Today’s slow drag is with “Sweet Pear,” from “Mighty Like a Rose,” released in 1991. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name. It’s an excruciating ballad that warms the heart, and then breaks the heart. It’s a rare slow drag where it’s not about slowing down tempo, but rather slowing down the prickly emotion wrought by a truly impassioned singing voice. The drawn-out vowels, the plaintive appeal in his voice throws our emotions around like a rag doll. The deliberate contradictions that are found in the span of five verses is enough to make your head spin in the most pleasing fashion possible. Sweet pear, sweet pear Those who say they love you would never dare I'll watch out for you / I'll always be there In the hour of your distress, you need not fear The daylight in between each of these beautiful lines exposes what could be a sinister intent to manipulate or control. Who wouldn’t want to hear how someone will be always there for them? The edge of sincerity is taken off slightly by the subtext of sapiosadism. There are probably countless poetic examples of proclaiming no one else loves you the way I do. Leave it to Mr. Costello to express it so vaguely yet so cuttingly. In all the world there's only one true love And finding it's hard enough I bless whatever's in the sky above For bringing you to me This verse seems to be unadulterated in its meaning of pure love and appreciation. This is a genius Elvis Costello piece, so of course, there has to be a “but” coming. But there's a void without your kiss I wake on the precipice above the abyss And though the touch of your lips these fears dismiss Make no mistake there is an ache I have to live with Yes, there it is. “But there’s a void without your kiss.” Kiss/abyss/dismiss/with; the end and internal rhyme throughout this verse cushions the blow of the beginning contradiction. I’ve always questioned whether each verse is written in alternating voices; one sweetheart responding to what the other has just so passionately avowed. If so, someone blesses the other’s existence, yet the other complains of an emptiness their absence causes. Then there is the matter of what went wrong, the insufferable second guessing. Was my grip too loose, my grip too strong? That made you want to run away And now you're back where I pretend you belong I wonder every night and day / How long “How long” has never sounded as entreating as it does when Mr. Costello belts it out. So often love has us living in a delusion, which seems to be the safest place to inhabit at times. The self-awareness of knowing, of confessing that you’re pretending seems far more poignant than frolicking through a field of willful denial. I swear this is my prayer Till we're burned and scattered in the atmosphere Or lost in the world across a crowded room I am your stupid lover, your wretched groom The title of this song is only uttered once, at the beginning, and repeated twice, “sweet pear, sweet pear.” Here at the beginning of the final verse, however, is something even better; an echo, a mimicking perhaps of this pet name: “I swear,” and “prayer,” this line taking up as many syllables as the drawn out first line. The juxtaposition of extreme distances, both into the universe and across the room, is incredibly sentimental. It is worth mentioning, of course, as witnessed throughout Mr. Costello’s entire canon, this last line, “I am your stupid lover, your wretched groom,” resists the all-too familiar tagging that goes on in society. That is to say, assuming he is a groom to a woman, it would have been expected had he proclaimed, “you’re my wife.” Instead, he defines himself as he appears in her world. These slight differences seem to make all the difference in the world. — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Sweet Pear” from 1991’s “Mighty Like a Rose.” It’s 159 words resonate with both sincerity and subterfuge. When the voice is added, it becomes an absolute work of art. I recently read a Scientific American article about pet names and why we use them, wondering if “sweet pear” was really an acceptable term of endearment, or was it too unusual to pack a punch. In the article, the author sites the 1993 Master’s Thesis of Carol J. Bruess. According to Bruess, pet names fall into the category of the micro-moments that create relationships. Among the many married couples asked, most said they knew they were in trouble if their given name was used. Baby talk and silly names, such as “muffin,” the study found, can only be used in committed relationships. Even so, this tends to taper off, leaving the participants feeling a little less satisfied. Another telling insight explored in the article was how the pet name, “honey,” tends to create what is called the “roommate syndrome,” when a sweetheart somehow becomes plutonic friend. I’ve put a link to this article in the show notes. I’m certain you will find the rest of the article fascinating. So, does it mean “sweet pear” is a fitting pet name? Depends on if it’s said in a baby voice or as a complete substitution for one’s name, maybe. That’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. Other gems from “Mighty Like a Rose” you’ll enjoy a slow drag with are episode 5, “Heaven Knows What Fills the Heart,” a slow drag with “Georgie and Her Rival,” episode 34, “Lost Legs and Fingernails,” a slow drag with “Invasion Hit Parade,” and episode 50, “Sharp and Ideal,” a slow drag with “After the Fall.” 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, “Sweet Pear”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Sweet_Pear “Sweet Pear”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY-FGXC5qGE “Why Do We Use Pet Names in Relationship?” https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/why-do-we-use-pet-names-in-relationships/ 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 |