Today’s slow drag is with “Suspect My Tears,” from the Grammy award winning, “Look Now,” released in 2018. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. Among the many striking features of this piece is that, while properly released in 2018, “Suspect My Tears” has been around and has been played live in concert at least 20 times between 1999 and 2004, before disappearing from view, only to find its permanent home among other indelible pieces, such as “Burnt Sugar,” and “Grace of My Heart’s” 1996 “Unwanted Number.” Do you remember how to say "Please"? You've had your own way for such a long time Your lashes sweep down, I dry your cheek You think I'm powerless when you speak You may have something, I don't deny You look so beautiful when you cry A tender moment, or perhaps a moment of tension, this piece outlines a lover’s exchange filled with intimate polarizing aspects. The sequence of events feels as if they have probably been acted out before several times and have just now come back around to this familiar plot point. There’s something so exquisite about the to and fro of resolve and crumpling; you’ve had your way for so long that there’s no pretense of civility left. The magnetism that prevents this scheming couple from moving away from one another resembles a captivating sensual dance. The world watches as the jolts of power and passion are passed between them. Each player knows their role. Comforting, repulsing, confessing, repeating. If I seem unconcerned Perhaps it's time you learned I'll cry until you suspect my tears I'll cry until you suspect my tears You're not the only one who can turn it on When and where you need it This is a first person narration, a monologue presented in the passive voice that nevertheless speaks in harsh truths. How pityingly eloquent Mr. Costello contorts the refrain of “two can play that game” into a piece of art. Do you remember how bad it felt? Big eyes would fill up Your lip would tremble You want to hurt me but then you melt You always promise to lose control I learned a trick that you used to play I'm tired of you having it your own way There is a calm restrain that flows through this piece, as evidenced by the failure to incite a riot. Is the narrator of this verse the same as the narrator in the first verse? It seems natural for two people to accuse each other of always having to have it “your own way.” So many of Mr. Costello’s pieces feature multiple characters, and I have a hunch that this piece is no different, even if it’s not exactly overt. To add an additional layer of obfuscation and intrigue is the question of whose big eyes are filling up? It’s the only line in this verse that is not assigned its own pronoun. Whoever spoke first did warn there would be more tears. With the power to persuade Beginning to cascade I'll cry until you suspect my tears I'll cry until you suspect my tears You're not the only one who can turn it on when and where you need it An overflow of tears, furthering the game that two can play. It seems obvious to ask what is meant by “suspect my tears.” It goes straight to a question of motivation in general, I’d say. When does sincerity end and spite begin? How long can you do something before it begins to provoke the opposite feeling in others? If you hear me weeping I may be cheating or just laughing inside If you're suspicious that I'm sly and vicious Here's your chance to decide Two hypocrites collide It seems nearly impossible, or at least difficult at best, to express a lack of passion using such passionate and vivid imagery, yet here we are once again, amazed by these genius turns of phrases. This verse cuts to the heart of so many love affairs. All of the unfounded fears we all go through that vacillate between the worst possible act imaginable with the self deprecating, “oh, I know I’m being silly,” scoff of dismissal. With, “I may be cheating or just laughing inside,” either way, it feels like a low key form of one-upmanship, and all the devious joy that comes along with it. Then, adding to the “two can play that game,” comes the logical conclusion to the dark thoughts of “If you’re suspicious that I’m sly and vicious…” Why stay? Why not walk out, go on. That’s the question we are all much better at answering for others than we are ourselves. This is the crescendo of both the piece and the debate taking place. This is not the muffled sounds of young lovers bickering on the other side of a thin apartment wall. This is world weary devotion that has been tested before and will probably be tested again. After all, there’s a comfort in predictability. I'll cry until you suspect my tears I'll cry until you suspect my tears You're not the only one who can turn it on Where and when you need it When you need it — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Suspect My Tears” from 2018’s Grammy winning, “Look Now.” It’s a meta lover’s quarrel that peaks behind the curtain to show how the magic is performed. There are no more secrets, just continued one-upmanship. Love, after all, is a contact sport, one that Mr. Costello plays on a surprising level field, rarely dipping into cliché or objectification. There is real love and real loathing laced throughout this piece. Recently, the phrase “timely and timeless” has been bandied about in order to describe Mr. Costello’s work. And while nothing can ever eclipse, “my aim is true,” this 20-year-old piece on a two-year-old album is more proof that this moniker, is bound to last. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. I highly encourage you to re-listen to Episode 13 of “Slow Drag with Remedy,” “Not Quite Against My Will,” a slow drag with “Stripping Paper,” and “Shatterproof.” It’s a slow drag with another gem from the luscious “Look Now,” that is paired up with its forerunner piece from the “Punch the Clock” Rhino re-release. So, until next time, adieu, my little ballyhoo.
Show Notes:
---------------------- Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy Email: [email protected] Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag ---------------------- References: Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Suspect My Tears”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Suspect_My_Tears “Suspect My Tears”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK8wHkucVBk Episode 13 of “Slow Drag with Remedy,” “Not Quite against My Will,” a slow drag with “Stripping Paper” and “Shatterproof”: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/slowdragwithremedy/id/11708024 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 |