Everyday I Write the Book
Encyclopedia
"Everyday I Write the Book" is a song written by Elvis Costello
, from Punch the Clock
, an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song peaked at 28 on the UK Singles Chart
and was their first hit single
in the United States, placing in the Billboard
Top 40.
" and tells his paramour "your compliments and your cutting remarks are captured here in my quotation mark
s." He also compares the stages of their relationship with chapters
in a book saying:
song and make it mean something. I was quite happy with it and I tried to do it in a kind of lovers-rock type arrangement
and I wasn’t happy with it and then ended up putting this other kind of rhythm to the song, which was written originally as a kind of merseybeat
knock off...I invested less emotionally in it than any other songs from that time yet its the one that everyone warmed to."
) has been called a "classic MTV
hit" and features footage of Elvis Costello and the Attractions performing in a studio with female backup singers (one of whom was Caron Wheeler
) dressed in African clothing
and kente cloth
headwraps. Footage of Costello and his bandmates performing is mingled with footage showing celebrity lookalikes of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales
, Charles incongruously doing household chores and Diana watching television
in a middle class
domicile. Clips
of the silent
adventure film
being watched by Diana are also included in the montage.
When Prince Charles appears wielding a rapier
and wearing a swashbuckler
costume like that of the actors in the silent film, Princess Diana rolls her eyes and returns her attention to the television. Further attempts by Prince Charles to impress his spouse—including presenting her with a red rose
and jumping through a flaming hoop—are similarly rebuffed as she is more interested in the romances depicted on her television. Costello later commented that he had "no idea" of the reason for the interspersed royalty scenes, which were, he says, the director's idea. At one point, the singer drops two stone tablets similar to those in the classic film The Ten Commandments
. and they are smashed.
er for Allmusic described this song and one other as the best on Punch the Clock and said they work well as "shiny pop
singles
." A writer for Stylus Magazine
said it is one of three best songs on that album and that its "fractured keyboards
" feature the most successful use of the "overdub cut-and-paste style." Robert Christgau
included this song among those Elvis Costello hits "you like so much you think you understand them." According to one source, the theme of the song's "hopeless pop romantic" lyrics are about "struggling to make his marriage work."
song"; in a June 1994 Central Park
concert, it was one of only two of his best-known songs performed without remaining faithful to the original recording, with Costello instead performing it in what he called its "original" version. A review of an August 2009 performance at the Ravinia Festival with "the Sugarcanes" was described as having its "hooky
chorus turned into a dour lament
."
, on first the PolyGram label then the Rhino label. It is also included on the 2007 compilation The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years
. The song appeared in 1998 on the soundtrack album
for The Wedding Singer
'.
In 2010, in appearances premiering within a month of each other, the song was chosen by both Robert Harris
and Nick Park
as one of their "Desert Island Discs
."
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, from Punch the Clock
Punch the Clock
Punch the Clock is an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It was Costello's eighth album, his seventh with the Attractions since 1978. The album featured Costello's first U.S...
, an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song peaked at 28 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and was their first hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in the United States, placing in the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top 40.
Lyrics
The lyrics draw various parallels between romance and the process of composing texts. The narrator identifies himself as "a man with a mission in two or three editionsEdition (book)
The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed “from substantially the same setting of type,” including all minor typographical variants.- First edition :...
" and tells his paramour "your compliments and your cutting remarks are captured here in my quotation mark
Quotation mark
Quotation marks or inverted commas are punctuation marks at the beginning and end of a quotation, direct speech, literal title or name. Quotation marks can also be used to indicate a different meaning of a word or phrase than the one typically associated with it and are often used to express irony...
s." He also compares the stages of their relationship with chapters
Chapter (books)
A chapter is one of the main divisions of a piece of writing of relative length, such as a book. Chapters can be numbered in the case of such writings as law code or they can be titled. For example, the first chapters of some well-known novels are titled:*"The Boy Who Lived" – Harry Potter...
in a book saying:
-
- Chapter One we didn't really get along
- Chapter Two I think I fell in love with you
- You said you'd stand by me in the middle of Chapter Three
- But you were up to your old tricks in Chapters Four, Five and Six
History
In an interview from November 1998, Costello said "Everyday I Write the Book" was "a song I wrote in ten minutes almost as a challenge to myself. I thought, maybe I could write just a simple, almost formulaOral-Formulaic Composition
The theory of oral-formulaic composition originated in the scholarly study of epic poetry, being developed in the second quarter of the twentieth century...
song and make it mean something. I was quite happy with it and I tried to do it in a kind of lovers-rock type arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and I wasn’t happy with it and then ended up putting this other kind of rhythm to the song, which was written originally as a kind of merseybeat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
knock off...I invested less emotionally in it than any other songs from that time yet its the one that everyone warmed to."
