Elvis Costello & The Attractions was a critically acclaimed pop and rock ba… Read Full Bio ↴Elvis Costello & The Attractions was a critically acclaimed pop and rock band formed by English musican Elvis Costello in 1977. Producing famous work in the genres of punk and new wave music, it also contained Steve Nieve (ne Nason) on keyboards, Pete Thomas on drums, and Bruce Thomas (no relation) on bass. Costello recorded and toured solidly with them until 1984, when he disbanded them to pursue solo projects.

Internationally, the band is perhaps best known for popular rock hits such as "Oliver's Army" and "Pump It Up", both featuring expressive yet sardonic vocals from Costello. He reconvened the band for one-off albums and tours over the following decade, particularly from 1994 through 1996. He has also enlisted Nieve, and to a lesser extent Pete Thomas, for other recordings and performances, and this continues to the present day. Costello and Bruce Thomas have had a notoriously stormy relationship, documented in Thomas' 1990 autobiographical novel 'The Big Wheel'. The original Attractions reunited for the 'Brutal Youth & All This Useless Beauty' sessions despite Costello and Thomas' differences. Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve, along with Bruce Thomas' replacement Davey Faragher, have been a part of Costello's other most well known backing band, The Imposters.

Together, Costello and the Attractions, based out of London, England, recorded ten albums. Most of which are critically regarded as among Costello's finest. They are: 'This Year's Model' (1978); 'Armed Forces' (1979); 'Get Happy' (1980); 'Trust' (1981); 'Almost Blue' (1981); 'Imperial Bedroom' (1982); 'Punch The Clock' (1983); 'Goodbye Cruel World' (1984); 'Blood and Chocolate' (1986), and 'All This Useless Beauty' (1996). The full band plays on some, but not all, tracks on the 1994 release 'Brutal Youth', which is credited to Costello alone. In addition, The Attractions also recorded an album without Costello, titled 'Mad About the Wrong Boy', which they released in 1980.

Elvis Costello & The Attractions most recently appeared together, although they didn't play, when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. The band's work has continued to receive much airplay and sell quite well over the years. 'Mad About the Wrong Boy', while obscure, has been a collectors item for many new wave and power pop fans.

Love Field
Elvis Costello & The Attractions Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You lie so unfolded
In a love field
With your contempt for any modesty
In a love field

In a love field
In a love field
You yield with your lips still sealed

In a love field
Lost in a sea of imaginary women
Everything you'd want
From the dawn to the dimming

Breath comes sharp and heart beats faster
In a love field
Cold ground for a pillow under a blanket of stars
In a love field

In a love field
In a love field
Headlights that startled this embrace of ours
In a love field

In a crooked house where
Things can be arranged
You think you're different from the rest
But you don't see how you've changed

Under an archway on a road of white linen
In a love field
Feel the anxious rhythm of a functional stranger
In a love field

In a love field
In a love field
She's so tense but it's never mentioned
In a love field

In a love field
In a love field

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Love Field by Elvis Costello are filled with raw emotion and vivid imagery. The song is about a man and a woman who are lying in a field together, but the woman is distant and aloof. She has a contempt for any modesty and is lost in a sea of imaginary women, everything she wants from the dawn to the dimming. The man is infatuated and feels his breath come sharp and his heart beat faster in her presence. But he is also aware that she is a functional stranger to him, and there is an anxious rhythm to their interactions.

The lyrics paint a picture of a tumultuous relationship that is filled with tension and uncertainty. The love field is a metaphor for the emotional landscape of the relationship. The man is lying in the field with the woman, but they are not really connecting. They are both lost in their own worlds, and it seems that they are both hiding something.

Overall, Love Field is a powerful and haunting song that captures the complexities of human relationships. It speaks to the struggles and challenges that many people face in their personal lives, and it does so with eloquence and insight.

Line by Line Meaning

You lie so unfolded
You are lying with complete abandonment

In a love field
In a place where love is everything

With your contempt for any modesty
You have no respect for modesty or shame

In a love field
In a place where love is everything

You yield with your lips still sealed
You are giving in without ever speaking

In a love field
In a place where love is everything

Lost in a sea of imaginary women
You are surrounded by imaginary women

Everything you'd want
All your desires are present

From the dawn to the dimming
From beginning to completely over

Breath comes sharp and heart beats faster
You are excited and anxious

In a love field
In a place where love is everything