4 Elvis Costello Songs That Keep the Lyrics Simple but Still Soar

Elvis Costello has developed a reputation as one of the most literate songwriters. His polysyllabic, verbose jaunts have become legendary. But that style isn’t the only weapon in his arsenal.

The following four songs keep it simple, at least relative to his other sets of lyrics. And they still manage to pack an emotional wallop.

“Almost Blue”

What you’ll notice is that all four of the songs on this list skew towards slower, softer music than what you might normally associate with Costello. Perhaps that’s because he needed to be wordy over the years to keep up with the high-speed attack of The Attractions. Costello titled his 1981 album of country cover songs Almost Blue as well. But the song of the same name captures a noirish, jazzy feel. Steve Nieve’s tinkling piano sets the mood of the music. Meanwhile, Costello keeps things straightforward in the lyrics (and rhymes almost everything with “blue”) while still delivering some excellent lines. Case in point: “Not all good things come to an end/Now it is only a chosen few.”

“Baby Plays Around”

By the middle of the 80s, Costello had settled into a pattern whereby he’d trade off albums with the Attractions with solo releases. Spike, from 1989, finds him in solo mode, albeit surrounded by some of the finest studio musicians on the planet. With the hit single “Veronica” contained on it, the album helped propel Costello to a new level of exposure in America. Those who bought the LP based on that single found a wide range of styles and genres within it. “Baby Plays Around” was written with Cait O’Riordan, his wife at the time and a member of The Pogues. The lyrics, without many frills, tell a devastating tale of a guy who knows that his girl isn’t being faithful.

“It’s Still Too Soon To Know”

Brutal Youth, released in 1994, was billed as a reunion of The Attractions. While the LP did indeed include Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas, and Bruce Thomas on certain songs, Costello also went with a stripped-down approach on several songs. That included “Still Too Soon To Know”. For the most part, the only instrumentation is some trebly guitar, Nieve’s simple piano fills, and under-the-radar bass played by Elvis’ old buddy Nick Lowe. While Costello keeps the words to a minimum here and doesn’t do anything too tricky with them, he adds some complexity by changing the perspective occasionally. That’s a tactic he often deployed well on songs like “Accidents Will Happen”.

“Painted From Memory”

History proved how well that Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach gelled as artists. But when the collaboration was announced, many wondered how Costello’s wordy rants could coexist with Bacharach’s elegant arrangements. Costello must have anticipated that issue, because he largely scaled back some of the verbal pyrotechnics and twisting puns for which he was known. Instead, he concentrated on a direct approach. He chose his words as much for how they fit the melodies as for how they contributed to the narrative. On the title track to the 1998 album Painted From Memory, a simple metaphor about a painter reveals a heartbreaking portrait of lost love.

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