The songwriting collaboration between Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello produced a bounty of great music that was eventually split between both artists in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. It included one of Costello’s biggest hits (“Veronica”) and some of McCartney’s best-regarded solo songs of that era.
Videos by American Songwriter
In one particular song, the two leaned into their reputations, McCartney playing the nice guy, Costello the caustic scold. This ploy resulted in “You Want Her Too,” a comical duet found on Macca’s 1989 Flowers in the Dirt.
“Want” Ads
Paul McCartney felt he needed a collaborator who could challenge him somewhat when it came to his songwriting tendencies. Elvis Costello couldn’t refuse the opportunity to write with McCartney, considering his lifelong Beatle fandom and overall admiration of Macca’s music.
What’s interesting is the two men often went against their tendencies when they wrote together. McCartney, known for his tight melodic structures, often suggested wordy lines. And Costello, considered one of the most verbose writers, occasionally tried to push McCartney back to Beatlesque brevity.
On “You Want Her Too,” however, they capitulated to writing a song that would play into the notions many folks had of the two. And yet they still initially resisted the urge to make it a duet. McCartney even tried the song solo before it was decided it would work better as a back-and-forth.
Costello explained in his book Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink that his partner ultimately convinced him of the approach:
“The song was supposed to be like one of those old Hollywood movie sequences in which the hero is tempted by a little devil on one shoulder and consoled by an angel on the other. I knew what people would say if Paul sang all the sweet lines and I had the sarcastic replies, but as Paul said later, ‘It was just hard to resist.’”
Exploring the Lyrics of “You Want Her Too”
The tone for “You Want Her Too” is set by the opening verse, as McCartney takes the part of the doting suitor, and Costello the role of the undercutting rascal. For example, after McCartney sings, I’ve loved her oh so long, Costello comes chiming in with the biting rejoinder: So why don’t you come right out and say it, stupid?
Every time Macca tries to act the innocent, Costello contradicts. McCartney: My intentions are quite sincere. Costello: That’s not what you said the other night. It makes you question whether Paul’s character is as benign as he insists, or if E.C.’s foil is actually revealing the truth about his romantic rival.
Back and forth they go at each other: She told me you’re so predictable and nice / She only did you a favor once or twice. While McCartney’s character holds his head up high: My conscience is clear and strong, Costello’s is more concerned about results: Yes, she says that I’m just the boy for it.
The chorus reveals that, in this battle of wills, the only winner might just be the girl that has them both on a string: She makes me do things I don’t want to do / I don’t know why I should be telling you / I know that you want her too. With “You Want Her Too,” Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello had some fun, at least just for this one song, by inhabiting the personae everyone expected of them. By doing so in such exaggerated fashion, however, they sneakily suggest we shouldn’t always judge the singer by the songs.
Photo by Sean Dempsey – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.