Today’s slow drag is with “The Town Where Time Stood Still” from, well, a few places: “Imperial Bedroom,” “Goodbye Cruel World,” sans a verse or two, and ultimately released in 1995 on the Rykodisc reissue of “Punch the Clock.” The songwriting, and everything else except for drum loop, is credited to Elvis Costello. It’s a piece where verbal gymnastics match wits with a keen plundering of mental gymnastics. The metaphors flow like the beer from the bottles that are left empty by the similes they represent. This has always been one of my favorite pieces. Not only is it a charming, toe tapping mine field of imagery, desires, and contradictions, it’s also an orphaned piece that seemed to have never found its rightful “place.” Can you imagine? An Elvis Costello piece that’s too Elvis Costello to be an Elvis Costello a or b side? That’s what I call a piece worthy of a slow drag. I made my selection from the lonely hit parade In the town where time stood still I was feeling very little pain Until some joker played "Almost Persuaded" Now every girl I see Looks so much prettier to me My faithfulness has faded This first verse reads like an excerpt from an exceptionally polished noir screenplay, and I’ve only recited half of it so far. Parade/persuaded/faded anchor these revealing lines without calling too much attention to themselves. The alliterative /s/ sound that runs throughout helps create the right atmosphere for what is about to happen. He’s made the selection from the “lonely hit parade,” yet reports that “some joker” played “Almost Persuaded.” Self sabotage, perhaps? A place with live music that is out of his control? Someone else who knows what state of mind it will trigger for our protagonist? I love the not knowing part, the ability to ponder aimlessly. “Almost persuaded” is a 1966 Country song, written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton. It’s about a woman with ruby lips, coal black hair, and soft hands who drives a man to almost kiss her while they’re dancing close. It’s only when he sees his wedding band reflected in her eyes that he realizes he “was almost persuaded to let strange lips lead” him on. “The Town Where Time Stood Still,” as you can imagine, doesn’t stand on such ceremonies, thankfully. It takes a much more nuanced approach to the art of seduction and betrayal. So, now is the entire first verse: I made my selection from the lonely hit parade In the town where time stood still I was feeling very little pain Until some joker played "Almost Persuaded" Now every girl I see Looks so much prettier to me My faithfulness has faded And their looks are sharp as daggers And the conversation heated Since the boys have all been laid off And are walking round defeated In the town where time stood still Prettier to me/Heated/defeated; the rhymes meld with the alliteration and the hits keep coming as the sentiment of “Almost Persuaded” gets turned on its head. The girls get prettier, his faithfulness fades, and everyone in the place seems to be thrown for some sort loop. I’m not sure how the boys who’ve been laid off and are walking around defeated play into this landscape. I’d say, though, just like any good screenplay, it provides texture, down to the smallest details of this place where time plays no part and every part at the same time. Somebody in charge must have pretended That the future's been suspended And I say I don't want trouble But I find myself back in it In the town where time stood still I am the man of the minute Pretended/suspected, all the while maintaining the alliterative /s/ slither begun in the first verse, this second verse continues to play with time; both real and assumed. It’s already established that time stands still, yet we’re told it’s all pretend. Then time reverses when he finds himself “back” in trouble before going on to declare himself the most popular, or as the saying goes, “the man of the minute.” By the way, this verse is the one that was added between iterations. Teach me to say "I love you" They’ll teach you to say "You will do" In the town where time stood still Or maybe I can find a little girl To wind me up with all the usual skills The end rhymes in this verse feel familiar, to be sure: you/do, still/skills, but don’t let the ends distract from the beautiful alliteration that’s still going on. Only now, it’s shifted from the /s/ sound in previous verses to a tongue tickling /t/ sound, teach/teach/time/to/to. It creates a melody all its own. There are 374 words pulsing through this 3:32 piece. And you can bet each syllable has been put down with great care. As an example of this, note how the use of the word “wind” is a stroke of complete genius. “Wind,” as in what you do to a watch to keep it running, is one meaning, of course. As well, there’s the British expression meaning to annoy or to tease, to “wind someone up.” There’s also the notion that the narrator is time himself, and the girl is what keeps him going. There's nothing else to do but rearrange somebody's features (futures) And trap your fingers in the till The bar is full of girls just like the creature with the curse And the food is just like cabaret or vice versa In the town where time stood still There seems to be a couple of mondegreens of my own making perhaps in this fairly complicated verse. The first one, “there’s nothing else to do but rearrange somebody’s features” makes sense, as reported in the Elvis Wiki lyric page, although I’ve always heard it as “futures,” “rearrange somebody’s futures,” keeping with the time theme. One depicts violence, while the other insinuates sabotage. Which one do you hear? Which one do you prefer? They both rhyme ever so slightly with curse/versa. The second instance is a small nit found in the line “and the food is just like cabaret…” the Elvis Costello lyric sheet reads “and vice versa,” while I hear “or vice versa.” Ultimately, they mean the same thing, although I seem to prefer the less additive and more contradictive notion of “or.” The imagery of the creature with the curse and cabaret that gets turned on its head with the mention of “vice versa” has always thrilled me. The reverse are cursed creatures that are just like girls and cabaret that’s just like food. Or, the girls are like cabaret and the food is just like the creature with the curse. This piece might be an orphan, but it’s certainly found a place in my mind and heart. I love puzzling over these silly lines. Just as my heart went down sinking I found the town was shrinking And suddenly I saw her through the smoke and empty beers In the town where time stood still She might have well have waited years Even though the place is supposed to stand still, the movement continues, now the town is getting smaller. Then again, it’s always been a small world. In direct opposition to being “the man of the minute” in the above verse, now the woman he sees through the smoke and empty beers “might have well have waited years.” Please allow me to point out again how Mr. Costello has always been a wonderfully grammatically correct writer. Now I suppose we did some things we used to do But no amount of darkness could ever turn her into you This bridge is simply astounding for what it conveys and how few words its takes to do so. Sure, Mr. Costello is famous for his poetic loquaciousness. That doesn’t negate, however, his equally impressive word economy. And this is an excellent case in point. Taking advantage of pronouns, the narrator states “we” did some things, meaning him and another woman, that “we” used to do, meaning him and the woman who is “you” in the next line, when he confesses “but no amount of darkness could ever turn her into you.” Moreover, the first line seems innocent enough; it seems to be referring to only one other person, which makes it even more of a gut punch when you realize there’s been interference. I can’t tell if that second line is romantic or manipulative, or if there is barely a difference between the two. And so, I woke up in the town where time stood still With a headache and a heartache And a handful of pills A welcome mat, a scandal rag, and unpaid bills The hard /h/ sounds in headache/heartache/handful wrap around the end rhymes of still/pills/bills beautifully. The vignettes of a hand full of pills, welcome mat, scandal rag, and unpaid bills are more examples of how this piece reads like a screenplay. Likewise, we are treated to more word economy. With her head inside her handbag The sign says "please wait to be seated" I only wanted a cup of coffee I know you can't have your cake and eat it In the town where time stood still It might be “hand,” but I’ve always heard it as “head” inside her handbag, but I could be wrong. Either way, there’s something not right going on. She might be cradling a gun, or trying to discretely throw up. As I may have mentioned before in my slow drags, restaurants in general, and waitresses in particular, infuse many of Mr. Costello songs: There’s “Possession,” “Shoes Without Heals,” the music video for “45,” and the most overt of all, the beguiling, “Most My Beautiful Mistake,” just to name a few. As a touring musician, I can only imagine how many “please wait to be seated” signs he’d stood in front of by the early 1990s, when this piece started to take form. Knowing how you can’t have it both ways, it seems our hero has lowered his expectations. Did you hear the news today? It's all bad, did I tell you how I left her so sad? With a headache and a heartache And an hour or two to kill I only wish we were together In the town where time stood still Do you think the “news today” has come straight from the scandal rag? All sensationalism all the time. The parting shots from this piece put me in mind of the highly structure of “Crimes of Paris,” from “Blood and Chocolate.” After the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, comes the denouement, the ending, life after the town where time stood still. The lament of wishing they were still there, still together in a place where they have all the time in the world. —Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “The Town Where Time Stood Still” from 1995’s Rykodisk reissue of “Punch the Clock.” In a lot of ways, this piece is pure nonsense, just a great exercise of seeing how many metaphors can jump up and hold on tight. Then again, it can also feel like a highly structured screenplay, one with a few avant garde jump cuts thrown in here and there for fun. However you want to look at it, it’ll always be a lovely orphaned piece that’ll always have a home in my heart. So, until next time, adieu, my little ballyhoo. Show Notes:
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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 |