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.
Just Don't Know What to do With Myself
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I just don't know what to do with myself
I'm so used to doing everything with you
Planning everything for two
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do with my time
I'm so lonesome for you, it's a crime
Parties make me feel as bad
When I'm not with you, I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love to beat all the pain
I just don't know what to do with myself
I just don't know what to do with myself
Baby, if your new love ever turns you down
Come back, I will be around
Just waiting for you, I don't know what else to do
Don't know what else to do
I don't know what else to do
I'm still so crazy for you
Oh, oh, oh
Elvis Costello's song "Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" expresses a deep sense of loss and longing after a relationship ends. The lyrics illustrate the singer's confusion and aimlessness in the aftermath of a break-up. The repeated line "I just don't know what to do with myself" emphasizes the singer's overwhelming sense of disorientation and highlights the extent to which their life revolved around their partner. The line "Like a summer rose needs the sun and rain, I need your sweet love to beat all the pain" is particularly poignant, underscoring the idea that without the love and companionship of their partner, the singer feels incomplete and unable to cope with the challenges of life.
The song captures the universal feeling of heartbreak and the difficulty of moving on. It suggests that some people may rely too heavily on a romantic relationship for their sense of self and purpose, leading to a profound sense of loss when the relationship ends. Despite the sadness and emptiness conveyed in the lyrics, there is also a glimmer of hope in the line "Baby, if your new love ever turns you down, come back, I will be around". This suggests that the singer has not given up on the possibility of rekindling the relationship and is willing to wait for their ex-partner to return.
Line by Line Meaning
I just don't know what to do with myself
I am lost and have no idea how to spend my time without you
I'm so used to doing everything with you
You were my constant companion, and being without you is unbearable
Planning everything for two
All my activities were centered around us being together
And now that we're through
Our relationship has ended, and I'm struggling to move on
I'm so lonesome for you, it's a crime
I miss you terribly and it's causing me a lot of pain
Going to a movie only makes me sad
Activities that used to make me happy are now a source of sadness because you're not with me
Parties make me feel as bad
Even being around other people doesn't make me feel any better
When I'm not with you, I just don't know what to do
My life revolves around you, and without you, I feel completely lost
Like a summer rose needs the sun and rain
Just as a flower needs sunlight and water to survive, I need your love to sustain me
I need your sweet love to beat all the pain
Your love is the only thing that can relieve the pain I'm feeling from losing you
Baby, if your new love ever turns you down
If things don't work out with your new partner, I'll be here waiting for you
Come back, I will be around
I'm willing to take you back and give our relationship another chance
Just waiting for you, I don't know what else to do
I'm stuck in this limbo of waiting for you and not knowing how to move on
Don't know what else to do
I have no other options or solutions to this problem
I'm still so crazy for you
Despite everything, I'm still very much in love with you
Oh, oh, oh
An emotional cry of pain and longing
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HAL DAVID, BURT BACHARACH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Oppothumbs M
Elvis, singing with so much heart and expressive voice that only seems limited, turns great lines into greater lines.
just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself ( no one could sing that better)
Going to a Movie only make me sad - (ditto)
Parties make me feel as bad
* Cause I'm not with you
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To feel all the way
Well, I don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To feel all the way
Baby if a new love ever turns you down
Call me I will be around - Great!
I just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Oppothumbs M
Elvis, singing with so much heart and expressive voice that only seems limited, turns great lines into greater lines.
just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself ( no one could sing that better)
Going to a Movie only make me sad - (ditto)
Parties make me feel as bad
* Cause I'm not with you
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To feel all the way
Well, I don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To feel all the way
Baby if a new love ever turns you down
Call me I will be around - Great!
I just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Dale Swift
this is my favourite version of this song
Oppothumbs M
THIS IS THE BEST VERSION.
JakobusVdL
Perfect from begining to end, love Costello singing Bacharach, and love Stiffs on tour!
Richard Trepsas
I love it, the live versions with Burt Bacharach don’t have anywhere near the powerful emotion and Elvis’s voice at the very end. I searched YouTube and this is the one I remember as I heard it the first time.
Of course the original by Dionne Warwick is fantastic as well.
makeHimknown2all
I still like Dusty, but this made me learn to play and sing the song! Loved it!
Mark Bryant
Such a great album.
Susan Bachner
Love this song. RIP Hal David.
Bubba Dano
"If it ain't Stiff it ain't worth a fuck." I loved the labels different mottos but that one was the best.
Bill M
Thank You very much for this track