Today’s slow drag is with “Two Little Hitlers,” from “Armed Forces,” released in 1979. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. This being his third endeavor without signs of ditching the name, the glasses, or conforming his music to strictly “pub,” “punk,” or “new wave” monikers, I imagine many were getting mighty restless trying to relegate Mr. Costello to a tidy column heading or a cozy recess in their minds in order to properly understand who the person behind the persona was, and what exactly he, himself, was trying to say. Perhaps it was this piece, despite the disclaimer to “don’t join,” that gave the clamoring masses what seemed like a glimpse into what they thought they were hoping for. Even now, some 40 years later, we find a similar confusion, which we’ll get to momentarily. First, the rhyme, the structure, and the word choice of this piece continued to set this “angry young man” apart from the status quo. Opaque, with its scatter-shot imagery and deeply sardonic turns of phrases, “Two Little Hitlers” seems to take itself seriously at the same time it meanders through a thought that seems to be hampered by a short attention span. Why are we racing to be so old? I'm up late pacing the floor I won't be told You have your reservations I'm bought and sold There are rhymes in this passage, sure, and oh are they’re wonderfully messy. Racing/pacing, old/told/sold shine, but reservations, without a rhyming pair, pays off handsomely with its clever double meaning of holding something, not being sure of something, complicated by being told, it seems, “he who hesitates is lost,” when someone else is no longer available, like a commodity that has been “bought and sold.” The words become even jauntier, even sillier, just before they dovetail into an ominous chorus, confounding what has come right before it. I'll face the music / I'll face the facts Even when we walk in polka dots and checker slacks Bowing and squawking Running after tidbits Bobbing and squinting Just like a nitwit Two little Hitlers will fight it out until One little Hitler does the other one's will I will return I will not burn There’s something intrinsically humorous about the old-timey word, “slacks,” I think. Even “pants” make little sense. Add the fashion faux pas of mismatching patterns, and it’s even better. Then we hear these low-frequency words in quick succession: squawking/squinting, tidbits/nitwit. They provide an uneven sidewalk to stroll along. Watch your step as this verse eases into the chorus. Two little Hilters: just the mention of one is fraught with malice, who needs two? Down in the basement I need my head examined I need my eyes excited I'd like to join the party But I was not invited You make a member of me I'll be delighted I wouldn't cry for lost souls you might drown Dirty words for dirty minds Written in a toilet town Just listen to the brilliant use of the simple past tense to create connected rhymes. Examined tucks in well with excited/invited/delighted; along with party/me. Examined also serves as the m sound in the slant rhyme that ties basement to examined/member together. Down/drown/town bring it all home. And here’s the clue many had looked for. The reported working title of “Armed Forces’” was “Emotional Fascism.” Perhaps the pursuit of unmasking the person behind the persona behind these stilted phrases took the line “I’d like to join the party,” and ran with it. The mental arithmetic was totaled to reveal a communist plot. So silly. It seems the only thing that can derail sex is politics, even when its dirty minds and innuendo are right there for the asking. Dial me a Valentine She's a smooth operator It's all so calculated She's got a calculator She's my soft touch typewriter And I'm the great dictator Two little Hitlers will fight it out until One little Hitler does the other one's will I will return /I will not burn Once again we see the brilliant use of rhyming a word with itself, only this time its suffix has changed. Valentine/dictator begin and end the verse well before diving back into the chorus. The image of a typewriter and a dictator seems to neutralize the odious name. It’s not about world domination, it’s about domination. A simple game of self-respect You flick a switch and the world goes off Nobody jumps as you expect I would have thought you would have had enough by now This is the point in the piece, for me anyway, where it feels as if it were written in stolen moments, giving it the feeling of having a short attention span, or maybe having too many thoughts to express all at once. What switch? Who should jump? The repetition of “would have,” is simply magical in this verse. “I would have thought you would have had enough by now.” His ability to plot out recursive phrases is staggering. You call selective dating For some effective mating I thought I'd let you down, dear But you were just deflating I knew right from the start We'd end up hating Pictures of the merchandise Plastered on the wall We can look so long as we don't have to talk at all Selective/effective, dating/mating/deflating/hating. The “merchandise,” as couched by selective dating telegraphs glossy photos of potential dates hung up on the wall. Perhaps it meant something different in 1979, but the phrase, “selective dating” litters the internet now, attached to many different dating app sites. “Selective dating,” one love guru asserts, “doesn’t mean being picky, it means not compromising on the things that are important to you.” I guess that’s a nice affirmation. You say you'll never know him He's an unnatural man He doesn't want your pleasure He wants as no one can He wants to know the names of All those he's better than Two little Hitlers will fight it out until One little Hitler does the other one's will I will return / I will not burn We’ve come a long way from bobbing and squinting like a nitwit to asking for an ego to be stroked. I mean, what other reason could there be for such request? The characters in this piece seem to come and go as they please. I have no idea who exactly the “he” in this verse is. Personally, when I think of the line “he wants to know the names of all those he’s better than,” I recall a particular man I once dated. He told me how disappointed he was in my Elvis Costello knowledge, that he was shocked I didn’t know “Two Little Hitlers” was an original Todd Rundgren song that Mr. Costello merely covered, and not to his standards, he added. Indeed, “I knew right from the start we’d end up hating.” So, tell me: If Hitler weren’t mentioned, how would this piece flow? Is it about a powerplay? Romance? Both? It seems quite transactional, to be sure. The poetry itself is masterful in its messiness. Each verse seems disconnected from its predicate, yet flows through its 3:11 as one cohesive work. How about you? How would you answer the question? Do you think “Two Little Hitlers” provides clues to who the person behind the persona was? 40 years on, it’s an easier question to answer now, I suppose. Yes. No. Maybe. Who cares? It’s funny how worked up some people can get. Elvis Costello’s work continues to confound us in the most pleasantly maddening way. I know I’m still looking for clues and changing my mind as I go. That’s part of why these words continue to feel so electric, so fresh. — Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Two Little Hitlers” from 1979’s “Armed Forces.” It’s a flighty piece that seems to be saying one thing in one breath while obscuring its intended result with the next. I think it’s the piece that might have kicked off a life-long pursuit of how to most adequately categorize the canon of Elvis Costello. Take, for example, the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in 2020, Mr. Costello’s album, “Look Now” has been nominated in the “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance” category, a category most associated with old standards sung by crooners like Tony Bennett, who has won 13 times. “This category,” the Grammy guideline reads, “is for performances of a type and style of song that cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music.” This reportedly came as quite the surprise to the rock and roll veteran, a general term landed upon for Elvis Costello when “pub,” “punk,” and “New Wave” just wouldn’t stick. Given a recent rule change, however, nominations “would also include contemporary pop songs performed in traditional pop style…without regard to the age of the material,” making “Look Now” eligible to vie with Barbra Streisand for this honor. Elvis Costello famously lost out to “A Taste of Honey,” of “Boogie Oogie Oogie” fame for best new artist. Perhaps this time he wouldn’t mind losing out to the best old artist. And that’s it for today’s slow drag. If you have a better grasp on “Two Little Hitlers” than I have exhibited here, by all means, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Ultimately, however, I think you’ll agree it’s not about cracking codes or finding out the “what” and “why” as much as it is getting lost in the possibilities of what could happen. 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 |