There’s a running joke here in Portland that the good weather only really gets started after Independence Day. Judging by today’s glorious weather – there’s not a cloud in the sky – I’m tempted to believe them, and so this song has been in my head all day; I may be misremembering, but I’m pretty sure that it’s the first Elvis Costello song that I really knew, as opposed to just hearing and not paying attention to, and it led me to my first Elvis Costello purchase. Looking back, that feels like I was suckered in by some ill-tempered gateway drug, the faux-Beach Boys stylings covering up a happily grumpy song about the downside of showbiz glamor. I still love the bitterness of lines like “Was it a millionaire who said ‘Imagine no possessions’?/A poor little schoolboy who said ‘We don’t need no lessons’?” heading after some traditional sacred cows.
Goodnight, God bless and kiss goodbye to the Earth, indeed.