SONG TITLE: SHOT WITH HIS OWN GUN
PERFORMER: ELVIS COSTELLO
SONGWRITER: ELVIS COSTELLO
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1981
COMMENTS: Elvis explores the creeping emotional numbness brought on by petty marital infidelity in this unique and unforgettable composition.
Often Elvis' songs have caused people to compare him to the classic Broadway writers, such as George Gershwin or Richard Rodgers. This comes from trying to explain how outstanding he is as a composer of long, classy, well-developed melody, and how sophisticated he is in technical terms, in harmony and key structure. This particular song draws me that way; it is well past the simple basic blues structure of the big majority of rock music.
However, it doesn't sound a bit like any show tune I ever heard. It has a thick, ponderous minor key baroque sound. You can feel the characters trying vainly to keep up a pretense of dignity. The lines of the song sweep compellingly and melodramatically across the slow, deliberate cadence of the piano. He's right in tune with his music when he notes that "playing house seems so melancholy."
The cheating doesn't even provide the thrill you would hope for. She finds herself "so disappointed to find it's no big sin... lying skin-to-skin." Instead, the woman finds herself soiled by a man who "comes without warning, leaves without feeling." Ugh, it's finally just filthy and degrading. It makes me want to take a shower. Right after I hear it again a couple more times.
Not like he'd ever touch such a thing, but Frank Sinatra should have taken a crack at this song. The gravity of his stature and his quiet authority would have, could have, should have made a Mount Rushmore sized monumental recording.
It's his loss. As it is, Elvis is himself one of the greatest vocalists in the history of rock music, and gives a far more than adequate performance. His song, his arrangement, and his vocal performance all give an exceptional insight into the human condition, and the internal toll you pay for breaking the rules.
Link
Soup
morethings master
photo gallery index
MP3
new album
releases
sammy davis
little richard photos
buddy holly pictures
fats domino images
chuck berry pictures 01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
la
manchurian candidate pictures
24
lucille ball images james
blunt photos
clint eastwood pictures lena
horne images team
america pictures
robert mitchum photos
bruce springsteen pictures
mariah carey pictures
ann coulter photos
sissy spacek pictures
tanya tucker images
loretta lynn pictures
beatles pictures
white stripes pictures
andy griffith pictures
kill bill pictures
parliament funkadelic p-funk pictures
beverly hillbillies pictures
al
barger
frank zappa pictures
jerry lee lewis pictures
richard pryor photos
june carter johnny cash pictures
vic mackey shield pictures
macy gray pictures
james cagney images
elvis presley pictures
gwen stefani images
dolly parton pictures
devil whores pictures
tom petty photos
tori amos pictures
joaquin phoenix images
Quills movie images
peter lorre images
reese witherspoon pictures
flaming lips images rolling
stones photos
fiona apple images dr
strangelove pictures elvis
costello images
ray charles photos marx
brothers pictures
prince rogers nelson pictures blazing
saddles images
sinead o'connor images
eddie murphy photos all
in the family pictures
south park pictures homer
simpson images
bob dylan pictures elizabeth
taylor photos drawn
together images
saturday night live pictures hee
haw pictures james
brown images pete
townshend photos
tina turner pictures
dixie chicks photos
robert anton wilson images
guns n roses pictures
paula abdul pictures
jodie foster photos
borat
eminem
frank sinatra photos
van halen images
satan