Today’s slow drag is with “The River in Reverse,” the only song with a solo writing credit from the collaboration with Allen Toussaint on the album of the same name, “The River in Reverse,” released in 2006. The songwriting, as mentioned, is credited solely to Elvis Costello. Released roughly eight short months after the devastating Katrina and Rita hurricanes along the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, the entire album is a tribute; a tribute to the people of the area, to the calm genius of Allen Toussaint, as well as a testament to Mr. Costello’s innate grit and compassion. And much like good protest songs, it rightfully stings in the moment, and then continues to reverberate as time, tide, and human frailty continue to wait for no one. How long does a promise last? How long can a lie be told? What would I take in exchange for my soul? Would I notice when it was sold? Right from the start, we’re able to place where this piece’s heart belongs. The rhyme scheme reflects the American southern accent well. Notice how told/sold rhyme in the second and forth lines. Notice also that told/soul rhyme when pronounced in a southern accent, going one step further as it creates a homophone with soul/sold in the third and fourth line, “would I notice when it was sold.” Promises and lies live in the same universe. Promises are easy to make, too easy, and of course they are much harder to keep. In this light it seems exponentially more difficult to calculate a promise’s longevity. Then again, lies can go on for as long as our conscience dictates, so why not a promise? So, does one question answer the other? Or is everything brought into doubt, both lies and promises? It’s the thrill of imponderables that keep the world afloat, especially when faced with such a heady question of what would you exchange a soul for and, pointedly, would you even notice if it had been sold. Wake me up, wake me up Wake me up with a slap or a kiss There must be something better than this 'Cos I don't see how it can get much worse What do we have to do to send The river in reverse Do something, the narrator implores, gentle, swift, or bordering on the brutal, anything to shake up what sounds like a dull thudding sound of oppression. A slap and a kiss, as polar as better and worse. There’s a sense of true despair embedded in this chorus, yet not one of hopelessness, as he proposes solutions, he points out the need for change. And really, what’s the point of complaining about something if you’re not prepared to do something to make it change? Every man a crawling kingsnake Every girl a half a heartbreak Every woman sold into shame To any son without a name Are your arms too weak to lift? Another shovel on the graveyard shift Here comes the flood if you catch my drift Where the things that they promised are not a gift If man falls through the mirror of a lake They fish him out quick and they call him a fake Give him all the temptations he can take Tie him up high 'til his bones break These 3 four-line verses flow together harmoniously and cannot soon be stemmed, it seems, much like the river the narrator wants to send in reverse. The first and second verses move swiftly with an aa/bb rhyme structure, while the third verse relies on a baffled, babbling brook sounding aa/aa structure to bring the sentiment to a close. What takes place in between these rhymes is of course where the genius is found. Specific yet universal. Pointed yet restrained. Poetic, unflattering, and desperate. Wake me up, wake me up Wake me up with a slap or a kiss There must be something better than this 'Cos I don't see how it can get much worse What do we have to do to send The river in reverse In his 2020 acoustic back porch version for the Presentation Hall Foundation, perhaps as not to wake the neighbors, Mr. Costello chose to quietly, barely above a whisper asked to be woken up. Interestingly, this could be the kiss version as opposed to the slap version on the finished piece. Even when times seem tough, as in “I don’t see how it could get much worse,” there always seems to be a bright side hidden among the rubble strewn about in Mr. Costello’s work. I thought I heard somebody laugh Look out your window They're chasing shadows in the dark They're counting widows I felt a sliver of glass Saw a cross in splinters I felt the truce of spring Dig me out of the trench of winter Windows/widows, splinters/winters. With rhyming pairs found only on the second and fourth lines in each of these two verses, the piece descends deeper into the horror of the truths seen around our narrator. These two verses take on a desperate tone, fixating on the rare first-person pronoun instead of more observational and distancing language found in many other Mr. Costello pieces. This narrator, it seems, has plunked himself right down in the heartbreak in order to truly feel the depths of the destruction all around. So count your blessings when they ask permission To govern with money and superstition They tell you it's all for your own protection 'Til you fear your own reflection But the times are passing from illumination Like bodies falling from a constellation An uncivil war divides the nation So erase the tape on that final ape running down creation Running down creation Shifting back to the more comfortable second person point of view, this last verse, 9 lines in total, relies on the end rhyme brought about by derivational morphology to complement other ending nouns. For example, nouns such as superstition, constellation, and nation are sprinkled throughout with verbs and adjectives that have gone through what is known as nominalization. Words such as protection, reflection, and illumination. The verbs protect, reflect, and illuminate have no place in this verse. It doesn’t take away from the impact or the meaning, however. On the contrary, it suggests that fewer distractions are needed in such a dire time. Express yourself and hope even the basest of the base understand the sentiment. Wake me up Wake me up Wake me up with a slap or a kiss There must be something better than this 'Cos I don't see how it can get much worse What do we have to do to send The river in reverse — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “The River in Reverse” from 2006’s “The River in Reverse.” I can’t imagine placing any sort of interpretation on individual turns of phrases, such as the choice of a “kingsnake,” or the futility of chasing shadows in the dark. It’s a protest song, it’s a work of angst and frustration that mean something specific to anyone who listens. The choices made for one event can carry over onto many more unfortunate situations, which this piece does, keeping it fresh and alive, and worthy of its own slow drag. And that’s it for today’s slow drag, my friend. Thank you for listening. This is the only piece from “The River in Reverse” I can currently do a slow drag with, given the perimeters of this passion project to highlight solo writing credits first. But there is always your favorite Elvis Costello piece that you can revisit in the 90+ slow drags that are available so far . As always, thank you for helping to get the word out about this little passion project. Truly, it means the world. 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, “The River in Reserve”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_River_In_Reverse_(song) “The River in Reverse”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71YLX4pUMW0 “The River in Reverse” acoustic solo performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZLZ5H-fjao for the Preservation Hall Foundation in 2020 https://www.preshallfoundation.org “What Does it Mean to Have Grit”: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/what_does_it_mean_to_have_grit A list of a few Imponderables: http://www.unm.edu/~jerome/imponder.htm “Beware of Nominalization” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNlkHtMgcPQ Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” https://www.amazon.com/Most-Terrible-Time-Life-Thursday-ebook/dp/B07XLXS5PL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Y4SGCT62WPEK&dchild=1&keywords=the+most+terrible+time+in+my+life+ends+thursday&qid=1608873405&sprefix=The+Most+Terrible+Time+in+%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1 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 |