Explore every episode of the podcast Slow Drag with Remedy :: An Elvis Costello Appreciation

Today’s slow drag is with “Uncomplicated” from “Blood & Chocolate,” released in 1986. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Uncomplicated” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Uncomplicated

“Uncomplicated” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a91_uGPR9_o

A bit more about prosody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DUCCSepMbs

Heart Murmur: https://www.vulture.com/article/elvis-costello-profile.html

Clever Hans: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clever-Hans

The difference between opposition and contradiction: https://jordantimes.com/opinion/ahmad-y-majdoubeh/opposition-vs-contradiction#:~:text=Opposition%20is%20both%20natural%20and,to%20countless%20damages%20and%20crises.

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

Today’s slow drag is with “Mr. & Mrs. Hush” from the Grammy award-winning “Look Now,” released in 2018. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Mr. and Mrs. Hush” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Mr._%26_Mrs._Hush

“Mr. and Mrs. Hush” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdHjigna3gI

“Blindman’s Bluff” https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095512112

The Sapir Whorf hypothesis https://www.simplypsychology.org/sapir-whorf-hypothesis.html

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

Today’s slow drag is with “TKO (Boxing Day)” from “Punch the Clock,” released in 1983. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “TKO (Boxing Day)” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=TKO_(Boxing_Day)

“TKO (Boxing Day)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5yoFjJSlwo

Why is it called Boxing Day? https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46454700

The Origins of Boxing Day https://www.carnivalarts.org.uk/post/the-origins-of-boxing-day

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"TKO (Boxing Day)" Lyrics 

You can run all you like from the classroom or the cot

From a great big man or tiny tot

But from this day, every day will be Boxing Day

Don't need your indecision, let there be no doubt

Don't need your permission, I can count you out

I can count you out

TKO

They put the numb into number, put the cut into cutie

They put the slum into slumber and the boot into beauty

But from this day, every day will be Boxing Day

It's a fight to the finish, let there be no doubt

As the seconds turn into minutes, I can count you out

I can count you out

TKO

You need a back to break or a back to stab

Now your birthday suit looks dull and drab

Every day will be Boxing Day

Now you don't look so glamorous

Whenever I feel so amorous

I can count you out

TKO

Today’s slow drag gives voice to an intrepid visual documentarian who puts the face to the name, splashes color in the corners of the nuance, and provides the proof that unicorns like our beloved entertainer truly do walk amongst us. It’s more than joy to pour over Tony Sacchetti’s evocative images of Mr. Costello in so many different settings. It’s an honor to scatter flowers at his feet as he dances us through a glimpse into how he does what he does so well.

Cover Art Credit: Anthony Sacchetti

Follow Tony Sacchetti on Instagram @Anthony.sacchetti

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

Today’s slow drag is with “The Only Flame in Town,” from “Goodbye Cruel World,” released in 1984. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The Only Flame in Town” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_Only_Flame_In_Town

“The Only Flame in Town” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugcURF7B_gw

“The Only Flame in Town” Alternate version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geApcpKSk-4

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"The Only Flam in Town" Lyrics 

I know a girl got my mind in a mess

I never heard her say goodnight and God bless

She's not the only flame in town

And when we're alone, we never quarrel

I'm miles away, now here's the moral

She's not the only flame in town

She's not the only flame in town

She's got to stop thinking that I'm carrying this torch around

He struck a match and it lit up her face

We should have struck a match, girl

To burn down the whole place

Now you're not the only flame in town

But you blew hot and cold

Turned my heart to a cinder

And with each passing day

You're less tender and more tinder

Now you're not the only flame in town

She's not the only flame in town

She's got to stop thinking that I'm carrying this torch around

You're not the only flame

You're not the only flame

Thought I saw your face in the fire

But it's so hard to remember

Even an inferno can cool down to an ember

Now you're not the only flame

You're not the only flame

You're not the only flame in town

Today’s slow drag is with “Poisoned Rose,” from “King of America,” released in 1986. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Poisoned Rose” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Poisoned_Rose

“Poisoned Rose” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ycLSDu7jc

“La Vie Bohéme” trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYYE_1Br-kE

“A Drunken Man’s Praise of Sobriety” Elvis Costello Wiki https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=A_Drunken_Man%27s_Praise_Of_Sobriety

“A Drunken Man’s Praise of Sobriety” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFf-iHQjLNI

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Poisoned Rose" Lyrics

The poisoned rose

That you gave to me

It left me half alive

And half in ecstasy

But if half of your love

Is all I can win

Give me just a fraction

But no more medicine

The poisoned rose

On a Valentine card

That you take straight to the heart

That you call my junkyard

But if all I can do

Is save pieces of you

The piece of your mind

The piece of your heart

Didn't tear me apart

Like the poisoned rose

I received from you

I don't know

How we came to grow

Into this very sad affair

Every time we do the decent thing

Somebody spikes the drink

And a single becomes a pair

The poisoned rose

That you wear at your best

That I keep pressed between the white sheets

Where you lie half undressed

I threw away my shirt and shoes

You looked and I dived in

It's just you and me now

'Cause I threw away the gin

I threw away your alibis

And all your worn-out clothes

I threw myself upon the floor

But I couldn't throw away

This poisoned rose

This poisoned rose

This poisoned rose

Today’s slow drag is with “Tear off Your Own Head,” from “When I Was Cruel,” released in 2002. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Tear off Your Own Head” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Tear_Off_Your_Own_Head_(It%27s_A_Doll_Revolution)

“Tear off Your Own Head” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY6iBsjZQhQ

“Tear off Your Own Head” The Bangles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwVvf_8oWFk

“Shabby Doll” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgKhxZTYtq4

“Puppet Girl” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSmTP4sqGRA

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Tear off Your Own Head" Lyrics

Who dries your eyes when you cry real tears?

Who know or cares what an imitation is?

Only you do

You can paint his nails

Make him wear high heels

Why waste time altering the hemline?

Or do you?

Tear off your own head

Tear off your own head

It's a doll revolution

You can bat your lashes

You can cut your strings

You can pull his hair with your moveable fingers

It looks so real

If one won't do it, so collect the set

Dress him in pink ribbons

Put him in a kitchenette

How does this feel?

Tear off your own head

Tear off your own head

It's a doll revolution

What’s that sound?

It will turn you around

It's a doll revolution

They're taking over

And they're tearing it down

It's a doll revolution

You can pull and pinch him

'Til he cries and squeals

You can twist his body 'til it faces backwards

Plastic features

You could make somebody a pretty little wife

But don't let anybody tell you how to live your life

Broken pieces

Tear off your own head

Tear off your own head

It's a doll revolution

Tear off your own head

Tear off your own head

Revolution

 — Dig it

Ballyhoo, my friend. The passion project is back again with another lyrics only episode.

My name is Remedy Robinson. And, for fun, let’s listen to the brilliant alternate lyrics of “Stalin Malone,” from Spike, released in 1989, off the 2001 Rhino re-issue of Spike. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name, the recitation is credited to Elvis Costello.

"Stalin Malone" Lyrics

I'm going to make you even fear the dream you dream

Don't even think about it, don't make a wish

You think that I don't see you as you trawl those young weak fish

Hooked on those poor wonders, till they want you alone

Though they can't tell a cuckoo-clock from the squeals of saxophones

That's when they'll fear my name

I'm telling you the day will come when this man gets what he merits

Though people still wear animal skins to ward off evil spirits

Only wife-swapping and witchcraft woke the dormitory town

'Til horse's heads up in the trees came dripping down

Yes, horse's heads hung in the trees after the bird had flown

Did you wonder of my whereabouts as the powder room was blown?

Did anybody call my name?

In a room called creation, where you all obey my laws

Where Seconal is gravity and pain is like applause

You think that this phenomenon is some coincidence

I've got people everywhere, you're under my surveillance, in the pocket of my pants

Okay, she left me, but I'll soon get over that

Falling out of the "Blood Tub" and rolling on my back

Waking up to the one o'clock gun with a Punch and Judy bird

Reaching out for a gelignite beer that fills me up with murder

To overhear forbidden songs her lover must have known

Between the pity and advice...

"There's no one here to help you now, but speak after the tone"

Leave for me a message of hope

Now the church door is a roller-shutter with padlocks and keys

Just like all of the other dispensaries

The saloon is like a casket, stained wood and human dust

Stale with conversation that hangs on your clothes like smoke

The wooden clock set time for her to dance dressed only in a flower

As the jazz band drowned the hysterical bird that it spits out on the hour

I drop out of sight and disappear, turn up in another town

But somehow I can't seem to put it down now, put it down

You probably wonder why I'm here, I don't trust myself alone

But do I have to see her fall into his arms before I can atone?

Get my jacket on, get my story straight

I'm leaving on my own

Again, this has been a slow drag lyrics only reading of “Stalin Malone” from 1989’s Spike. What a joy to read such mastery. Thank you for listening.

So, until next time, adieu my little ballyhoo

Reference:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource: Stalin Malone https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Stalin_Malone

Today’s slow drag is with “Heathen Town,” from “Out of Our Idiot,” released in 1987. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Heathen Town” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Heathen_Town

“Heathen Town” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udnz2s_k8js

“The Fall of Rome” https://www.dictionary.com/browse/fall-of-rome#:~:text=The%20collapse%20of%20the%20Roman,%2C%20Romulus%20Augustulus%2C%20in%20476.