Video
The music video for "Everyday I Write the Book" (directed by Don LettsDon Letts
Don Letts is a British film director and musician. He is credited as the man who through his DJing at clubs like The Roxy brought together punk and reggae music.-Biography:...
) has been called a "classic MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
hit" and features footage of Elvis Costello and the Attractions performing in a studio with female backup singers (one of whom was Caron Wheeler
Caron Wheeler
Caron Wheeler is a two-time Grammy Award winning British R&B/soul singer, who gained fame by writing and singing the lead vocals on the two biggest hits for Soul II Soul Caron Wheeler (19 January 1963) is a two-time Grammy Award winning British R&B/soul singer, who gained fame by writing and...
) dressed in African clothing
Clothing in Africa
African clothing is the traditional clothing, often vibrantly coloured, worn by the indigenous peoples of Africa...
and kente cloth
Kente cloth
Kente cloth, known locally as nwentoma, is a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast.- Etymology :...
headwraps. Footage of Costello and his bandmates performing is mingled with footage showing celebrity lookalikes of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, Charles incongruously doing household chores and Diana watching television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in a middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
domicile. Clips
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
of the silent
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
being watched by Diana are also included in the montage.
When Prince Charles appears wielding a rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
and wearing a swashbuckler
Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler or swasher is a term that emerged in the 16th century and has been used for rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was applied with much...
costume like that of the actors in the silent film, Princess Diana rolls her eyes and returns her attention to the television. Further attempts by Prince Charles to impress his spouse—including presenting her with a red rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
and jumping through a flaming hoop—are similarly rebuffed as she is more interested in the romances depicted on her television. Costello later commented that he had "no idea" of the reason for the interspersed royalty scenes, which were, he says, the director's idea. At one point, the singer drops two stone tablets similar to those in the classic film The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
. and they are smashed.
Reviews
A reviewReview
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
er for Allmusic described this song and one other as the best on Punch the Clock and said they work well as "shiny pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
." A writer for Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
said it is one of three best songs on that album and that its "fractured keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
" feature the most successful use of the "overdub cut-and-paste style." Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
included this song among those Elvis Costello hits "you like so much you think you understand them." According to one source, the theme of the song's "hopeless pop romantic" lyrics are about "struggling to make his marriage work."
Costello's live performances
Costello has referred to "Everyday I Write the Book" as "a bad Smokey RobinsonSmokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
song"; in a June 1994 Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
concert, it was one of only two of his best-known songs performed without remaining faithful to the original recording, with Costello instead performing it in what he called its "original" version. A review of an August 2009 performance at the Ravinia Festival with "the Sugarcanes" was described as having its "hooky
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
chorus turned into a dour lament
Lament
A lament or lamentation is a song, poem, or piece of music expressing grief, regret, or mourning.-History:Many of the oldest and most lasting poems in human history have been laments. Laments are present in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and laments continued to be sung in elegiacs accompanied by...
."
Appearances
The song was re-released on the 1985 compilation album The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, the 1994 compilation album The Very Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions 1977–86, and twice (1999 and 2001) on The Very Best of Elvis CostelloThe Very Best of Elvis Costello
The Very Best of Elvis Costello is a compilation album on two compact discs by Elvis Costello, sampling his recorded work from the years 1977 through 1998. First issued on Polygram Records on September 21, 1999, it was re-released less than two years later on Rhino Records...
, on first the PolyGram label then the Rhino label. It is also included on the 2007 compilation The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years
The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years
The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years is a compilation album by Elvis Costello released in 2007, consisting of songs taken from the early years of his discography, compiled by Costello himself.-Track listing:...
. The song appeared in 1998 on the soundtrack album
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
for The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer is a 1998 romantic comedy film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler as a wedding singer in the 1980s and Drew Barrymore as a waitress with whom he falls in love....
'.
In 2010, in appearances premiering within a month of each other, the song was chosen by both Robert Harris
Robert Harris (novelist)
Robert Dennis Harris is an English novelist. He is a former journalist and BBC television reporter.-Early life:Born in Nottingham, Harris spent his childhood in a small rented house on a Nottingham council estate. His ambition to become a writer arose at an early age, from visits to the local...
and Nick Park
Nick Park
Nicholas Wulstan "Nick" Park, CBE is an English filmmaker of stop motion animation best known as the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep....
as one of their "Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
."
Charts
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Everyday I Write the Book" | Mainstream Rock | 33 |
| 1983 | "Everyday I Write the Book" | Pop Singles | 36 |