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.
Pretty Words
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get my face slapped under wraps
What's going on precisely
Is there something wrong perhaps?
Surprise, surprise (surprise, surprise)
It's more like a booby trap than a booby prize
You're loosening all the screws that hold the hinges of my life
Fat cats and army brats
Hep cats and dog tag pawing over girly mags
Pretty words don't mean much anymore
I don't mean to be mean much anymore
All I see are snapshots, bigshots, tender spots
Mug shots, machine slots
'Till you don't know what's what
You don't know what you got
Curious women running after curious men
Curiosity didn't kill the cat
It was a poisoned pen
But there's not much choice (it's Hobson's choice)
Between a cruel mouth and a jealous voice
Got back to London
Picked a paper from the man
No words of consolation
Just cartoons and titter tatter
Well well, fancy that
Millions murdered for a kiss me quick hat
No backbone, blood and guts
Better keep your big mouth shut
Pretty words don't mean much anymore
I don't mean to be mean much anymore
All I see are snapshots, big shots, tender spots
Machine slots, mug shots
'Till you don't know what's what
You don't know what you got
Elvis Costello's song "Pretty Words" is a commentary on the emptiness and dishonesty of modern language and how the meaning of words has been lost in a world of superficiality. The opening lines, "I ask you nicely, get my face slapped under wraps," convey a sense of frustration and betrayal when trying to communicate with someone honestly. The line, "Surprise, surprise, it's more like a booby trap than a booby prize," suggests that even seemingly harmless words can have damaging consequences.
The verses continue to address various themes, including military violence and elitism, as evidenced by the line, "civil disobedience from a soldier with a dirty rifle." The chorus repeats the phrase "pretty words don't mean much anymore," conveying the idea that the meaning of language has lost its power to convey truth or significance.
Costello's lyrics also touch on the insidiousness of media culture, with references to "girly mags" and "titter tatter" in newspapers, suggesting the way in which language has been drained of meaning in popular culture. The song concludes with the line, "you don't know what you got," emphasizing the idea that the loss of meaning in language has a profound impact on our understanding of reality itself.
Line by Line Meaning
I ask you nicely
I politely inquired
Get my face slapped under wraps
I faced a negative consequence covertly
What's going on precisely
I want to know what's happening with pinpoint accuracy
Is there something wrong perhaps?
Could there be an issue that requires attention?
Surprise, surprise (surprise, surprise)
An expression of sarcasm regarding a situation
It's more like a booby trap than a booby prize
This is an unexpectedly dangerous situation
Civil disobedience from a soldier with a dirty rifle
A solider is acting in defiance in a morally questionable manner
You're loosening all the screws that hold the hinges of my life
You are causing problems in my life by destroying my foundations
Fat cats and army brats
Rich and privileged people
Hep cats and dog tag pawing over girly mags
Young, confident people reading magazines about women
Pretty words don't mean much anymore
Empty promises have lost their significance
I don't mean to be mean much anymore
I am not intentionally rude
All I see are snapshots, bigshots, tender spots
All I see are memories, important people and emotions
Mug shots, machine slots
People being arrested and implemented assembly line fashion
'Till you don't know what's what
Until you are so overwhelmed with stimulation that you lose clarity
You don't know what you got
You don't understand your reality
Curious women running after curious men
Women are chasing men who intrigue them
Curiosity didn't kill the cat
Asking questions doesn't harm a person
It was a poisoned pen
Writing and sharing information maliciously is harmful
But there's not much choice (it's Hobson's choice)
There is an absurence of other options and choices
Between a cruel mouth and a jealous voice
You must choose between different types of negativity
Got back to London
I returned to London
Picked a paper from the man
Bought a newspaper from a vendor
No words of consolation
No words of comfort or support
Just cartoons and titter tatter
Only light and frivolous content
Well well, fancy that
An ironic expression of surprise or amusement
Millions murdered for a kiss me quick hat
Many people have lost their lives due to trivial reasons
No backbone, blood and guts
Lack of courage or persistence
Better keep your big mouth shut
You should remain silent and avoid speaking out
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind