Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (“Ross”) MacManus and record store manager Lillian Costello. His family had roots in Merseyside and he moved to Birkenhead at age 16, with his mother, when his parents separated. While he is better known as 'Elvis Costello', a stage name referring to the legendary Elvis Presley suggested by Stiff Records manager Jake Riviera, he has used many other aliases, including 'The Imposter' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'.
In the early 1970s Costello was a participant in London's pub rock scene with the group Flip City. Then in 1977 along with fellow Pub-Rockers Nick Lowe and Ian Dury he made his first releases on the independent label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the burgeoning punk, power pop, and new wave scenes. From 1980's Armed Forces onwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 1960s pop, and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice. His output has been wildly diverse: one critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
His prolific and varied 30-year career has been marked by two constants: sharp songwriting and musical restlessness. The latter has seen him dabble in almost every musical form, from country to jazz to orchestral. This stems from the fact that, at heart, Costello is a fan. His desire to work with his musical heroes has attracted collaborators as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Allen Toussaint, Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, and Brian Eno.
But his most successful partners were his long-term band The Attractions. They comprised Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Bruce Thomas (bass). Between 1978 and 1983, this outfit produced a peerless series of albums: This Year's Model; Armed Forces; Get Happy!!; Almost Blue; Trust; Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock.
These recordings drew on styles spanning soul, country and western and commercial pop. It was only with 1984's Goodbye Cruel World that Costello started to stumble. An album he concedes was one of his worst, it ushered in a period which produced interesting music but lacked the consistent quality of his halcyon days. Interestingly, although he enlisted the other Elvis's band for King of America in 1986, it was a reunion with The Attractions and former producer Nick Lowe that produced his best album of the late 1980s in the form of the scabrous Blood and Chocolate.
The following albums, Spike and Mighty Like a Rose were uncompromising and difficult solo works, as was the string quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters in 1993. It was only reconvening the Attractions for Brutal Youth the following year that gave his fans another glimpse of what first attracted them to him: punchy, angry pop songs, tightly played by an impeccably taut ensemble.
Since then, Costello has become a career dilettante, true to his inner musical quest, but never again returning to heights he scaled in the early 1980s. Maybe the best work of this latter period was 1998's Painted from Memory. This joint effort with Burt Bacharach matched restrained writing from Costello with stately Bacharach arrangements.
Subsequent career nadirs such as the tune-free North (2003), and instrumental orchestral works such as Il Sogno (2004) led many long-term admirers to conclude that Costello had retained his integrity at the expense of his real musical strengths. However, he has given occasional evidence of his former fire. The ballsy bar-room atmosphere of the collaborative The Delivery Man (2004), suggests that he is still capable of giving his fans what they want, in between his more esoteric experiments.
Elvis is married to jazz vocalist Diana Krall and they have twin sons.
*Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess claims that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around the year 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois while doing missionary work for the Mormon Church.
Costello believes that Hess stole the name: "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." To date, Costello has taken no legal action against the film.
Elvis Costello and Elton John to Make a Television 'Spectacle'
Two of the most respected musicians in the world will collaborate on an extraordinary new television series.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is hosted by its namesake and produced in conjunction with Sir Elton John's Rocket Pictures. Elton John will be one of the program's Executive Producers.
The series begain airing in 2008 on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US. FremantleMedia Enterprises, will handle sales of the show to the rest of the world.
Conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the show fuses the best of talk and music television.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of 13 one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions, with a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu "illustrative" demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others' songs by Costello.
05 Big Boys
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the usual way
Everything is so provocative
Very very, temporary
I shall walk (I shall walk)
Out of this place (out of this place)
I shall walk
'Cause you go silly
If she's willing
Trying so hard to be like the big boys
So you take her to the pictures
Trying to become a fixture
Inch by inch trying to reach her
All the way through the second feature
Worrying about your physical fitness
Tell me how you got this sickness, oh ohhhh
I was caught in the suction
By a face like a truncheon
I was down upon one knee
Stroking her vanity
I was stuck on a hammerhead
I came alive and left for dead
As my face returned to red
Choking on my pride and pity
We can talk (we can talk)
Until your face is blue ('til your face is blue)
We can talk but she'll get to you
After you've been loved and hated
By the ones you've watched and waited
Found that they were overrated
She'll be the one, when the party's over
She'll be the one, when the girls have gone home
She'll be the one, that you'll wish you'd held onto
She'll be the one, but it's too late for you to
She'll be the one, who knows all your history
She'll be the one
So you can cross her off your list
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
To be like the big boys, oh
The lyrics to Elvis Costello's "Big Boys" describe a young man's futile attempts to impress a woman who he believes is "all the way through the second feature" with him. He is "trying so hard to be like the big boys" and fit in with the crowd, but ultimately realizes that he is not like them and cannot compete. He decides to walk away from the situation, recognizing that it is temporary and the girl is not worth his time. He warns the girl's eventual suitor that she will be the one he regrets letting go, but by then it will be "too late." The lyrics touch on themes of fitting in, insecurity, and the inevitable regret that comes with missed opportunities.
