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Elvis Costello - Veronica

Elvis Costello - Veronica Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Spike
Released: 1989

Veronica Lyrics

Is it all in that pretty little head of yours?
What goes on in that place in the dark?
Well I used to know a girl and I could have sworn
That her name was Veronica

Well she used to have a carefree mind of her own
And a delicate look in her eye
These days I'm afraid she's not even sure
If her name is Veronica

Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout
Her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica

Did the days drag by? Did the favors wane?
Did he roam down the town all the while?
Will you wake from your dream, with a wolf at the door,
Reaching out for Veronica

Well it was all of sixty-five years ago
When the world was the street where she lived
And a young man sailed on a ship in the sea
With a picture of Veronica

On the "Empress of India"
And as she closed her eyes upon the world
And picked upon the bones of last week's news
She spoke his name out loud again

Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout
Her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica

Veronica sits in her favorite chair
And she sits very quiet and still
And they call her a name that they never get right
And if they don't then nobody else will

But she used to have a carefree mind of her own
With devilish look in her eye
Saying "You can call me anything you like,
But my name is Veronica"

Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout
Her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica
Oh Veronica

Writer/s: GRANT FITCH, MARK HENNESSY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Veronica

This song tells the story of an old lady who lives in a nursing home. She lives a quiet and still existence as she gradually loses her memory. It was inspired by Costello's grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Paul McCartney wrote this with Costello. The lyrics are reminiscent of McCartney's Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby."

This was the first song to come from McCartney and Costello's co-writing relationship. Other songs the duo wrote include Costello's tracks "So Like Candy" and "Playboy to A Man," and McCartney's "My Brave Face" and "You Want Her Too."

Hard to believe, but McCartney was getting a lot of bad press around this time, as he was still feuding with his former Beatles associates and refused to attend The Beatles 1988 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Costello said in a 1989 interview with On The Street: "I know some people have very bad preconceptions about Paul McCartney, but I'm involved to the extent that I've written a bunch of songs with him as well. I know he's a really good bass player, so I'm not too bothered about what anyone thinks about him playing on my record. I don't think it reflects at all on my perception of myself as a songwriter."

This was Costello's first big hit in the United States. Seems Elvis prefers niche adulation to widespread commercial success, which might account for his lack of chart success. This song, in particular, is one he struggled with. He explained to NME in 1996: "As soon as you make a record, particularly if it becomes a big success, it doesn't belong to you any more, it's that 'Wah Boo!' situation. A similar thing happened with 'Veronica' in America. I never liked it. And recently I did this show with Steve (Nieve, Attraction's keyboardist), and I changed the key and the whole song changed completely. Suddenly I didn't have to think about the record. It went back to why I wrote it, how I wrote it about my grandmother and it really meant something to me, and I kind of regained it. I'd got my song back from the evil success that it had had."

Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army

Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Armed Forces
Released: 1979

Oliver's Army Lyrics

Don't start me talking
I could talk all night
My mind goes sleepwalking
While I'm putting the world to right

Called careers information
Have you got yourself an occupation?

Oliver's Army is here to stay
Oliver's army are on their way
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today

There was a checkpoint Charlie
He didn't crack a smile
But it's no laughing party
When you've been on the murder mile

Only takes one itchy trigger
One more widow, one less white nigger

Oliver's army is here to stay
Oliver's army are on their way
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today

Hong Kong is up for grabs
London is full of Arabs
We could be in Palestine
Overrun by a Chinese line
With the boys from the Mersey and the Thames and the Tyne

But there's no danger
It's a professional career
Though it could be arranged
With just a word in Mr. Churchill's ear

If you're out of luck or out of work
We could send you to Johannesburg

Oliver's army is here to stay
Oliver's army are on their way
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today, oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh

Writer/s: COSTELLO, ELVIS
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Oliver's Army

Elvis wrote this in 1978 on a plane coming back from Belfast. It was the first time he went to the city, and he was shocked to see very young soldiers from the British army walking around with machine guns. The song covers Northern Ireland's troubles, the end of the British empire and life in the army.

The title is a reference to Oliver Cromwell, leader of of the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War against the Royalist army of Charles 1. Among other things, he established what was called The New Model Army, which was the first professional, properly trained and drilled fighting force England had. Costello's song is a general anti-military statement, it's main target is the fact that the only real option that the unemployed have is to join the army (British unemployment figures were at an all-time high when he wrote the song in the early '80s). It doesn''t have anything particular to do with Cromwell, other than the title. (thanks, Denmark - London, England)

The line, "Call careers information/have you got yourself an occupation" refers to the habit of the British army recruiting squaddies [grunts] straight from school at 16. Many of these kids were from poor families and got bad grades.

Despite the strong political lyrics, this was very popular in England because of the pop melody. A lot of people didn't care about the social statement, but liked the way it sounded.

The piano riff was inspired by Abba's "Dancing Queen." Until the band came up with it, they considered this a B-side and were not planning to put it on the album.

This album was supposed to be Elvis' big breakthrough in America. It didn't work out that way, as songs like this never crossed over to US radio.

The line, "With the boys from the Mersey and the Thames and the Tyne" refers to the rivers of the 3 largest population centers on the coasts of England: Liverpool, London and Newcastle. These areas were economically depressed when Elvis wrote the song and it's where the Army did much of it's recruiting. (thanks, James - Allentown, RI)

In 1994, Costello described Cromwell to Time Out (London): "He was a devil incarnate to the Christian brothers. We used to sing very Catholic pieces, they'd be frowned on today as not being in the spirit of church unity, things like 'Oh Glorious Spirit of St. Patrick's' and 'Faith of Our Fathers,' lots of take on the history of England from the old-religion martyr's perspective. And we'd sing the Latin mass without knowing what it meant but loving every line." (thanks, joshoc - Greensboro, NC)

The "Murder Mile" is a section of North Belfast, Northern Ireland where Protestant loyalists routinely snatched Catholics off the streets in the 1970s to face torture and painful deaths. The phrase "Murder Mile" can also refer to any dangerous area and was often applied to Nicosia, Cyprus, because of British troops who patrolled the area. (thanks, Lefty_2ndbaseman - Chicago, IL)

Costello in Q Magazine March 2008: "I don't think its success was because of the lyrics. I always liked the idea of a bright pop tune that you could be singing along to for ages before you realize what it is you're actually singing. Of course, the downside of that is some people only hear the tune and never listen to the words. After a while I got frustrated at that."

This was not the only UK Top 10 hit to reference Oliver Cromwell. Morrissey's 2004 UK #3 hit "Irish Blood, English Heart" also brings up the 17th century military leader and statesman.

The song was produced by the singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, who is best known for his late 1970s hit tunes "Cruel to Be Kind"and "(I Love the Sound of) Breaking Glass." He told Uncut magazine that Costello was going to dump the song when they first started recording it. Lowe recalled: "We went through it all afternoon, and it just wasn't happening at all. Elvis didn't like it and he was getting more and more shirty. I couldn't see why. I thought it was a really good track, but it did sound very obviously poppy. Maybe that was a problem for him."

"Anyway, something about it was getting up his nose, and I'd started making overtures about this,† Lowe continued: "'Well, all is not lost, Elvis. I can take this off your hands any time.' That he wasn't really biting. Out of the blue, Steve Nieve said,'What about if I do a sort of Abba piano part on it?' Complete silence. We knew their records were good, but no one wanted to own up to it. That needs really invite them, as did Elvis, solid consensus was, 'Let's try it.' I didn't think this was going to disturb my plan to get the track for myself. Nieve did the piano part and suddenly the thing went from black-and-white to fireworks."

"I don't think it's quite the first take that you hear on the finished record but the effect was instantaneous," Lowe concluded. "It gave the record an unbelievable sound and spirit. I thought it was pretty good before, but when you piano went on it I saw my nefarious scheme going out of the window. I didn't mind too much, because it was such a great cut. And so Elvis had them massive hit – and I didn't!"

Elvis Costello - (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes

Elvis Costello - (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: My Aim Is True
Released: 1977

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes Lyrics

Oh, I used to be disgusted
And now I try to be amused
But since their wings have got rusted
You know, the angels want to wear my red shoes
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain
That's when I knew that I could not refuse
And I won't get any older, now that angels want to wear my red shoes

Oh, oh, I was watching while you're dancing away
Our love got fractured in the echo and sway
How come everybody wants to be your friend?
You know that it still hurts me just to say it

Oh, I know that she's disgusted (oh, why's that?)
Because she's feeling so abused (oh, that's too bad)
She gets tired of the lust (oh, I'm so sad)
But it's so hard to refuse
Can you say that I'm too old
When the angels have stolen my red shoes?

Oh, oh I said, "I'm so happy I could die"
She said, "Drop dead," then left with another guy
That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance
Ever since you got me punctured, this has been my sentence

Oh, I used to be disgusted
But now I try to be amused
But since their wings have got rusted
You know, the angels want to wear my red shoes
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain
That's when I knew that I could not refuse
And I won't get any older, now that the angels want to wear my red shoes

Oh, I won't get any older, now the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes
Red shoes, the angels want to wear my red shoes

Writer/s: COSTELLO, ELVIS
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes

In this song, Elvis makes a deal with the angels, who have come down to Earth because their wings have rusted. Needing footwear, they grant Costello immortality in exchange for his red shoes.

His estranged girlfriend, however, is not impressed and doesn't share in his enthusiasm, telling him to drop dead and leaving the club with another guy.

Costello wrote the song backward, starting with the club scene where the girl leaves with another guy. From there, he worked in the idea of making the deal with the angels so he stops aging. He was just 22 years old at the time, and wasn't sure why he was writing about not getting older.

Costello wrote this in 10 minutes while on the Inter-City train to Liverpool between the Runcorn and Lime Street stations. He didn't have a recorder with him, so he kept the song in his head until he got off the train and made it to his mother's house, where he found one of his old guitars and played the song over and over until he had it recorded to memory.

Nick Lowe produced the album. Costello had recently signed his record deal and didn't have a backing band, so Lowe brought in the group Clover. Alex Call, who was their lead singer, told us the story: "Clover got together in the late '60s. It was four of us, we made two albums on Fantasy - we were buddies with Creedence Clearwater Revival. We got dropped, and then Huey Lewis and our keyboard player, Shawn Hopper, joined the band and we kind of made another run at it. In the mid-'70s, we were going down to Los Angeles a lot and playing a club called The Palamino.

The Palamino was this great Country and Western place. We were more of a rock band really, but we kind of were country. At one gig, Nick Lowe was there with Paul Carrack. Nick had been in the band Brinsley Schwartz, and The Brinsleys were big fans of the early Clover albums. So one thing led to another, and Jake Riviera, who was Elvis' manager, signed us to come to England, and we signed with Phonogram over there, which is Mercury here. Elvis Costello was at that time Dec McManus, he was using his real name. He was just this mild-mannered, meek little songwriter who would hang out around Stiff Records, which was our management office. Elvis once said, 'Man, I wish I could sing like you.'

He went to cut some demos, and they used Clover. Huey and I did not participate in those because they had no need for us, but I remember they went and cut at this little place called Pathways - a little 8-track studio so small that all you had just enough space to play your instrument. They went in that first session, and in one session they cut 'Alison' and 'Red Shoes' and 'Less Than Zero,' these classic songs. I remember hearing them at this rock 'n' roll house we lived in outside of Headley, South of London called the Headley Grange House. John McFee brought back a reel-to-reel tape on one of those old Wollensak tape recorders. He played this stuff, and I mean, I was ready to quit after hearing that - it was so astounding. They did like three 8-12 hour sessions, and that was My Aim Is True.

That is a classic record, just unbelievable. We were managed by the same guys and we hung out a lot with Nick. Nick produced a lot of our early sessions there. We made two albums with Mutt Lange, and nothing happened with the band. We came close in England to breaking a single, but it didn't work and we ended up breaking up." (Check out our interview with Alex Call.)

In 2011, Costello performed this on Sesame Street as "The Monster Went and Ate My Red 2." He had his numbers lined up from 1-10, but Cookie Monster (who does eat other things beside cookies, by the way), kept eating the red number 2, creating a counting problem.

This song tells a strange story, but not nearly as strange as the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Red Shoes, which inspired a Kate Bush song of the same name. In that story, a girl puts on a pair of red shoes that make her dance uncontrollably. She can't take them off, so she has her feet cut off, only to have the shoes continue to dance with her amputated feet inside them.

Elvis Costello - Less Than Zero

Elvis Costello - Less Than Zero Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: My Aim Is True
Released: 1977

Less Than Zero Lyrics

Calling Mr. Oswald with the swastika tattoo
There is a vacancy waiting in the English voodoo
Carving "V" for "vandal" on the guilty boy's head
When he's had enough of that, maybe you'll take him to bed
To teach him he's alive before he wishes he was dead

[Chorus:]
Turn up the TV, no one listening will suspect
Even your mother won't detect it, so your father won't know
They think that I've got no respect but
Everything is Less Than Zero
Hey, oo hey-ey
Hey, oo hey-ey

Oswald and his sister are doing it again
They've got the finest home movies that you have ever seen
They've got a thousand variations, every service with a smile
They're gonna take a little break and they'll be back after a while
Well, I hear that South America is coming into style

[Chorus:]

A pistol was still smoking, a man lay on the floor
Mr. Oswald said he had an understanding with the law
He said he heard about a couple living in the USA
He said they traded in their baby for a Chevrolet
Let's talk about the future, now we've put the past away

[Chorus:]
Hey, oo hey-ey
Hey, oo hey-ey...

Writer/s: COSTELLO, ELVIS
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Less Than Zero Song Chart

This is a scathing attack on Oswald Mosley, a politician who was popular in England at the time. Mosley, who died in 1980, was the leader of the British Union of Fascists.

This was Costello's first single - it was only issued in Europe. At the time, he had a day job working on a computer at Elizabeth Arden cosmetics.

According to Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock and Soul, The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever , the song is about a young couple making out in one of their parents' houses, while 1930s British fascist leader Oswald Moseley and his sister babble poison on TV, angling for a comeback in the era of the National Front.

American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis named his first novel, the nihilistic, drug-fuelled Less Than Zero after this song. He told the NME August 7, 2010: "Why did I name my first book after an Elvis Costello song? Who knows? I was working on this project starting when I was 16 and it was the Less Than Zero project. I was like most white, upper-class educated boys: I was obsessed with Elvis Costello. That was his main audience in the US. That title seemed very evocative to me. It had various other titles, but Less Than Zero ultimately seemed like the best title for the book, even though I had this much older professor who really loved the book but tried to dissuade me from using that title because he thought it was lame. He suggested Winter Vacation. Elvis Costello became the man for me for very many years. And then he didn't. Which happens, it happens to a lot of people, it's just the nature of things. Very few people sustain massive careers for a long time."

When he recorded the My Aim Is True album, Costello had not yet formed his backing band The Attractions, so he used members of an American group called Clover as his musicians:

John McFee - guitar
Sean Hopper - keyboards
Johnny Ciambotti - bass
Mickey Shine - drums
Stan Shaw - organ

Clover disbanded in 1978; McFee joined The Doobie Brothers and Hopper formed Huey Lewis and the News.

When Costello appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1977 (filling in for the Sex Pistols, who were denied entry into the US), it was decided that he would perform this song. Elvis, however, had other ideas. After playing some of "Less Than Zero," he halted the performance and played the unreleased "Radio Radio" instead, earning him a ban from the show that lasted until 1989, when he returned as musical guest.

Costello had no interest in playing "Less Than Zero" for an American audience (especially on a late-night comedy show), since its subject matter was decidedly English.

Like "Watching The Detectives," this song has reggae overtones. Costello was influenced by the first Clash album, which used a lot of reggae sounds.