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.
My Dark Lif
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're the same as everyone
What makes me unique?
My dark life
There was a kink in the world
Sent that statue tumbling
An invitation east
So we can watch it all crumbling
She came off like light and so softly she spoke
"You don't know, no you don't know about my dark life"
And you think you're a guest, you're a tourist at best
Peering into the corners of my dark life
Now that you tear your dreams from consumptive ballerinas
She'll stand on tiptoes for you in a grey and tattered tutu
She stays where she is because of voyeurs like these
With an accusative look that says "my dark life"
Robber men await you then in each beguiling alley
To shake you and to pierce you and remind you of
My dark life
Enter the pious elite, in their preening finery
And bang the tambourine
They're dining on rice paper scenery
See how the villain attracts envious glances from everyone
She's waitressing by day
It doesn't bring in much money now
And his strong concealed arms set off bells and alarms
In the strangest locations of my dark life
But the fantasy slipped as he tipped her in cigarettes
She tries to smile very graciously when she wants to kill him
Now the victory is sweet, you get down on your knees
It's the perfect position for kissing western leather
So they came from ugly Texas and from nameless Tennessee
From peculiar Missouri and from places closer to me
All the cream of heartless England, cheered "the carnival is over"
The are remnants of red army bandsmen played "America The Beautiful"
The lyrics of Elvis Costello's "My Dark Life" speak about a woman who feels misunderstood and unseen. She believes that people fail to see that she is the same as everyone else, and the unique thing about her is her dark life. The world is crooked, and that caused a kink in it and sent the statue tumbling. The woman invites people east to watch it all crumbling.
Costello speaks about a woman who comes off as light and speaks softly but holds a dark life that others fail to see. People think that they are guests or tourists at best, peering into the corners of her dark life. Costello speaks of dreams and consumptive ballerinas, and how she makes a sacrifice for voyeurs like the audience with an accusatory look that says "my dark life." He continues to speak about robber men who await in each beguiling alley to shake and pierce people, making them remember the woman's dark life. The pious elite enters, banging tambourines and dining on rice paper scenery, while the villain attracts envious glances from everyone. She works as a waitress by day, but that doesn't bring in much money now.
In conclusion, the song speaks about how people fail to see the dark lives of others, despite everyone's uniqueness. People are often quick to be voyeuristic, peering into lives that they don't fully understand, and this can make people feel isolated and misunderstood.
Line by Line Meaning
She says nobody wants to believe
She explains how people refuse to believe her.
You're the same as everyone
You are no different from anybody else.
What makes me unique?
She asks what makes her special or different.
My dark life
She refers to the unpleasant aspects of her life.
There was a kink in the world
Something strange or amiss happened in the world.
Sent that statue tumbling
It caused a statue to fall or tumble.
An invitation east
She talks of an invitation to go east or to Asia.
So we can watch it all crumbling
They will go east to observe the downfall or decline of something.
She came off like light and so softly she spoke
A lady had an appearance of being kind and gentle.
"You don't know, no you don't know about my dark life"
She communicates that the listener doesn't have any idea of her unpleasant life.
And you think you're a guest, you're a tourist at best
The listener is treated like a tourist and not as someone knowledgeable about her life.
Peering into the corners of my dark life
The listener is trying to learn the hidden and unpleasant details of her life.
Now that you tear your dreams from consumptive ballerinas
You are trying to extract value and enjoyment from things that are not very meaningful.
She'll stand on tiptoes for you in a grey and tattered tutu
She will provide you with a suboptimal or unimpressive performance in exchange for attention.
She stays where she is because of voyeurs like these
She is still in her current unpleasant situation because people like the listener are observing her life without contributing to it.
With an accusative look that says "my dark life"
Her unfriendly and accusing look indicates that she is thinking about her unpleasant life.
Robber men await you then in each beguiling alley
People who want to steal from you wait for you in every attractive or inviting alleyway.
To shake you and to pierce you and remind you of
They will rob and harm you to remind you of something unpleasant.
My dark life
She talks about the unpleasant aspects of her life.
Enter the pious elite, in their preening finery
The religious or self-righteous people arrive dressed in their fancy clothing.
And bang the tambourine
They are playing a noisy tambourine instrument.
They're dining on rice paper scenery
They are consuming something insubstantial or fake.
See how the villain attracts envious glances from everyone
A villain or bad character receives positive attention due to their impressive qualities.
She's waitressing by day
A lady works as a waitress during the day.
It doesn't bring in much money now
Her job does not pay very well currently.
And his strong concealed arms set off bells and alarms
A man with hidden physical strength is causing alarm or anxiety.
In the strangest locations of my dark life
The most unusual places in her unpleasant life.
But the fantasy slipped as he tipped her in cigarettes
Her illusion or dream fades when he offers her cigarettes as a tip for her services.
She tries to smile very graciously when she wants to kill him
She is attempting to politely conceal her desire to harm him.
Now the victory is sweet, you get down on your knees
The feeling of success is enjoyable and makes you kneel down.
It's the perfect position for kissing western leather
It is a favorable position for kissing expensive, western-style leather.
So they came from ugly Texas and from nameless Tennessee
People arrived from unattractive areas like Texas and Tennessee.
From peculiar Missouri and from places closer to me
People also came from strange Missouri and locations closer to her.
All the cream of heartless England, cheered "the carnival is over"
The most well-to-do and selfish individuals from England celebrated the end of something.
The are remnants of red army bandsmen played "America The Beautiful"
A group of former soldiers from the Soviet army performed a patriotic American song.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DECLAN MACMANUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ilo's Sims 4 Extravaganza
This was a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Brian Eno that was on an X-Files compilation "Songs in the Key of X". Such a great song
iguanadans
Still one of my favorite CDs.
minidiva46
Just adore this song!!! Means so much to me, since I hvae always been the outsider, everywhere I go.
GSMulder
Maaaaaaaaaaaan, I first heard this song in the cd from The X Files! Amazing son!
Joseph Blough
me too, I have the CD!
Giselle Gee
Love the atmosphere of this song so much.
OscarLimaMike
Elvis Costelo can be Stellar when he is good this is one of many unbelievably great songs he has put out. Almost Blue and this one are some of my favourites.
Kevin Meyers
20 years, give or take a year or two, but I've loved this song since I was a teenager.
Choco Cat
Something about this song... Haunting and true... Inescapable
mosriteminion cause
To me this song is a short bio of my late wife, beautiful, a tall, pale dark brunette, shy and painfully quiet, told me once as a waitress a guy tipped her in penny's - an orphan who loved people, and received a lot abuse in return, the world dimmed the day she died.