The first interesting fact about "Big Boys" is that it was the opening track on Elvis Costello's breakout 1977 album "My Aim is True." The album announced Costello as a major new voice in the punk rock scene and helped to define the sound of the late 70s.
"Big Boys" features prominent backing vocals from the female trio The Cloverettes, who Costello met while recording the album. They would go on to appear on several of his subsequent records.
The song's lyrics were inspired by Costello's experience of observing a man trying too hard to impress a woman at a bar. He later said that he had been that guy himself in the past.
The song features Costello's distinctive wordplay and use of internal rhymes, as evidenced in the line "I was caught in the suction / By a face like a truncheon."
"Big Boys" was never released as a single in the UK, but it was issued as a promo single in the United States.
The song was covered by punk band The Boomtown Rats on their 1978 album "A Tonic for the Troops."
In 2003, Costello rerecorded the song with his backing band The Attractions for the box set "The Costello Show: The King of America."
"Big Boys" has remained a favorite of Costello's fans and has been played in most of his live shows over the years.
The song appears on several of Costello's career-spanning compilations, including "The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions" and "The Very Best of Elvis Costello."
While the exact chord progression of "Big Boys" is not available, it is known to be in the key of G and features a driving rhythm guitar part.
Line by Line Meaning
I am starting to function
I am beginning to operate normally
In the usual way
In the typical manner
Everything is so provocative
Everything is stimulating, tempting and exciting
Very very, temporary
Very very limited time duration
I shall walk (I shall walk)
I will leave (I will leave)
Out of this place (out of this place)
I will go away from this location (I will go away from this location)
I shall walk
I will depart
Out on you
I will leave you behind
'Cause you go silly
Because you act crazy and irrational
If she's willing
If she is agreeable and compliant
Trying so hard to be like the big boys
Making a great effort to imitate the adult males
So you take her to the pictures
So you take her to the movies
Trying to become a fixture
Trying to become a regular presence in her life
Inch by inch trying to reach her
Slowly and gradually trying to get to her
All the way through the second feature
All the way through the second movie
Worrying about your physical fitness
Concerned about your physical well-being
Tell me how you got this sickness, oh ohhhh
Explain to me how you became this ill, oh ohhhh
I was caught in the suction
I was trapped in the pull
By a face like a truncheon
By a face that is hard and heavy like a police baton
I was down upon one knee
I was kneeling down
Stroking her vanity
Flattering her ego
I was stuck on a hammerhead
I was stuck on a stubborn and slow-witted person
I came alive and left for dead
I felt alive at one moment and felt hopeless the next moment
As my face returned to red
As my face turned back to its original color
Choking on my pride and pity
Feeling overwhelmed with a combination of arrogance and regret
We can talk (we can talk)
We can communicate (we can communicate)
Until your face is blue ('til your face is blue)
Until you are out of breath (until you are out of breath)
We can talk but she'll get to you
We can communicate but she will have an impact on you
After you've been loved and hated
After you have been both adored and rejected
By the ones you've watched and waited
By the people you have observed and anticipated
Found that they were overrated
Realized that they were not as impressive as thought
She'll be the one, when the party's over
She will be the one during the aftermath of the party
She'll be the one, when the girls have gone home
She will be the one when the ladies have left the event
She'll be the one, that you'll wish you'd held onto
She will be the one that you will regret not keeping close to you
She'll be the one, but it's too late for you to
She will be the one, but it will be beyond the point for you
She'll be the one, who knows all your history
She will be the one who is aware of all your past events
So you can cross her off your list
So you can remove her from your mental record
And you try so hard
And you make so much effort
To be like the big boys, oh
To resemble the adult males, oh
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind