The reason this album is so disturbing is because it is so subtle yet so obvious. (I'm big on dichotomies these days.) It's subtle in that it falls dumb on most men's ears, but then again, Trust is dreadfully obvious to those who have seen its madness in Real Life.
Gasp... capitalize those evil words.
Trust starts out with a tune called "Clubland" which sports the fine lyrics "There's a piece in someone's pocket / to do the dirty work. / You've come to shoot the pony. / You've come to do the jerk." Ouch. We've all heard that story before. There's nothing like good soft-core porn.
Trust ends with a tune called "Big Sister's Clothes" which sports(?) the fine lyrics "Sheep to the slaughter / Oh, I thought this must be love. / All your sons and daughters / In a strangle over the kid gloves."
Enough cynicism. Actually these are well-turned phrases. Costello is getting better. So is his band, the Attractions. But the subject matter is getting trite. I mean, I smoke Vantage Blues, too, but the line "smoking the everlasting cigarette of chastity" is a bit more than I can inhale.
In one breath, anyway.
There is a warning on the album, however, it's entitled "Watch Your Step" and it's found on the last track on the first side of this, the sixth Elvis elpee. The track begins with "Don't say a word / Don't say anything / Don't say a word / I'm not even listening / They read in the papers / about your escape."
And it ends with "Bye, I'll send you all my regards / You're so tough / You're so hard. / Listen to the hammers falling in the breaker's yard / You better watch your step." A not-so-kind warning indeed. Good lyrics.
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