” certainly packs a punch. Her eyes were green presumably; her eyes were intoxicating, her eyes were dangerous, her eyes had a mystical and toxic quality to them. The allegories are apt to go on for days; all sexy and strong. Oscar Wilde, because it’s always Oscar Wilde, is quoted as saying: “After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and this is the most horrible thing in the world.” Absinthe is distilled much like gin is, and then infused with Grande wormwood, green anise, and sweet fennel, which suggests it might taste like a black jellybean due to the mention of anise, but the experts assure us it does not take like licorice root. It is meant to be mixed and diluted. On its own, at 130 proof, it’s simply too powerful. Now back to the end of act three: They made love while she was changing her dress She wiped him off, she wiped him out and then she made him confess A little amused by the belief in her power You must remember this it was the fetish of the hour As many times as I have puzzled over these lines, I’ve never been able to convince myself if the “him” that is referred to is good ole Charlie or Mr. Getgood, or both, or most likely, neither. Was it the bookie or another fellow that she cleaned out and made confess? The girl with the eternity rock, the greened eyed woman with good business skills, was always in control, never owned by any man in this tale, no matter what charms he possesses. All seem to be equally prone to getting bound and gagged by her power. Just another great example of how the women who populate Elvis Costello pieces are never objectified and marginalized. Man or woman, you’re nobody until you’ve angered everyone. You're nobody in this town / You're nobody in this crowd You're nobody till everybody in this town knows you're poison Got your number, knows it must be avoided You're nobody till everybody in this town thinks you're a bastard — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “…This Town…” from 1989’s “Spike.” It’s the opening piece that sets up the rest of “Spike” to scatter into as many fragments as our imaginations can conjure. It’s a brilliant piece of writing that is an examination of the characters who breeze in and out of our lives and the charming and calculating things that they do. Two points to underscore: men and women are painted with the same keenly aware brush. And, the verses all contain observations, not judgment of these colorful characters. It’s only in the chorus that we’re left to ponder if these characters suit the bill of bastard. In a word, brilliant. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friends. Thank you all for listening. I encourage you to re-listen to Episode 10 of “Slow Drag with Remedy,” “A Terrible Crime,” a slow drag with “Let Him Dangle,” and Episode 39, “The Secrets that it Arouses,” a slow drag with “Satellite.” Both episodes are slow drags with more gems from “Spike.” 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 |