Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an inter… Read Full Bio ↴Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an internationally known English singer-songwriter. Gaining prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-70s, he burst into fame with his critically acclaimed 1977 debut 'My Aim Is True', still one of the most successful debuts of all time. He soon did much work in the genres of punk rock, power pop, and New Wave after he formed Elvis Costello & The Attractions. In a long and successful career, Costello has released over thirty studio albums on his own and with the Attractions, the Imposters, and other collaborations, praised by many critics for his literate, witty songwriting.

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.

When It Sings
Elvis Costello Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

All the words you say to me
Have music in them
All the sorrows and the joys like magnetism
And a selfish boy looks through a prism
And says what is
But never asks what isn't

But a voice contains many precious things

It laughs
And then it sings
And all the lies that we can tell
To our foolish selves

Maybe this is the love song that I refused to
Write her when I loved her like I used to
And I fear my heart may spin and fracture
Like tears of stone falling from a statue

But a voice contains all that's true and false
Then cries for someone else
And for some honest tenderness
So I must confess

All the words you say to me
Have music in them
All the sorrows and the joys like magnetism
And a selfish boy looks through a prism

And says what is
But never asks what isn't

Overall Meaning

The song "When It Sings" by Elvis Costello is a deeply introspective and emotional piece examining the power of words and voices. The opening lines suggest that words and emotions are inseparable and that every word spoken has a unique melody to it, like music. The lyrics also make a distinction between the way people perceive the world, the prism, and how they truly feel, asking what isn't. In other words, people are often blinded by their own biases and views and fail to question reality, which is why their voices and words can be deceiving.

The second verse delves into the power of the human voice. The voice can convey a range of emotions, from laughter to sorrow, and even deception. The lines "And all the lies that we can tell/ To our foolish selves" allude to the idea that we are often unaware of the lies we tell ourselves. The third verse is particularly poignant, as the singer admits that he never expressed his love to someone when he had the chance. The metaphor, "tears of stone falling from a statue," confirms the theme of emotional detachment and the inability to communicate true feelings. The final verse brings the song full circle as the singer reiterates the idea that voices contain both truth and falsehood, and that sometimes they cry out for tenderness and honesty.

Overall, "When It Sings" is a song that encourages us to be more reflective and honest about our own emotions and what we express with our words.

Line by Line Meaning

All the words you say to me
Every word you speak has an underlying musicality to it.

Have music in them
Each word that you say has its own rhythm and melody.

All the sorrows and the joys like magnetism
Emotions have a way of drawing us in and influencing us, like a magnetic force.

And a selfish boy looks through a prism
Selfish people tend to view the world with a narrow perspective, like looking through a prism that distorts reality.

And says what is
They only focus on what they see in front of them.

But never asks what isn't
They fail to ponder what else could be happening beyond their limited viewpoint.

But a voice contains many precious things
The act of speaking carries much depth and meaning beyond just the words themselves.

It laughs
A voice can convey joy and humor through its tone and inflection.

And then it sings
At other times, a voice can burst forth in song, expressing deeper emotions.

And all the lies that we can tell
Verbal communication isn't always truthful; we often deceive ourselves and others.

To our foolish selves
We can become trapped in our own mental constructs and illusions.

Maybe this is the love song that I refused to Write her when I loved her like I used to
The artist regrets not expressing his love when he had the chance and wonders if this song is finally that expression.

And I fear my heart may spin and fracture
The singer is afraid that his heart may break into pieces.

Like tears of stone falling from a statue
The heartbreak may be slow and painful, like drops of water wearing away at stone.

But a voice contains all that's true and false
A voice can convey both honesty and deception, depending on the singer's intentions.

Then cries for someone else
At times, the artist's voice may express sadness or empathy for someone else's pain.

And for some honest tenderness
The artist longs for someone to show him genuine compassion and care.

So I must confess
The singer realizes the importance of being honest about his emotions and vulnerability.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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