I lieu of actually getting down to the business of posting something deep and meaningful of my own, I’ll post something deep and meaningful from someone else.
I’m a fan of Elvis Costello. He’s an excellent songwriter, composer and performer. He also proved that you can be angry, angsty and full of venom, and convey that through music without having to resort to being backed up by a four piece heavy metal band, or come from Seattle where actually learning the power chords is optional. This is not to say I don’t enjoy the music of those two genres — I do — I just have an appreciation for someone who can do it in an intelligent and witty manner, backed by either a full orchestra, or even just a single acoustic guitar.
The album Spike is my favorite, hailing from back in 1989. It has some of my favorite songs on it. Tramp The Dirt Down is a vicious jab at Margaret Thatcher and her ways of treating England as her own personal whore ("and when they finally put you in the ground, I’ll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down") and Miss Macbeth is a little ditty about an old-maid elementary school teacher who is portrayed as, literally, an evil witch of a woman ("and as they tormented her she rose to the bait, even a scapegoat must have someone to hate"). My personal favorite is God’s Comic. Here, I’ll let you read the lyrics for yourself.
God’s Comic
————–I wish you’d known me when I was alive
I was a funny feller
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-collarCHORUS:
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 of never heard God’s ComicSo there he was on a water-bed
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 this unbelievable junk and"
"Wondering if I should have given the world to the monkeys"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 of never heard God’s ComicI’m going to take a little trip
Down Paradise’s endless shores
They say that travel broadens the mind
‘Til you can’t get your head out of doorsI’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 meCHORUS:
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
Get, or "get" the album and give the rest a listen. I know there are at least a handful of you who will really enjoy it as much as I do.