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.
Pardon Me Madam My Name Is Eve
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I think it's time for you to leave
I don't believe that we have met
That's one thing you would not forget
In another time or life
When I was his only wife
When I was his only bride
In the orchard apples are withering
In the shadows something is slithering
So go along there if you must
And try to do as I suggest
He's just a gathering of dust
And if he can't recall my name
Tell him to take his time, it's worth recovering
Look at me, and what I'm covered in
I'm covered in shame
I came back looking for my man
Wandered everywhere and then
Stood outside and gazed upon
A beautiful garden, a shimmering pond
See the sunlight on the leaves that dapple
Did you see my little teeth marks on the apple?
Don't close the door on the hand I'm offering
There is always someone on the outside doing all of the suffering
In the orchard, apples are withering
In the shadows, something is slithering
But in another time or life
When I was his only wife
When I was his only bride
Before I was torn out
Before I was torn out
Before I was torn out
From his side
Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
I think it's time for one of us to leave
The song "Pardon Me Madam My Name Is Eve" by Elvis Costello is a melancholic retelling of the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The singer, Eve, is pleading with another woman identified as Madam, telling her it is time for her to leave. She goes on to introduce herself but eventually admits that she may not be remembered due to being torn from Adam's side in another time or life. The lyrics mention a withering orchard and something slithering in the shadows, painting a picture of a fallen, desolate and deserted paradise. Eve is covered in shame and is seeking her man, but is met with rejection and judgement from the outside world.
Costello's interpretation of the story is not a religious one, but rather explores the human emotions behind the fall from grace. The lyrics describe the pain and sorrow of losing a loved one, the shame of being exposed, and the bitterness of being rejected by society. The lines "there is always someone on the outside doing all of the suffering" reminds us that suffering is not limited to the individual, but affects everyone else around them.
The song is a somber reminder of our innate human vulnerability and the consequences of our actions. It touches on themes of love, betrayal, shame, loss, and redemption. The lyrics are haunting, and Costello's delivery is emotive, capturing the essence of sadness and longing for a paradise that is forever out of reach.
Line by Line Meaning
Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
Excuse me, ma'am, my name is Eve
I think it's time for you to leave
I suggest it's time for you to depart
I don't believe that we have met
I don't recall us having been properly introduced
That's one thing you would not forget
Our meeting would have been noteworthy and memorable
In another time or life
Dealing with an alternate version of reality
When I was his only wife
During the time when I was the sole partner of the person in question
When I was his only bride
When I was the sole woman to be married to him
Before I was torn out from his side
Prior to being abruptly separated and removed from his company
In the orchard apples are withering
The orchard is in a state of decay, with apples rotting away
In the shadows something is slithering
There's a mysterious creature lurking in the shadows
So go along there if you must
You can proceed in that direction if you really need to
And try to do as I suggest
Please take my recommendation into account
He's just a gathering of dust
He's reduced to a pile of debris with no real substance or vitality
And if he can't recall my name
Should he be unable to remember my identity
Tell him to take his time, it's worth recovering
Take as long as you need to recall it since it's an important fact
Look at me, and what I'm covered in
Look at how I'm adorned, as it's noteworthy
I'm covered in shame
I am consumed by feelings of being guilty or inferior
I came back looking for my man
I returned to seek the fellow who belongs to me
Wandered everywhere and then
I wandered far and wide with no real direction or plan
Stood outside and gazed upon
I stood outside and looked upon
A beautiful garden, a shimmering pond
A gorgeous garden that has a luminous water feature
See the sunlight on the leaves that dapple
Witness the sun rays glinting on the speckled foliage
Did you see my little teeth marks on the apple?
I left minor bite marks on the fruit, did you spot them?
Don't close the door on the hand I'm offering
Please don't reject my friendly gesture
There is always someone on the outside doing all of the suffering
Someone is always experiencing the pain of being an outsider
Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
Excuse me, ma'am, my name is Eve
Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
Excuse me, ma'am, my name is Eve
I think it's time for one of us to leave
It's time for one of us to head out
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LORETTA LYNN, ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind