Slow Drag with Remedy :: An Elvis Costello Appreciation Remedy Robinson

 — 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)