Today’s slow drag is with “Drum and Bone,” from “Momofuku,” released in 2008. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. In this “just add water” “instant” form of record making, as is the conceit of the remarkable “Momofuku,” the utter joy of words and their deep and/or less profound meanings abounds in this piece. The rhymes, the intention, the message, and the allusions that run rife through “Drum and Bone” please the ears and baffle the brain in equal measures. Stripped down from his typically grammatically correct full sentences that find themselves recursive with rhyme, we have a bit of a call and response, a free association piece where nouns and verbs are knitted together using the shifty word, “that.” This slippery word can be a relative pronoun, a determiner, a conjunction, and an adverb. So, how would you define each of the 13 instances of the word “that” in this piece? Maybe we're nothing but skin and bone Blare and rubber / Eyes that blubber Teeth that bite / Hands that slight And I'm trying to do the best I can But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man The first mystery of perhaps many to come in this piece, is why the title and first line nearly match, but not quite. Some would say it’s not a mystery at all, really, it’s vintage Elvis Costello. We’re nothing but skin and bone, which makes sense. So, what clues are found in “drum and bone”? Blare and rubber; noise and absorption, perhaps? These matchings and near mismatchings, however, end after the second line, slipping instead into the driving structure of noun that verb. Notice how it’s pleasingly difficult to provide synonyms that accurately represent the action. Lips typically do the bouncing blubbering motion as the eyes cry, and while teeth do bite, what we’re left with at the end is a complicated homophone with the word, slight/sleight. Sleight of hand is the cunning movement magicians use in pursuit of their magic. Hands that slight might mean not showing enough respect. So, a magic trick or a rude gesture? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe we're nothing but skin and bone Nerves that shatter / Tongues that flatter Lips that mutter / Lashes that flutter Mounds of dust and lips of ripe Twice as vicious as the words I type Under a ribbon / Of every stripe There's a grip that tightens A dark that frightens A wise that crackles A fear that shackles And I'm trying to do the best I can But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man The clever wordplay abounds in a fun, slanted fashion throughout this set of four verses. Shatter/flatter and mutter/flutter seem pretty straight forward as they are held up as examples of skin and bone. Lips of ripe, though. Big luscious strawberry red lips, perhaps, spouting venom? Given Mr. Costello’s proclivity towards the acerbic, the mind reels with what could considered doubly so. The lovely anachronistic vision of typewriter comes into sharp focus without having to even mention the word, but is then sent reeling with the caveat of “of every type.” Just more joy to behold, I say. It’s not about the definitions; it’s about the possibilities, I’d say. A grip, a dark, a wise, a fear. They tighten, frighten, crackle, and shackle. More images to kneed and massage. I can just imagine how truly fun it was to pen this piece. Deceptively simple, almost understandable, yet malleable enough to keep coming up with different meanings. Then, of course, is the repeated two lines from the ending of the first set of verses, “And I’m trying to do the best I can, but I’m a limited, primitive kind of man.” This simple devise of using the additive, “and,” then finishing with the detracting, “but” is part of why this piece works so well. It has a real “come here, go away” feel to it, so much like many love songs, yet without being a proper love song itself. Or, is it? The beauty of this piece announces itself with every succeeding verse. And then that kinder creation Becomes a fine fixation All of a sudden With the parts we've hidden Because they are forbidden Beneath a hide of pain You'll find a soul of stain While fists still beat Our heart's deceit And I'm trying to do the best I can But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man A kinder creation/a fine fixation, hidden and forbidden parts. The upbeat phrasing that flows through this piece clearly has embedded darker and deeper concepts throughout. The dissonance it creates is just another walk in the park for this genius. A hide of pain/a soul of stain almost seems like another way to express skin and bones, or at least close enough to call it an allusion. Fists beating a heart’s deceit suggests treachery masquerading as twitterpation. And again, all this becomes subverted by what I’d like to think of as false modesty. Who exactly is this limited primitive kind of man? Maybe with nothing but a drum and drone I want to beat it 'til I get unknown Pig some skin / Stretch it tight Make myself up overnight Maybe this is nothing but drum and drone Wanna beat it 'til I get unknown Dig my pin / Kick up some stink Find myself a brand-new kink Prick that berry / And squeeze this ink Scratch out all of the words I think Before your very eyes can blink And I'm trying to do the best I can But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man Wow, these lines feel as if they were written whilst running downhill. The substituted words from the original, “maybe we’re nothing but skin and bone,” finds a new matching pair, “maybe with nothing but a drum and drone,” that further morphs into “maybe this is nothing but a drum and drone,” as if it’s a well-known expression that that’s been time tested. There is so much to mull over in these few shifts of words, yet there’s little time to linger. “Find myself a brand-new kink,” coming on the heels of “wanna beat it ‘til I get unknown” helps visions erupt into a kaleidoscope of possibilities. So, what do you think? Do you think this piece turns meta at the end? In a free-running piece found on an “instant” album, prick that berry / and squeeze this ink suggests that even without a computer, typewriter, or even a pen and ink, the inventive poet still has the power to improvise, to get out what they want to say, regardless of limitations. And do it in such a way, he’ll be finished before you even begin. This, of course, is why the limited, primitive kind of man seems as if it can’t be anything but a joke, a bit of teasing, a whole lot of false modesty. And I'm trying to do the best I can But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Drum and Bone” from 2008’s “Momofuku.” It’s 259 words that draw heavily on short, sharp lines without much in the way of explanation, just nouns that verb. “Drum and Bone” takes the listener through many stories where the truth is nearly revealed, but not quite. And that’s what I imagine many of his fans love, or least I certainly do. Yes, that’s what I love. Each line stays alive by its addition or betrayal of the next line to come. As a confident yet humble poetic genius as Mr. Costello is, to glimpse his own understanding of his tremendous gifts is simply delightful. “Prick that berry and squeeze that ink;” clearly there is nothing that can waylay this singular individual’s talents. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. Other gems from “Momofuku” you’ll enjoy a slow drag with are episodes 7, “Let’s See How Brave You Are,” a slow drag with “No Hiding Place,” episode 35, “A Song in My Heart,” a slow drag with “Turpentine,” episode 48 “Erase Everything Rotten,” a slow drag with “Flutter and Wow,” and episode 70, “Gunslinger Swagger,” a slow drag with the absolutely fantastic “Go Away.” 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, “Drum & Bone”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Drum_%26_Bone “Drum & Bone”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eewL9YmNM1Y “That” definitions and synonyms: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/that “That” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/that 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 |