“Old hat” idiom: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/old-hat#:~:text=old%20hat%20in%20American%20English,of%20being%20trite%20or%20commonplace

John Howard Payne’s, “Home Sweet Home,” written in 1822 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqjjfF1Wn-s

“Ave Maria” (Ellen’s Third Song,” composed in 1825  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqjjfF1Wn-s

“Ave Maria” words: https://www.classicfm.com/composers/schubert/ave-maria-schubert-lyrics/

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Heathen Town" Lyrics

They used to call it Sin City

Now it's gone way past that

Painting the town and then burning it down

Now even that's old hat

Now there's a choir of angels at the fall of Rome

Singing "Ave Maria" or "Home Sweet Home"

It's just a heathen town

I hear only evil as my tongue is tightened

I used to be god-fearing, now I'm so frightened

Cos the devil will drag you under

By the shark tail fin of your checkered cab

And I can't sit down, I'm going overboard

in this heathen town

It starts as a flirtation

And ends up as an expensive habit

With one eye on her place in debtor's prison

And the other on a girl dressed as a rabbit

Now you can live forever

Endure fits and starts

But the only stake you cannot raise

Is the one driven through your heart

It's just a heathen town

I hear only evil as my tongue is tightened

I used to be god-fearing, now I'm so frightened

Cos the devil will drag you under

By the shark tail fin of your checkered cab

And I can't sit down, I'm going overboard

In this heathen town

And I can't sit down, I'm going overboard

In this heathen town

In this heathen town

In this heathen town

In this heathen town

In this heathen town

 — Dig it

Ballyhoo, my friend. The passion project is doing something a little different today.

My name is Remedy Robinson. And, for fun, this inaugural lyrics-only slow drag, let’s listen to brilliant lyrics of “The Boy Named If,” from the album of the same name, released in 2022. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

I'm a lucky so and so

A fortunate stiff

You said you never knew me but I'm the one you want to be with

If I tumble from a tightrope or leap from a cliff

I won't be dashed to pieces

I'm the boy named "IF"

If I disappear and I slipper from your view

I just step upon a crack and I won't come back

Imagine me

And I'll imagine you too

In a hollow of the bed sheet

Or a picture in a frame

I'm vivid as a summer's day

Then never seen again

Who'll pay the taxman?

Who'll place the blame?

Who'll point into an empty room

And whisper my name?

If I disappear and I slipper from your view

You will step upon a crack and I won't come back

Imagine me

And I'll imagine you too

Take my hand

We'll go to "Magic Lantern Land"

Take my hand

See the pictures they've projected

Take my hand

We'll fill our pockets up with sand

Dance in frantic passes

'Til the grains all turn to glasses

Drums begin to navigate, the band strikes up a riff

No one will believe you but the

Boy Named If

Who'll pay your entrance fee?

Who'll leave a tip?

Who'll say, "Listen here, Sunshine

Don't you give me no lip"

Who broke your favorite heart?

Who stops and never starts?

Who kiss you stupid?

It must be something you did

Who'll keep you satisfied after a lover's tiff?

It must be some other guy not…

The Boy Named If

If I disappear and I slipper from your view

You will step upon a crack and I won't come back

Imagine me

And I'll imagine you too

Take my hand

We'll go to "Magic Lantern Land"

Take my hand

See the pictures we've projected

Take my hand

We'll fill our pockets up with sand

Dance in frantic passes

'Til the grains all turn to glasses

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Again, this has been a slow drag lyrics only reading of “The Boy Named If” from 2022’s album of the same name. Thank you for listening.

And, of course, until next time, adieu my little ballyhoo

Reference:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource: The Boy Named If https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_Boy_Named_If_(song)

Today’s slow drag is with “Country Darkness,” from “The Delivery Man,” released in 2004. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Country Darkness” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Country_Darkness

“Country Darkness” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwp42y6I8m8

Blade definition: https://appzaza.com/dictionary/blade

Filament: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/filament#google_vignette

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Country Darkness" Lyrics 

This tattered document

A mystery you can solve

Some burnt out filament

Flies buzzing around the bulb

Country Darkness

He thought of traveling

Heard an approaching train

Drown out his desperate pulse

A song with no refrain

Country Darkness

She daydreams of forbidden sins

There must be something more

The prison she lives in

The one with the open door

A veil is covering

A glistening cruel blade

Suffer little children

Repent, unfaithful maid

Country Darkness

She daydreams of forbidden sins

There must be something more

The prison she lives in

The one with the open door

A veil is covering

A glistening cruel blade

Suffer little children

Repent, unfaithful maid

Country Darkness

Today’s slow drag is with “Tears before Bedtime,” from “Imperial Bedroom,” released in 1982. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Tears before Bedtime” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Imperial_Bedroom

“Tears before Bedtime” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v_inbXiPLQ  

“Tears before Bedtime” Alternative version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8uLxyBF9I

“Give up The Ghost” meaning https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/to-give-up-the-ghost#:~:text=Definition%20of%20'to%20give%20up%20the%20ghost'&text=If%20someone%20gives%20up%20the,what%20they%20are%20looking%20for.

A chorus versus and hook: https://emastered.com/blog/hook-vs-chorus#:~:text=A%20chorus%20is%20usually%20preceded,make%20for%20a%20catchier%20tune.

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Tears before Bedtime" Lyrics

I know the name on the tip of your tongue

And I know that accusing look

Everybody knows I've been so wrong

That's the problem and here's the hook

Chorus:

Tears before bedtime

There'll be trouble tonight

I don't want to talk about it anymore

I don't want to have another fight

I don't want to talk I don't want to fight

How wrong can I be before I am right

For the tears that you boo hoo hoo

There can be no defense

You say you'll forgive and forget

But it's only a pretense

(Chorus)

Either you can leave the past behind

Or give me something to disconnect my mind

I sleep with my fists clenched tight

When I don't lie awake all night

I guess time gave up the ghost too late

And the balance of our love

Very soon turns to hate

Darling your suspiciousness

Tortures me at night

But I can't excuse the cruel words

That I use whenever we fight

(Chorus)

How wrong can I be before I am right

Alternate Version Lyrics

I see that strange look in your eyes once again

And the name on the tip of your tongue is of a woman and not a man

There’ll be tears before bedtime, they’ll be trouble tonight

I don’t want to talk about it anymore, oh I don’t want to fight

How wrong can I be before I am right?

The pain that I’ve given you there is no defense

You say you’ll forgive and forget but it’s only a pretense

There’ll be tears before bedtime, they’ll be trouble tonight

I don’t want to talk about it anymore, oh I don’t want to fight

How wrong can I be before I am right?

Either you can leave the past behind or give me something to discount mind

I sleep with my fists clenched tights when I don’t lie awake all night

I guess time gave up the ghost too late

And the balance of our love

Very soon turns to hate

Suspicion and silence still torture my night

And the cruel words of anger that run through all our fights

They’ll be tears before bedtime, I’ll be trouble tonight

I don’t want to talk about it anymore, I don’t want to fight

How wrong can I be before I am right?

Today’s slow drag is with “Stella Hurt,” from “Momofuku,” released in 2008. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Stella Hurt” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Stella_Hurt

“Stella Hurt” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W93e5f6py9U

“Chekhov’s Gun” https://screencraft.org/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chekhovs-gun/

“Arcadia” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arcadia#:~:text=Now%20English%20speakers%20often%20use,%2C%20simple%2C%20or%20untroubled.%22

Blue Birds Songs: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/sounds#

“The Other End of the Telescope” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grIxnYllZxk

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Stella Hurt" Lyrics

You should wear your red galoshes

Walking o'er the city pride

Streets are paved with heaven's pennies

Gutters full of suicides

Teddy steadily fell from grace

Somewhere near Arcadia

Once she overheard a voice

she didn't hear on the radio

Velvet gloves and country clubs

Were never going to hold her

Ringing the necks of silly

Southern belles

Who wanted to scold her

Don't bring me down

I'm trouble bound

Blue song

Red Alert

Who made Stella Hurt?

Teddy soon dropped out of sight

Turned up in another town

Changed her name for the spotlight

Singing like a blue bird in a sequin gown

She finally fell and married well

But I knew it wouldn't last

Reversing back into the limelight

No one ever saw her even half-plastered

Don't bring me down

I'm trouble bound

Blue song

Red Alert

Who made Stella Hurt?

Then she saw those soldier boys

Throw their bonnets in the air

Self-made men would pledge their fortunes

And dream of her

And dream of her...

Generals in the commissary opened up a case of wine

Checked the perfume of the cork

Said "Made in 1929"...

They used her up, to raise morale for money

And Old Glory

Her voice was shot beyond repair 

But this is not the last act of this story

The night is black as cracked shellac

Abandoned in an attic

Stella is silent as the grave

Until the needle drags her through the static

Don't bring me down

I'm trouble bound

Blue song

Red Alert

Who made Stella Hurt?

Today’s slow drag is with “The Difference,” from “The Boy Named If,” released in 2023. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The Difference” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_Difference

“The Difference” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tvg-OfP1LA

Octameter: https://poemanalysis.com/poetic-meter/#:~:text=Octameter%20Octameter%20refers%20to%20a,patterns%20in%20English%20language%20verse.

The difference between undertone and overtone https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/undertone-and-overtone

What is an appositive: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appositive

Fiddlehead Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDYe6ZMs3K4

Fiddlehead: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiddlehead

The Male Gaze: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-male-gaze-5118422

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"The Difference" Lyrics

I pulled a petal from the flower to tell just where my fortune fell

About a boy beyond my caution before I lay beneath his spell

And he said, "Do you know, do you know, do you, by chance, know wrong from right?"

"Do you know, do you know, do you know what turns pleasure to plight?

If you trust me, I know it may seem strange 

I'll show you the way down into the underworld"

I did just what he asked me to

Lifted my skirt to show him my shoe

Upon a reel of the finest fiddlehead

Light as the dance around Milady's bed

The steps came faster at his insistence

'Til he showed me all about the difference

"It's not about the things I promised, it's not about the vow we broke

If I am faithless or dishonest it's just the gaze that you provoke"

And he said, "Do you know, do you know, do you, by chance, know wrong from right?"

"Do you know, do you know, do you know what turns pleasure to plight?

If you kiss me, at first it may seem strange

I'll show you the way into another world"

My father shamed me just like you

Buried my name in a glass or two

'Til he came to me in his darkest house

He mistook me, took me for his spouse

And my cries for a woman in the distance 

So, I took this knife to show him the difference

'Til he came to me in his darkest house

He mistook me, took me for his spouse

And my cries for the woman in the distance 

So, I used this knife to show him the difference

Today’s slow drag is with “Lipstick Vogue,” from “This Year’s Model,” released in 1978. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Lipstick Vogue” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Lipstick_Vogue

“Lipstick Vogue” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3sqZUMgcX4 

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Lipstick Vogue" Lyrics

Don't say you love me when it's just a rumor

Don't say a word if there is any doubt

Sometimes I think that love is just a tumor

You've got to cut it out

You say you're sorry for the things that you've done

You say you're sorry but you know you don't mean it

I wouldn't worry, I had so much fun

Sometimes I almost feel just like a human being

It's you

Not just another mouth in the lipstick vogue

It's you

Not just another mouth in the lipstick vogue

Oh yeah

Get to the slot machine almost dead on arrival

Just hit me one more time with that live wire

Maybe they told you you were only a girl in a million

You say I've got no feelings

This is a good way to kill them

Select the control and then insert the token

You wanna throw me away but I'm not broken

You've got a lot to say, well I'm not jokin

There are some words they don't allow to be spoken

Sometimes I almost feel just like a human being

It's you

Not just another mouth in the lipstick vogue

It's you

Not just another mouth in the lipstick vogue

Not just another mouth lost in the lipstick vogue (repeats)

Today’s slow drag is with “The Spell That You Cast,” from “National Ransom,” released in 2010. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The Spell That You Cast” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_Spell_That_You_Cast

“The Spell That You Cast” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEYZTE8BDuE

The Difference between You Got and You Have: https://preply.com/en/question/you-got-youve-got-43032#:~:text=“You%20have%20got”%20fully%20correct,missed%20too%20many%20days%20already.”&text=“You%27ve”%20(short,”%20(have%20is%20missing).

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"The Spell That You Cast" Lyrics

The spell that you cast

Well, it seems to be wearing off fast

(The spell that you cast)

Come back baby, cos I don't think that I can last

(The spell that you cast)

And I wonder whether

You got some other kind of lover < grammar

That you like to please

Better than me

Don't think I can take it

How am I gonna break it?

The spell that you cast

The spell that you cast

The spell that you've woven

Well, it seems to be coming undone

(The spell that you cast)

Come back, Baby or at least tell me where you are going

(The spell that you cast)

And you know quite well

That I'm not the jealous kinda fella

But they look in your eyes

And they're all hypnotized

I'm gonna miss you madly

'Cos I love you sadly

The spell that you cast

The spell that you cast

Jimmy, come quickly ‘cos I feel quite sickly

(Oh, the spell that you cast)

You're like a gangster's Molly with a cannonade volley

(Oh, the spell that you cast)

(Oh, the spell that you cast)

Here we go…

Don't think I can take it

How am I gonna break it?

The spell that you cast

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Today’s slow drag is with “Blame It on Cain,” from “My Aim is True,” released in 1977. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Blame It on Cain” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Blame_It_On_Cain

“Blame It on Cain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHaI7rVp9g

 “The Ticker’s Rise and Fall” https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2008/02/01/the-tickers-rise-and-fall/

“Shallow Grave” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN5qkhNHEKg

“Good Luck Grin” https://stirredblog.com/2017/03/13/baldwin-bar/

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Blame It on Cain" Lyrics

Once upon a time, I had a little money

Government burglars took it long

before I could mail it to you

Still, you are the only one

Now I can't let it slip away

So, if the man with the ticker tape,

tries to take it, this is what I'm gonna say

Blame it on Cain

Don't blame it on me

Oh, oh, it's nobody's fault

but we need somebody to burn

Well, if I was a saint with a silver cup

and the money got low

we could always heat it up or trade it in

then the radio to heaven will be wired to your purse

And then you can run down the waveband,

coast to coast, hand in hand

Bad to worse, curse for curse,

don't be dissatisfied

So, you're not satisfied

(Chorus)

I think I lived a little too long

on the outskirts of town

I think I'm going insane

from talking to myself for so long

Oh, but I never been acute

But when they step upon your face,

they wear that good look grin

I gotta break out one weekend if I do somebody in

But every single time I feel a little stronger

they tell me it's a crime

Well, how much longer?

(Chorus)

Blame it on Cain

Please don't blame it on me

It's nobody's fault,

but it just seems to be his turn

Today’s slow drag is with “American Gangster Time,” from “Momofuku,” released in 2008. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “American Gangster Time” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=American_Gangster_Time

“American Gangster Time” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnRIKlVsk1w

Flag Etiquette: https://www.vfw.org/community/flag-etiquette

Flatter to Deceive idiom meaning: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/flatter-to-deceive#:~:text=to%20give%20the%20appearance%20of,just%20a%20lull%20in%20hostilities.

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"American Gangster Time" Lyrics: 

One, two, three, four

Somewhere downtown a pretty girl kneels

Offers her soft lips and a handful of pills

Peels off her dress and then the rest of her skills

It buys what she wants and the rest she just steals

He speaks between deep swallows of rum

While her head is beating like a big bass drum

And she wishes he were mute and not just dumb

When the trick asked her quick, "Did you come?"

It's a drag

Saluting that starry rag

I'd rather go blind

For speaking my mind

Or use it just like a gag

So, raise it in anger

Just let it hang

American Gangster Time

He sits back and starts to invent

All about some Saigon correspondent

"'Til the carbine fell silent and spent

I never knew it could be so eloquent"

Next week there'll be some fashionable new sin

For each harlot and each Puritan

Pull off their wings stick them on a pin

And just watch the money roll in

It's a drag

Saluting that starry rag

I’d rather go blind

For speaking my mind

Or use it just like a gag

So, raise it in anger

Just let it hang

American Gangster Time

What you got hidden up your sleeve?

The tracks of the train that were bidding you to leave

When they say that you should flatter to deceive

Don't count on any reprieve

The hands of the helpless are raised

Your dead little secrets are praised

The people stand dumbstruck and dazed

By the inches that you have erased

It’s a drag

Saluting that starry rag

I'd rather go blind

For speaking my mind

Or use it just like a gag

So, raise it in anger

Just let it hang

American gangster time

Committing the perfect crime

In American Gangster Time

Here we go

Bye bye

American Gangster Time

Today’s slow drag is with “Lip Service,” from “This Year’s Model,” released in 1978. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

“Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Lip Service” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Lip_Service

“Lip Service” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE6oRbX4CLc

“Grice’s Maxims” https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/dravling/grice.html

“Sharp Practice” meaning: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/sharp-practice

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Lip Service" Lyrics

You left the motor running

But I know you're so attractive

Getting in some sharp practice

You better not do anything reckless

But if everybody is going through the motions

Everybody is going through the motions

Are you really only going through the motions?

Lip service is all you'll ever get from me

Lip service is all you'll ever get from me

Lip service is all you'll ever get from me

But if you change your mind

You can send it in a letter to me

Don't make any sudden movements

These are dangerous amusements

When did you become so choosy

Don't act like you're above me, just look at your shoes

But if everybody is going through the motions

Everybody is going through the motions

Are you really only going through the motions?

Lip service is all you'll ever get from me

Lip service is all you'll ever get from me

Lip service is all you'll ever get from me

But if you change your mind

You can send it in a letter to me

But if you change your mind

You can send it in a letter to me

But if you change your mind

You can send it in a letter to me

Today’s slow drag is with “The Man You Love to Hate,” from “The Boy Named If,” released in 2022. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com 

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The Man You Love to Hate” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_Man_You_Love_To_Hate

“The Man You Love to Hate” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZU9b4NOQBQ

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"The Man You Love to Hate" Lyrics 

I went to a theatre on Silhouette Street

It had a taste of decay, and a scent of defeat

All of the patrons in the pews were people that I'd killed or used

The actors on the stage were equally skilled

The players took turns in lighting the fuse

One of them said "Now you must choose"

A man of infamy or ill-repute

And that's the one that we will execute

None of that mob had turned up late

They said, "You'd better concentrate”

So, start the show, 'cos we can't wait for

The Man You Love to Hate

All of the patrons sitting on pews

Were the shades of the ghosts of the once accused

There was music that dragged in line and word

Not a penny was spent, or a conscience was spared

The hero's motives were never in doubt

We laughed at the speeches that he would spout

Suddenly there arose a shout

Confessions simply tumbled out

And marriage vows, that someone mumbled about

None of that mob had turned up late

They said, "You'd better concentrate”

So, start the show, 'cos we can't wait for

The Man You Love to Hate

The closing act

The first one billed

Into the limelight thrilled

The tale of a ship lured onto the rocks under

The cover of darkness, the hold was plundered

My mouth was parched my eyes red-rimmed

My false light shone 

And my ghost light dimmed

I went to a house on Silhouette Street

Where I lived once and died once more

Awoke a woman I once adored

Her husband came to the door

In a masquerade of dignity

He said, "I'm pleased to meet you but you don't know me"

She took my money and handed me the key

The number on the fob was "999" 

She whispered that's your room and this is mine

But that's a chamber that you can't afford

It's one door down, next to the Emergency Ward

None of that mob had turned up late

They said, "You'd better concentrate”

So, start the show, 'cos we can't wait for

The Man You Love to Hate

The Man You Love to Hate

I'm a one party state

The Man You Love to Hate 

The girl you used to care for

Without a why or wherefore

The country that I loved

Is just a problem to solve

Until we all disintegrate before

The Man You Love to Hate

Today’s slow drag is with “Green Shirt,” from “Armed Forces,” released in 1979. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Green Shirt” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Green_Shirt

“Green Shirt” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilN9SpD6Y_Q

The Somerton Man Mystery: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/have-scholars-finally-identified-the-mysterious-somerton-man-180980540/

Quisling Clinic Photo https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM51270

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Green Shirt" Lyrics 

There's a smart young woman on a light blue screen

Who comes into my house every night

And she takes all the red, yellow, orange and green

And she turns them into black and white

But you tease, and you flirt

And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt

You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Better cut off all identifying labels

Before they put you on the torture table

'Cause somewhere in the "Quisling Clinic"

There's a shorthand typist taking seconds over minutes

She's listening in to the Venus line

She's picking out names

I hope none of them are mine

But you tease, and you flirt

And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt

You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Never said I was a stool pigeon

I never said I was a diplomat

Everybody is under suspicion

But you don't wanna hear about that

'Cause you tease, and you flirt

And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt

You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Better send a begging letter to the big investigation

Who put these fingerprints on my imagination?

You tease, and you flirt

And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt

You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Today’s slow drag is with “The First to Leave,” from “The Juliet Letters,” released in 1993. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com 

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The First to Leave” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_First_To_Leave

“The First to Leave” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS0dPEacnTY

“The Dark Ensemble: Voice and String Quartet https://interlude.hk/the-dark-ensemble-voice-and-string-quartet-20th-century/

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"The First to Leave" Lyrics

I should open with a kiss

For if you're reading this

You must have opened up your case

And found this letter where I placed it

In between the silk and lace

There were other clues, like your walking shoes

But I still refused to believe

That you were meant to be the first to leave

Everybody here sends you their love

How could I forget you still walk above

Or below

Perhaps you'll never know this Purgatory

We never could agree

There's a thought, there's a pause

No time to repent

Eternally yours in a permanent Lent

But if I should give you up

If you're right and life just stops

And I never see your face again

Then from unearthly pleasures, proud and plain

I shall abstain

'Til you realize, my loss is your surprise

Unless you know otherwise, then don't grieve

You see I had to be the first to leave

Today’s slow drag is with “God’s Comic,” from “Spike,” released in 1989. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com  

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “God’s Comic” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=God%27s_Comic

“God’s Comic” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajjBxMCMQQs

“God’s Comic” Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0N6TfU54o8

“Requiem” by Andrew Lloyd Webber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3CG8pUpVjg

“God is dead”: What Nietzsche really meant”: https://bigthink.com/thinking/what-nietzsche-really-meant-by-god-is-dead/ 

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"God's Comic" Lyrics 

I wish you'd known me when I was alive, I was a funny fella

The crowd would hoot and holler for more 

I wore a drunk's red nose for applause 

Oh yes, I was a comical priest 

"With a joke for the flock and a hand up your fleece" 

Drooling the drink and the lipstick and greasepaint 

Down the cardboard front of my dirty dog-collar 

(Chorus:)

Now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead 

And I'm going on to meet my reward 

I was scared, I was scared, I was scared, I was scared 

He might’ve never heard God's comic 

So, there he was on a waterbed, drinking a cola of a mystery brand 

Reading an airport novelette, listening to Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "Requiem" 

He said, before it had really begun, "I prefer the one about my son" 

"I've been wading through all of this unbelievable junk 

And wondering if I should have given the world to the monkeys" 

(Repeat Chorus) 

I'm gonna take a little trip down Paradise's endless shores 

They say that travel broadens the mind, till you can't get your head out of doors 

I'm sitting here on the top of the world, I hang around in the longest night 

Until each beast has gone to bed and then I say "God bless" and put out the light 

While you lie in the dark, afraid to breathe 

And you beg and you promise and you bargain and you plead 

Sometimes you confuse me with Santa Claus 

It's the big white beard, I suppose 

I'm going up to the Pole, where you folks die of cold 

I might be gone for a while if you need me 

Now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead

And you're all going on to meet your reward 

Are you scared? Are you scared? Are you scared? Are you scared? 

You might have never heard, but God's comic

Today’s slow drag is with “The World and His Wife,” from “Punch the Clock,” released in 1983. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The World and His Wife”  https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_World_And_His_Wife

“The World and His Wife” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4wgrLmdVaI

“The World and His Wife” Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJTTmA_vvs

“The World and His Wife” idiom: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/world-and-his-wife#:~:text=a%20great%20many%20people%2C%20especially,his%20wife%20will%20be%20there.

“It’s a Living” idiom https://www.englishforums.com/English/ItsALiving/mkphd/post.htm

“This is the life” idiom https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/this-is-the-life

“Score Draw” https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/score-draw#:~:text=Word%20forms%3A%20plural%20score%20draws,the%20same%20number%20of%20goals.

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"The World and His Wife" Lyrics

The family circle gathers 'round from very far and near

To pass around the same remarks they passed away last year

The little girl you dangled on your knee without mishap

Stirs something in your memory and something in your lap

Chorus:

But it's a living

This is the life

For the world and his wife

The world and his wife

The kissing cousins slip outside to cuddle and confess

She says sweet nothing at all, it's much more of a mess

The conversation melts like chocolate down their open jaws

As the juniper berry slips down just like last night's drawers

(Chorus)

To tell the truth our Mum ran off with someone else's father

Went for two weeks' holiday in Taramasalata

Daddy went out with the rubbish and he kept on walking

Between Mum and the walls

God only knows who does the talking

(Chorus)

But late time in the evening through the tears and fol-de-rol

Come the sentimental feelings for the lure of vitriol

Longing thoughts go hankering for the old home overseas

With a blindfold and a national anthem sung in different keys

Today’s slow drag is with “Black and White World” from “Get Happy!”, released in 1980. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com 

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com/

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Black and White World” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Black_And_White_World

“Black and White World” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRDl6YvXhiw

“Black and White World” Demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMLZi9v-RFM

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Black and White World" Lyrics:

I was looking at the black and white world

It seemed so exciting

If you'd only put me back-to-back with that girl

When the night's inviting

With just a little lighting

There'll never be days like that again

When I was just a boy and men were men

You never go from moment to moment

You're the living double of a single fiction

You're very colorful with your compliments

As you feel the finger's friction

It's a freeze-frame till it’s real life

You don't want to look

'Cause you've seen the film and you've read the book

I was looking at the black and white world

Trying to name some pin-up

Those days she was just a beautiful girl

Now she's framed and hung up

I thought she was young

Up until I saw her last night in close detail

Though they all fade away when you're so pale

It's more than just a physical attraction

It starts with a face and ends up a fixation

But you're never gonna feel a fraction

Of the way it used to work on your imagination

When you were looking at the black and white world

Today’s slow drag is with “Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?” from “Blood and Chocolate,” released in 1986. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com 

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Honey,_Are_You_Straight_Or_Are_You_Blind%3F

“Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqeSNPJ1bIY

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?"

Who do you see when you turn your eyes down?

Who do you see when I'm not seeing you?

The news is out all over town

And all these girls are taking turns at being you

Chorus:

Well, well, well

You'd better make up your mind

Honey, are you straight or are you blind?

She's coming in between us, you know that she is

I'm not holding on to her but one of us is

My hands are in my pockets, my face is in a book

She could walk 'round naked and I wouldn't sneak a look

(Chorus)

Honey, are you straight or are you blind?

Honey, are you straight or are you blind?

Honey, are you straight or are you blind?

Honey, are you straight or are you blind?

She walked in and your eyes flew out the door

You squeezed my hand until the circulation ceases

She's just a doll like so many more

She's the kind of doll that you'd like to pull to pieces

(Chorus)

Well!

Well, well, well

You'd better make up your mind

Honey, are you straight or are you blind?

Today’s slow drag is with “White Knuckles” from “Trust,” released in 1981. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “White Knuckles” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=White_Knuckles

“White Knuckles” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbZ6TkpflKc

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Wave a White Flag”  https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Wave_A_White_Flag

“Wave a White Flag” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJwALX5riiU

“I need him like the axe needs the turkey” saying from “The Lady Eve.” https://melanienovak.com/2020/09/02/the-lady-eve-i-need-him-like-the-axe-needs-the-turkey/

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"White Knuckles" Lyrics:

White knuckles came down to put the frighteners on

I believe she's the one that he's got his heart set on

It doesn't matter if your face doesn't fit

There's no charge for changing it

Oooh ooh

What are you doing

You see right through him

You don't have to take it when he gets cruel

White knuckles on black and blue skin

You don't have to take it so you just give in

White knuckles sweatin' on the headboard

Never found out what the kisser was for

Losing face with the boys while she's whispering in his ear

They never found out why they called it laughing gear

Maybe they weren't loved when they were young

Maybe they should be hung by their tongues

Oooh ooh

Under the blankets with the body jerk

He needs her like the axe needs the turkey

Thinking of après of this fancy footwork

White knuckles on black and blue skin

Didn't mean to hit her but she kept laughing

White knuckles sweatin' on the headboard

Never found out what the kisser was for

There's always someone new to toy with when the penny drops in the slot

Now it's a petty crime on the news at nine

But it's all she's got

Love on the never never dreams don't come cheap

I don't close my eyes when I go to sleep

Oooh ooh

It gets right under your skin

It makes you as miserable as sin

You don't have to take it so you just give in

White knuckles on black and blue skin

Didn't mean to hit her but she kept laughing

White knuckles sweatin' on the headboard

Never found out what the kisser was for

White knuckles on black and blue skin

You don't have to take it so you just give in

White knuckles sweatin' on the headboard

Never found out what the kisser was for

Why you don't come round anymore

Mother said

He's using you

Sister said

I told you so too

When he goes to your head

You took it to be true

Today’s slow drag is with “They’re Not Laughing at Me Now” from “Hey Clockface,” released in 2020. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Instagram: slow_drag_remedy 

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “They’re Not Laughing at Me Now” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/They%27re_Not_Laughing_At_Me_Now

“They’re Not Laughing at Me Now” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_uR6jvQKAI

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"They're Not Laughing at Me Now" Lyrics:

Tell me, how does it feel?

In the hour of deception and the moment of pretend

To be scorned by those rank and those unkind strangers

You were fool enough to call your friends

Will you say as the curtain descends?

"They're not laughing at me now"

When the last of the garlands and laurel crowns and fine bouquets have all been swept away

You were lost in the smokescreens and cavalcades and accolades instead of traitor's pay

Where will you find the courage to say?

"They're not laughing at me now"

You could shake my hand

If I could unfold my fist

If I were a gentleman

If I were a Christian

But I wouldn't risk it

Why would you?

You know my name now

And it's "Mister" to you.

Now we're back at the start, no forgiveness in your heart, you turned your coat and asked me to turn my cheek

And it's all in a language that I can understand but never bring myself to speak

I'll leave it to you, if you dare

It's a peal too appalling to bear

I wonder if you're here or you're there

They're not laughing at me now

Today’s slow drag is with “Mischievous Ghost” from the Rhino reissue of “Mighty Like a Rose,” released in 2002. It was originally released as part of the “Bringing It All Back Home” soundtrack, released in 1991. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name. This episode has been requested by a loyal and astute fan who believes “Mischievous Ghost” was the impetus for Mr. Costello’s dalliance with long hair, as he seems to have spent much time “in the blank hillsides” of Ireland himself at the time.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Mischievous Ghost” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Mischievous_Ghost

“Mischievous Ghost” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfbsGZvdNbk

Unmask Us, Elvis Costello on “Mischievous Ghost” https://unmask.us/songwriters-c-e/elvis-costello-p5/

The Vibrato Debate: https://www.newsounds.org/story/43709-the-vibrato-debate/

The Scottish Bagpipes, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl9240HWXBU

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Listen to the audiobook for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

"Mischievous Ghost" Lyrics

She came dancing right before my eyes

She said she came to warn me

Before it dawned on me

I went walking on the blank hillside

Where the sunset falls

Where the sunset dies

She gave me love / she told me lies

That most mischievous ghost

She was in disguise, she was in disguise, she was in disguise

He started to whistle, they bought him a flute

He was talking in tongues, they swore he was mute

He scoffed and blasphemed, they said it was beautiful

Busted a button, they bought him a suitcase full

They colored him cricket and laced him up tight

As he drew on their days, resurrected his nights

He raved in the dark, he went out in a blaze

"There you go," they said, "he's good for nothing and lazy"

With scandal and shame, they slandered his name

They told him to freeze, they damned him to roast

Disappointed that he passed away peacefully

Never dying to be a mischievous ghost

They dug him up quick with a polish and lick

They powdered him up till he only looked sick

The hinge in his backbone would bend to applause

But his dancing was not quite as lively of course

These are the rewards immortality affords

Bullied and bribed and beaten to bliss

Parroting slack sentimental laments

Of going away and not being missed

With scandal and shame, they slandered his name

They told him to freeze, they damned him to roast

Disappointed that he passed away peacefully

Never dying to be a mischievous ghost

With the green beer and the shamrock tattoos

Singing his songs of the battles we lose

And "Will ye come home again," so we can murder you

What would you do if they took his word

With forty-eight million to join in the toast

Move over my darling mischievous ghost

Mischievous ghost

Today’s slow drag is with “The Other Side of Summer” from “Mighty Like a Rose,” released in 1991. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com  

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The Other Side of Summer” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Other_Side_Of_Summer

“The Other Side of Summer” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_9f1xuloo

“The Other Side of Summer” Music Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww0hN-puTdA

“Stand Like Greyhounds…” https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/191850.html  

“Give It Away Now” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr_uHJPUlO8 

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Earthbound”:http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Wendy_James:_Now_Ain%27t_The_Time_For_Your_Tears

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Earthbound

“Earthbound” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Xs6Mhe9tU

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"The Other Side of Summer" Lyrics

The sun struggles up another beautiful day

And I felt glad in my own suspicious way

Despite the contradiction and confusion

Felt tragic without reason

There's malice and there's magic in every season

(chorus):

From the foaming breakers of the poisonous surf

The other side of summer

To the burning forests in the hills of Astroturf

The other side of summer

The automatic gates close up between the shanties and the palace

The blowtorch amusements, the voodoo chalice

The pale pathetic promises that everybody swallows

A teenage girl is crying 'cos she don't look like a million dollars

So help her if you can

'Cos she don't seem to have the attention span

(chorus)

Was it a millionaire who said "imagine no possessions"?

A poor little schoolboy who said "we don't need no lessons"?

The rabid rebel dogs ransack the shampoo shop

The pop princess is downtown shooting up

And if that goddess is fit for burning

The sun will struggle up, the world will still keep turning

Madman standing by the side of the road saying

"Look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes"

Now you can't afford to fake all the drugs your parents used to take

Because of their mistakes, you'd better be wide awake

(chorus)

The mightiest rose

The absence of perfume

The casual killers

The military curfew

The cardboard city

An unwanted birthday

The other side of summer

The dancing was desperate, the music was worse

They bury your dreams and dig up the worthless

Goodnight

God bless

And kiss "goodbye" to the earth

The other side of summer

Today’s slow drag is with “Dishonor the Stars” from the Grammy Award winning “Look Now,” released in 2018. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com 

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Dishonor the Stars” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Dishonor_The_Stars

“Dishonor the Stars” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E18wcuJYxRM

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"Dishonor The Stars" Lyrics

If you wake and chance

to look above you

There's one that I named to show how

much I love you

Hanging up high

Poets long have written and 

have sung of

moonlight and some 

distant satellite and

when we're young we wish

upon them

Other men may only dream

to kiss you

But it's not a thrill like this

Put your lips a little closer to my cheek

then whisper,

then speak

So, tell me if you know

How deep can this thing go? 

Honey will still desire the flowers

And there will be a love like ours

Until the sky dishonors the stars

What in the world would all this 

amount to? 

If I can't tell you how much 

I want you

On such a night the sky might 

dishonor the stars

Disown and dishonor the stars

Poets long have written and 

have sung of

moonlight and some 

distant satellite and

when we're young we wish

upon them

Other men may only dream to kiss you

But it's not a thrill like this

Put your lips a little closer to my cheek

then whisper,

then speak

So, tell me if you know

How deep can this thing go?

Honey will still desire the flowers

And there will be a love like ours

Until the sky dishonors the stars

What in the world would all this 

amount to? 

If I can't tell you how much 

I want you

On such a night the sky might 

dishonor the stars

Disown and dishonor the stars

Today’s slow drag is with “There’s a Story in Your Voice” from “The Delivery Man,” released in 2004. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello, with the guest vocal of Lucinda Williams.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com 

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “There’s a Story in Your Voice” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/There%27s_A_Story_In_Your_Voice

“There’s a Story in Your Voice” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6dXZNT-Sd4

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"There's a Story in Your Voice" Lyrics

Once upon another time

If you had the need

I'd step right in the shoes that you've been walking

'Cos someone put the hurt in you

For everyone to see

And you only have to speak to tell your fortune

There's a story in your voice

Both by damage and by choice

It tells of promises and pleasure

And a tale of wine and woe

The uneasy time to come

And the long way 'round we go to get there

Once you told me fairytales

Everybody knows

But I didn't care for their prediction

Now you say you're leaving me

And packing up your clothes

I finally see you were a work of fiction

There's a story in your walk

Then you crumble just like chalk

And I could say that I was sorry

But I wouldn't mean it much

There are pages I can't touch

And something that's been torn out of this chapter

Far away, not far enough

'Cos I can still recall

How it felt when I read that last sentence

Now I go inside some rooms with Gideon in them all

And hide myself from all hope of repentance

There's a story in your eyes

Cheap sunglasses might disguise

But when the bedroom light reveals

All that bravado and that fright

That you cover up in spite

Attempts to strip away this fabrication

There's a story in your voice

Both by damage and by choice

It tells of promises and pleasure

And a tale of wine and woe

The uneasy time to come

And the long way 'round we go to get there

Today’s slow drag is with “Suit of Lights” from “King of America,” released in February, 1986. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Suit of Lights” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Suit_Of_Lights

“Suit of Lights” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Ke3f6yfI8

“Welcome to the Club” Nat “King” Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=todFZrhmMc4

“Welcome to My World” Jim Reeves, 1963: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOCCvN8YDuc

“Workin’ Man Blues” Merle Haggard” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EwK0NsKdDY

“Everyday I Write the Book” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1d4r9awjKE

“It’s a Dog’s Life” Idiom: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/its-a-dogs-life

1987 Lasse Hallstrom Film, “My Life as a Dog” Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxzO8Qx96O4

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"Suit of Lights" Lyrics:

While Nat King Cole sings "Welcome to My World"

You request some song you hate, you sentimental fool

And it's the force of habit

If it moves then you fuck it

If it doesn't move you stab it

And I thought I heard "The Working Man's Blues"

He went to work that night and wasted his breath

Outside there was a public execution

Inside he died a thousand deaths

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they put him in a suit of lights

In the perforated first editions

Where they advocate the hangman's noose

Then tell the sorry tale of the spent Princess

Her uncouth escort looking down her dress

Anyway, they say that she wears the trousers

And learnt everything that she does

And doesn't know if she should tell him yes

Or let him go

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they put him in a suit of lights

But, it's a dog's life in a rope leash or a diamond collar

It's enough to make you think right now

But you don't bother

For goodness sake as you cry and shake

Let's keep your face down in the dirt where you belong

And think of all the pleasure that it brings

Though you know that it's wrong

And there's still life in your body

But most of it's leaving

Can't you give us all a break

Can't you stop breathing

And I thought I heard "The Working Man's Blues"

I went to work that night and wasted my breath

Outside they're painting tar on somebody

It's the closest to a work of art that they will ever be

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground

And they put him in a suit of lights

And they put him in a suit of lights

Today’s slow drag is with “Spooky Girlfriend” from “When I Was Cruel,” released in 2002. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Spooky Girlfriend” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Spooky_Girlfriend

“Spooky Girlfriend” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMBmd6m7h-c

“Spooky Girlfriend” Cruel Smile, Live on KFOG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJsRa4XojFs

“London’s Brilliant Parade” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZmNE964rmk

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"Spooky Girlfriend" Lyrics:

I want a girl to make a mess

To do no wrong she must confess

And then perhaps hitch up her dress

'Cos when the flashbulbs explode

She's such a sensitive soul

I want a girl who is helpless and frail

Who won't pull on my ponytail

I want a girl who has no past

She's made up now

But that won't last

'Cos when she sits on my knee

And then she whispers to me

"Can't you see

could be

could be

Your spooky girlfriend…

I could be, I could be your spooky girlfriend”

And the broken toys are scattered in the attic

And the Newspapers play in the words of the fanatic

And the greeting cards are your most poetic lyric

And the flat champagne is sweet sugar syrup

I want to paint you with glitter and with dirt

Picture you with innocence and hurt

The shutter closes

Exposes the shot

She says, "Are you looking up my skirt?"

When you say "No"

She says "Why not?"

I want a girl to turn my screw

To wind my watch, to buckle my shoe

And if she won't, her mother will do

'Cos when she does as she's told

We'll all turn platinum and gold

But when she sits on my knee

I hear her whispers to me

"Can't you see?"

"I could be your spooky girlfriend"

Today’s slow drag is with “You Little Fool” from “Imperial Bedroom,” released in 1982. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “You Little Fool” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/You_Little_Fool

“You Little Fool” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYmVfF3WX_Q

“You Little Fool” Demo version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEo40X9_HUs

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

Daddy's best girl in the world is not supposed to have a boyfriend

But she's never wanted at home

Other girls are allowed to wear their makeup

She sneaks out her lipstick, powder and comb

She surrounds his name with hearts and flowers

Talks on the telephone for hours and hours

But with a bird in his hand

And two on a string

The words of love have an imitation ring

Chorus:

You little fool, you little fool

I suppose that you're going to stay all night

You little fool

Don't look at me that way, you know it isn't right

You little fool

They say no news is good news

The little girl wants information

Mother just gives her some pills to choose

And says go and use your imagination

Daddy's best girl in the world says just look what I got

As she sits beside him on the high stool

With his arm around her neck, snowball in one hand

And the other full of imitation jewels

She fingers a string of pearls

An imitation but he'll never know it

Imitation lashes flutter above

Looking for an imitation of love

(Chorus)

Alternative second verse intro lyrics:

 And you’re so surprised she’s up to hijinks out on the high stools

Sitting with a snowball in one hand, the other full of imitation jewels

Today’s slow drag is with “Sour Milk Cow Blues” from “Goodbye Cruel World,” released in 1984. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Sour Milk Cow Blues” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Sour_Milk-Cow_Blues

“Sour Milk Cow Blues” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_yk1GoVMMY

“Milk Cow Blues Boogie,” 1954 Elvis Presley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruWHWXRkHHk

“Milk Cow Blues,” 1934 Kokomo Arnold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B944jMtu6Qc

Willie Nelson – Milk Cow Blues, 1981: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GnEpw-A0to

“Parade of Pleasure,” Geoffrey Wagner: https://www.amazon.com/Parade-pleasure-popular-iconography-U-S/dp/B00IY0JJNM

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"Sour Milk Cow Blues" Lyrics:

You like coffee and you like tea

Much more than you like me

And everybody says watch out, yeah

For the sour milk-cow blues

You like your coffee just a little too sweet

Without your sugar, life is incomplete

And everybody says watch out, yeah

For the sour milk-cow blues

I think about you everyday

Something about you is not the same

Something about the things you say

Sounds like a different woman with a different name

Sour milk-cow blues

Sour milk-cow blues

You wear a different size and style of shoe

I think that someone must be poisoning you

To replace you with a living double

Get out of my life right now and save them all of the trouble

They changed your complexion and your personality

Somebody's putting ideas in your head

They took the girl of my dreams and left you here instead

Sour milk-cow blues

Sour milk-cow blues

You take your place in this parade of pleas

You dial a number and they offer relief

All alone with just your own device

They give you something and it isn't advice

To break the hearts of a million listeners

Start out as lovers and you end up as prisoners

Somebody's suffering from the things that you do

Somebody's suffering but you're glad it isn't you

Put your fingertips up to the screen

Repeat after me, wake at the count of three

Now I don't know which is worse

What they're doing to you or what you're doing to me

Sour milk-cow blues

Sour milk-cow blues

Sour milk-cow blues

Sour milk-cow blues

Today’s slow drag is with “That Bridge I Burned” from “Extreme Honey: The Very Best of the Warner Bros. Years,” released in 1997, and then again on the “All This Useless Beauty” Rhino re-issue, released in 2001. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

----------------------

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “That Bridge I Burned” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Bridge_I_Burned

“That Bridge I Burned” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPdCavy9z_s

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGhlUBtY8_I

Marsilio Ficino: https://iep.utm.edu/ficino/

Prince’s “Pop Life”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Hvoqgdlfk

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"That Bridge I Burned" Lyrics:

I'm walking in Times Square in the Electric Daylight

The sailors on shore leave stand out in their perfect white

I'm up here with my spying glass at the window up above

For better or for worse - it's a perverse universe, my love

Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned

Now I know, somehow I don't feel so alone

"And remember to flee far away from the unbridled,

and the impudent, the malicious, and the unlucky.

For these being full of bad demons or rays are maleficent,

and like lepers and people stricken with plague,

they harm not only by touch but even by proximity and by sight." (Dig it!)

(Quote from Marsilio Ficino, Italian philosopher [1433-1499])

You mutter underneath your breath - IT ECHOES ROUND THE WORLD 

Everybody comes from nowhere

There is hope, it loops up in the air

Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned

Now I know, somehow I don't feel so alone

You said I used to be handsome if you screwed up your eyes

Professors and vampires drank up all the tears I cried

Now there's a bird at my window, he beats upon the pane

And sometimes he sings to me - a mocking bird in the twilight of infamy

Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned

Now I know, some how I don't feel so alone

Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned

Now I know, they've burned one sinner and the others are selling firewood

Now I know

Now I know

Now I know

Today’s slow drag is with “A Slow Drag with Josephine” from “National Ransom,” released in 2010. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Linguist Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

----------------------

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “A Slow Drag with Josephine” http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/A_Slow_Drag_With_Josephine

“A Slow Drag with Josephine” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1II-SELD9k

Gavotte, Baroque Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0tB2rGh1kM

Gavotte definition: https://www.britannica.com/art/gavotte

Garrotes Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C32zAHaIJt4

Garrote (method of torture by strangulation) definition: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/garrote

Cotillions, definition and difference: https://www.astoriabanquets.com/difference-between-a-cotillion-and-a-debutante-ball.htm

Cotillion Dance example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvItgHeD2EU

Arabesque: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmRrfm1ihGg

Arabesque in Dance, definition: https://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3farndo.htm

Farandole dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzUeMwM9CCQ

Farandole dance definition: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/farandole

Slow Drag Dance Moves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lFWWheBVuA

A bit of The Slow Drag Dance history: https://atomicballroom.com/blog/2011/05/17/slow-it-down-with-slow-drag/

“Tango Till You’re Sore, Tom Waits from the seminal “Rain Dogs”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjLBWJutzEI

“Flirtation – Dominica’s Traditional Dance”: https://dominicaexplorer.com/dominica/dominica-traditional-dances/flirtation-dance/

“Flirtation Two Step: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtj-SFouB6o

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"A Slow Drag with Josephine" Lyrics: 

The snitch, the snoop, the tattletale

Lead a threadbare up the stairs

Adieu, my little ballyhoo

You broke my heart in two

And now I haunt the bars and scent those trite affairs

She went home to gather her comb

And caught him unawares

And there was a man enjoying the lay of the land

He took a walk in the dark with a dish from the stand

Girls and their creations

Tied in the brightest grenadine

But I'd take all that I've seen

For a Slow Drag with Josephine

Josephine, Josephine

But I'd trade all that I've seen for a Slow Drag with Josephine

Gavottes, garrotes, Cotillions and slow Arabesques

Drum-rolls and Farandoles were all made in jest

But when you make that move

I can't resist

When will you declare your armistice?

Josephine, Josephine

But I'd trade all that I've seen for a Slow Drag with Josephine

In another time and place a different fate was cast

He tried to skeddle-daddle-do

She might have slapped him

Just for saying "Grant one more chance before you pass"

"Then curse the nurse that named me the first or bury me at last"

And in three-quarter time

The true and the false

Dancing the "Hesitation Waltz"

Then comes the "Flirtation"

And temptation

Hip, hip hooray

Listen to what I say

Then you can take it away…

Today’s slow drag is with “No Flag” from “Hey Clockface,” released in June, 2020. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “No Flag”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/No_Flag

“No Flag”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7aQtVfB-88

Elvis Costello Drops Second “Helsinki Sound” https://www.977theriver.com/2020/07/10/elvis-costello-drops-second-helsinki-sound-track-hetty-ohara-confidential/

“My Dark Life” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw9boaOLnvI

Definition of collocation: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/collocation

Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday”

"No Flag" Lyrics

I've got no religion

I've got no philosophy

I've got a head full of ideas and words that don't seem to belong to me

You may be joking but I don't get the gag

I sense no future but time seems to drag

No time for this kind of love

No flag waving high above

No sign for the dark place that I live

No God for the damn that I don't give

I've got no illusions

I've had no epiphany

Why should anybody listen to me

She said I'm tearing up the sheets that your love letters stained

All of your magic powers have drained

No time for this kind of love

No flag waving high above

No sign for the dark place that I live

No God for the damn that I don't give

There's a line in the sand

A word or two in the aftermath

I'm an arrow that shoots up and down on an advertising graph

I could write you verses and recite more than one

But they're not worth the paper that they're written on

No time for this kind of love

No flag waving high above

No sign for the dark place that I live

No God for the damn that I don't give

We want everything and we don't want to share

Out-o space for the faces we fear

Look in the mirror and see who I used to be

Made out of plastic in a factory

No flag

No flag

Today’s slow drag is with “Episode of Blonde” from “When I Was Cruel,” released in April, 2002. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.coms

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Episode of Blonde”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Episode_Of_Blonde

“Episode of Blonde”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoGCWtp4UIY

Main Wiki Resource, “Peroxide Side” Blunt Cut: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruel_Smile

“Peroxide Side” (Blunt Cut): http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Episode_Of_Blonde

“Un Chien Andalou,” (The Andalusian Dog) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB7gd_t6WMQ

“Colorless green ideas sleep furiously”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorless_green_ideas_sleep_furiously

“Governing English: Prescriptivism, Descriptivism, and Change” https://exhibits.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/show/english-language/governing-english

“Skittles – History and Useful Information” https://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Skittles.htm

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

"Episode of Blonde" Lyrics:

I spy for the "Spirit of Curiosity"

All the scandals of each vain monstrosity

I gossip and I pry and I insinuate

If the failure is great

Then it tends to fascinate

A tornado dropped a funnel cloud with twenty tons of rain

Though she had the attention span of warm cellophane

Her lovers fell like Skittles in a 10-pin bowling lane

But nothing could compare with that explosion of fame

So you jumped back with alarm

Every Elvis has his army

Every rattlesnake its charm

Can you still hear me?

Am I coming through just fine?

Your memory was buried in simple box of pine

(chorus):

Did her green eyes seduce you and make you get so weak?

Was there fire engine red that she left upon your cheek?

It's such a shame you had to break the heart you could have counted on

But the last thing you need is another episode of blonde

Revolving like a jeweller's figure on a music box

The spangled curtain parted and night-club scene unlocks

Pinned and fixed and fastened in a fallow spot

Arms thrown out to everyone, she's giving all she's got

To the last gasp of a wounded bandoneon

A tiny man imploring to the ceiling fan this stolen feeling

Amplified up through a busted speaker

Blaring, blasting, advertising, distorted beyond reason

Into the street where petty crime-coats shadow panic drunkards

Half out of the taxi-cab the barker seized my elbow

He thought I was another lonely, likely pilgrim looking for St. Telmo 

(chorus)

I tried to keep a straight face but you know it never pays

He would stare into those eyes and then vacation in her gaze

She was a cute little ruin that he pulled out of the rubble

Now they're both living in a soft soap bubble

The film producer's contemplating, entertaining suicide

The picture crumpled in his fist, his runaway child bride

The timepiece stretched across his wrist

She couldn't care less cast aside

The scent that so repelled him that he swore: "insecticide"

And there's farewell note to mother

That will conclude "Your loving Son"

"Oh, tell your other children not to do as I have done"

Did her green eyes seduce you and make you get so weak?

Or was there fire engine red that she left upon your cheek?

It's such a shame

It's such a shame, shame, shame

A shame you had to break the heart you could have counted on

But the last thing you need

Is the last thing you want

Is another episode of blonde

It's another episode of blonde, oh oh oh

It's another episode of blonde

So an artist drags a toothbrush across the first thing that he sees

And names the painting "Christ's Last Exit into Purgatory"

Receiving secret messages from an alien intelligence

And Paying off his stalker it's a legitimate expense

So paste up pictures of those shrill and hollow girls with puckered lips

She's a trophy on your arm, a magnet for your money clip

The moral of this story is a sorry tale to say

They're pieced with links of chains so they can never run away

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.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The Town Where Time Stood Still”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Town_Where_Time_Stood_Still

“The Town Where Time Stood Still”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI69GMlMNVU (demo version)

“Almost Persuaded” by David Houston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbN4r4y3AIY

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

"The Town Where Time Stood Still" Lyrics:

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

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

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

There's nothing else to do but rearrange somebody's features (futures)

And trap your figures 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

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

Now I suppose we did some things we used to do

But no amount of darkness could ever turn her into you

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

With her head inside her handbag

The sign says "please wait to be seated"

I only want a cup of coffee

I know you can't have your cake and eat it

In the town where time stood still

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

In the town where time stood still

In the town where time stood still

In the town where time stood still

In the town where time stood still

Today’s slow drag is with “All the Rage” from “Brutal Youth,” released in 1994. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “All the Rage”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/All_The_Rage

“All the Rage”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kf-yeojmjY

“Tenderness”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XegL32Btzs

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

"All the Rage" Lyrics:

The twitching impulse is to speak your mind

I'll lend you my microscope and maybe you will find it

Is it in that ugly place that's just behind your face?

Where you keep my picture still

Despite the fact that you had me replaced

Say "Goodbye"

Baby can't you act your age?

You know why

I'm going to give it to you straight

Although I'll never be unhappy as you want me to be

Still it's all the rage

I'll probably play along left to my own devices

Spare me the drone of your advice

The sins of garter and gin confession may delay

You know the measuring pole, the merry boots of clay

I've heard it all before

You'll say it anyway

Chorus

Alone with your tweezers and your handkerchief

You murder time and truth, love, laughter and belief

So don't try to touch my heart, it's darker than you think

And don't try to read my mind because it's full of disappearing ink

Chorus

Although I'll never be unhappy as you want me to be

Still it's all the rage

Today’s slow drag is with “My Most Beautiful Mistake” from “The Boy Named If,” released in 2022. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “My Most Beautiful Mistake”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/My_Most_Beautiful_Mistake

“My Most Beautiful Mistake”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn0IWgpzanY

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

"My Most Beautiful Mistake" Lyrics:

She was a part-time waitress with a dream of greatness

That nobody knew of or even suspected

Though it was sometimes reflected in the slant of a mirror

It was buried so deep and so dear

She caught the eye of a guy passing by who said,

"My, if I prove to be faithless, you'll surely know why

Oh, why?

You'll probably know why"

Then again you may say

"Mister, you've got a nerve

Most of us never get just what we deserve"

I'll smile sweetly,

"I'm here at your service"

And the camera walks us through into a sunlit room

Where a one-hit wonder lives 

And he says, "Action" and "That's a take"

You are my most beautiful mistake

"It's not your reputation I'm trying to besmirch"

"I'm here undercover, I'm writing this screenplay"

"You might be my inspiration, it's beyond my control"

"So it's my soulful and wounded expression, that you'd like to console?"

There's a hand that lingers a little too long

There are lies you will hear, that they're singing right now, right here, right here in this song

And the lens pulls the focus on his magnum opus

He's a one-hit wonder kid 

And he says, "Action" and "That's a take"

You are my most beautiful mistake

He made a portrait of her face out of burnt out matches

She said "The trouble is, Sunshine, I know what the catch is…

You'll offer me nothing, you'll offer me riches 

I've seen your kind before in courtroom sketches"

From the booth in the corner

From a different perspective

Where a man plays the fool or a private detective

He wrote her name out in sugar on a Formica counter

"You could be the game that captures the hunter"

Then he went out for cigarettes

As the soundtrack played The Marvelettes

Let me check the script 

Check the continuity 

You'll be up on that screen for eternity

The billboard will spit:

"That look!

That's it!"

Take a little pill and you will get over it

The light will hit you 

If you drop that hint 

Now "Cut" and "Print"

And the camera walks us through into a low-lit room

Where a one-hit wonder lives 

Today’s slow drag is with “The Invisible Man” from “Punch the Clock,” released in 1983. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “The Invisible Man”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Invisible_Man

“The Invisible Man”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o-iZ_GfTTs

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “I Turn Around”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/I_Turn_Around

“I Turn Around”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg4cesm8obI

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

"The Invisible Man" Lyrics

I was committed to life and then commuted to the outskirts

With all the love in the world

Living for thirty minutes at a time with a break in the middle for adverts

But it's a wonderful world within these cinema walls

Where a shower of affection becomes Niagara Falls

And you wish she could step down from the screen to your seat in the stalls

‘Cos if stars are only painted on the ceiling above

Then who can you turn to and who do you love

I want to get out while I still can

I want to be like Harry Houdini

Now I'm the invisible man

My head is spinning 'round faster and faster

Here I stand on the edge of disaster

I'm shattered like a piece of crystal, porcelain, or alabaster

'Cos if stars are only painted on the ceiling above

Then who can you turn to and who do you love

I want to get out while I still can

Crowds surround loudspeakers hanging from the lampposts

Listening to the murder mystery

Meanwhile someone's hiding in the classroom

Forging the books of history

Never mind there's a good film showing tonight

Where they hang everybody who can read or write

Oh, that could never happen here, but then again it might

'Cos if stars are only painted on the ceiling above

Then who can you turn to and who do you love

I want to get out while I still can

I want to be like Harry Houdini

Now I'm the invisible man

And you won't see me

Today’s slow drag is with “Clown Strike” from “Brutal Youth,” released in 1994. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Clown Strike”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Clown_Strike

“Clown Strike”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0zbZDn7juc

“Elvis Costello The Gwendolyn Letters (demos): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQieshbrzpI

Erik Jorgensen background: https://www.fredericia.com/stories/erik-joergensen.aspx

Flamingo Chair: https://www.danishdesignstore.com/products/ej205-flamingo-chair-by-erik-jorgensen

https://www.danishdesignstore.com/products/ej205-flamingo-chair-by-erik-jorgensen

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

"Clown Strike" Lyrics

She'll fix you with an iron cross

And cover you up with petals

And hang you up with some amber beads

And four or five precious metals

And in that black flamingo chair you'll sit among her trophies

And pray to be abandoned 'til you don't know what hope is

(Chorus:)

But there's one thing

That I had to keep inside because I was shaking

Why don't you get some pride?

There was a clown strike

And the clowns threw down their tools

But you don't have to play so hard

And I'm nobody's fool

You don't have to go so far

‘Cos I love you as you are

The big top is deserted now and the circus girl rehearses

She knows how to turn their heads and not fall between two horses

But all that seems a simple step, if only I were able

To love you like I want to do

And not by some times-table

(Repeat Chorus)

And it's pandemonium

For the humble and the mighty

You don't have to tumble for me

Even a clown knows when to strike

Tell me what you want of me

Or are you terrified of failure

Put on a superstitious face behind all this paraphernalia

We're not living in a masquerade where you only have three wishes

It isn't easy to see in a lifetime of mistaken kisses

(Repeat Chorus)

And it's pandemonium

For the humble and the mighty

You don't have to tumble for me

Even a clown knows when to strike

Today’s slow drag is with “Room with No Number” from “Goodbye Cruel World,” released in 1984. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Room with No Number”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Room_With_No_Number

“Room with No Number”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg0XPZVQiso

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

"Room with No Number" Lyrics:

Picture a hotel room

Clothes scattered across the floor

Covers pulled back from the pillow

A sign hung on the door

Two lovers locked up tight

Through the endless days and nights

Hiding something they can't show

Something no one else must know

Chorus:

There's a room without a number

While the sign outside says there's no vacancy

As you take your key, they smile at you so understandingly

She cried out in the night

Woke the porter from his sleep

He grinned slyly to himself

As he went to fetch his keys

Look what love has brought them to

This terrible nightmare

His or hers, he could not tell

As they were still sleeping there

(Chorus)

And I wish you could be

The man he was before he was me

(fireworks)

A girl arrived at first light

And enquired if they'd been seen

And why the numbers ran from twelve

Missing out thirteen

And they said oh my darling

Put it down to superstition

Try to avoid a scandal

And don't arouse suspicion

They re-arranged the furniture

They even papered over the door

There's a room without a number

While the sign outside says there's no vacancy

As you take your key, they smile just so so you know

There's a room without a number

While the sign outside says there's no vacancy

As you take your key, they smile just so so you know

(Chorus)

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.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

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

"The River in Reverse" Lyrics

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?

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

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

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

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

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

Wake me up

Wake me up

Wake me up with a slap or a kiss

There must be something better than this

Wake me up

Wake me up with a slap or a kiss

There must be something better than this

Today’s slow drag is with “Next Time ‘Round” from “Blood and Chocolate,” released in 1986. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello’s birth name.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Next Time ‘Round”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Next_Time_%27Round

“Next Time ‘Round”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgQbf__uOvE

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

"Next Time 'Round" Lyrics

As I stepped out upon the landing my heart was already down the stairs

She's in the bedroom with that boy of hers

Though her face is creased and her eyes seem strange

There's a second-hand emotion on battered forty-five

My tears were never enough to keep that girl alive

Now she seems contrite, will she make the change

Chorus: 

The next time 'round

The next time 'round

You'll be someone else's baby

But I'll be underground

The next time 'round

Then you took two steps forward and then one step on your back

Now it's a future for me and you that I lack

You'll be the one who stands out in the dark

Even when you're all dressed in black

(Chorus)

You've got something I want now

And I've got something I can't hide

I've got too much love for you now

You’ve got too much pride?

Sometimes I name and number all the things you gave to me

Your elastic love, this velvet-lined purgatory

You used to take the breath out of me

Now I think you'll be the death of me

(Chorus)

The next time 'round

The next time 'round

You'll be someone else's baby

But I'll be underground

The next time 'round

The next time 'round

Today’s slow drag is with “Why Won’t Heaven Help Me?” from the Grammy Award winning, “Look Now,” released in 2018. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Heaven Won’t Heaven Help Me?”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Why_Won%27t_Heaven_Help_Me%3F

“Why Won’t Heaven Help Me?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOolSuOkdiY

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

"Why Won't Heaven Help Me?" Lyrics

I set off alarms and fire off flares

Cause sometimes they answer prayers

I'm listening

I wait for some distant bell to ring

Why won't heaven help me?

(Far, far away)

Why won't heaven help me?

(It's so hard to say)

Why won't heaven help me?

Hey you out there!

Even if you dare

Take care of your wishes

If you find they do come true

You may regret that too

Why won't heaven help me?

Why won't heaven help me?

Remember the thrill that followed praise

While dressed for a lover's gaze

The moment when

You saw through the lies of older men

Why won't heaven help me?

(Far, far away)

Why won't heaven help me?

(It's so hard to say)

Why won't heaven help me?

Hey you out there!

Even if you dare

Take care of your wishes

If you find they do come true

You may regret that too

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

I sensed this was wrong but take my word

I thought somehow I'd be spared

Alone again

Believe what you want of me till then

Why won't heaven help me?

(Far, far away)

Why won't heaven help me?

(It's so hard to say)

Why won't heaven help me?

Hey you out there!

Even if you dare...

Take care of your wishes

If you find they do come true

You may regret that too

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Why won't heaven help me?

(Why won't heaven)

Today’s slow drag is with “Nothing Clings Like Ivy,” from “The Delivery Man,” released in 2004. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

Show Notes:

Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy

Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Nothing Clings Like Ivy”: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Nothing_Clings_Like_Ivy

“Nothing Clings Like Ivy”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bs4Sjma6PI

“The Pros and Cons of planting English Ivy in the Landscape”: https://blog.gardeningknowhow.com/gardening-pros-cons/pros-and-cons-of-planting-english-ivy/

Hollow: https://artsandsciences.sc.edu/appalachianenglish/node/492

“Southern Gothic Literature”: https://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-304

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

"Nothing Clings Like Ivy" lyrics

Nothing clings like Ivy

Frightened by the dark

Though she cuts deep

It never leaves a mark

No one quite like Ivy

Everyone gets it straight

What she believes

She won't negotiate

All the words of tenderness

That never quite got through

She says, "You know how young girls are

From my contempt for you"

Outside in the hollow

She may dare herself

For there may be

A serpent in the grass

Nothing clings like Ivy

Trying to scare herself

And it may strike or

Wait for her to pass

All the words of tenderness

That she never possessed

"So, what's the use of promises?"

"I had my fingers crossed"

All the words of tenderness

that never quite got through

She said, "I laughed behind your back

When I told them to you”

Nothing clings like Ivy

Frightened by the dark

Though she cuts deep

It never leaves a mark