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.
Human Hands
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh darling, how I miss you
I'm just the mere shadow of my former selfishness
I crave the silhouette of your kiss
With only the blue light of the TV on
Lip reading threats and false alarms
There's a boy somewhere holding hands with himself
And a girl in a window on the Reeperbahn
Whenever I put my foot in my mouth and you begin to doubt
That it's you that I'm dreaming about
Do I have to draw you a diagram?
All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands
With the kings and queens of the dance hall craze
Checkmate in three moves in your heyday
But the girls don't listen to your line anymore
Now you're part of someone else
On the factory floor you still say: "Where's the action?"
Now you manufacture happiness
And get sold on the cheap for someone's satisfaction
Whenever I put my foot in my mouth and you begin to doubt
That it's you that I'm dreaming about
Do I have to draw you a diagram?
All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands
All you toy soldiers and scaremongers
Are you living in this world? Sometimes, I wonder
In between saying you've seen too much and saying you've seen it all before
Tighter and tighter I hold you tightly
You know I love you more than slightly
Although I've never said it like this before
Whenever I put my foot in my mouth and you begin to doubt
That it's you that I'm dreaming about
Do I have to draw you a diagram?
All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands
All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands
In Elvis Costello & The Attractions's song "Human Hands," the lyrics describe a longing for a lost love. The singer is talking to the wall, missing their former lover and feeling like a shadow of their former self. They are watching TV in the dark, trying to lip read through the blue light, while reflecting on how they have messed up and put their foot in their mouth. The lyrics portray a sense of vulnerability and a desire for human connection. The chorus repeats the desire to "fall into your human hands," which suggests a craving for intimacy and closeness.
The lyrics also touch on themes of nostalgia and aging. The line "On the factory floor, you still say: 'where's the action?'" describes someone who used to be a king or queen of the dance hall scene and now works in a factory. The sense of loss and displacement is palpable, as the person now "manufactures happiness" and gets "sold on the cheap for someone's satisfaction." The lyrics suggest that the person may be trying to recapture their heyday or relive old memories, but ultimately they are just part of someone else's story.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been talking to the wall and it's been answering me
I feel lonely and desperate for someone to talk to, but there's no one there to listen except for the wall.
Oh darling, how I miss you
I deeply long for your presence and affection.
I'm just the mere shadow of my former selfishness
I've realized my past mistakes and feel remorseful for my selfish actions.
I crave the silhouette of your kiss
I yearn for the sensation of your lips on mine.
With only the blue light of the TV on
I'm in a dark and lonely place, trying to fill the void with the comfort of a flickering TV screen.
Lip reading threats and false alarms
I'm paranoid and anxious, misinterpreting innocent words as threatening and alarming.
There's a boy somewhere holding hands with himself
There's someone out there who is lonely and yearning for human connection like I am.
And a girl in a window on the Reeperbahn
There's someone else out there who is also looking for love and companionship.
Whenever I put my foot in my mouth and you begin to doubt that it's you that I'm dreaming about
Whenever I say or do something that hurts you, you start to question if I truly love and think about you.
Do I have to draw you a diagram?
Do I need to explain everything in black and white for you to understand my true feelings?
All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands
All I want is to be held and comforted by your loving embrace.
With the kings and queens of the dance hall craze
In the past, I used to be popular and successful in the nightlife scene.
Checkmate in three moves in your heyday
I used to be confident and strategic, and always winning in my prime.
But the girls don't listen to your line anymore
But now, I've lost my charm and appeal with the ladies, and no longer have their attention and admiration.
Now you're part of someone else
Now, someone else has captured the heart that used to belong to me.
On the factory floor you still say: "Where's the action?"
In my current state, I'm still searching for excitement and stimulation in my mundane daily routine.
Now you manufacture happiness
Now, I try to create my own joy and contentment in my life, instead of relying on others.
And get sold on the cheap for someone's satisfaction
But even then, my happiness is not genuine and I'm only providing temporary pleasure for someone else's benefit.
All you toy soldiers and scaremongers
All you people who try to intimidate and control others like puppets.
Are you living in this world? Sometimes, I wonder
I question whether those who try to instill fear and chaos truly understand the impact of their actions on the world around them.
In between saying you've seen too much and saying you've seen it all before
You claim to have experienced everything and seen it all, yet you still choose to live a life of fear and destruction.
Tighter and tighter I hold you tightly
I cling onto you with all my might and never want to let go.
You know I love you more than slightly
You know that my love for you is much deeper than a small amount.
Although I've never said it like this before
Even though I haven't expressed my feelings in such a direct manner before.
All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands
All I want is to be held and comforted by your loving embrace.
All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands
All I want is to be held and comforted by your loving embrace.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind