"Veronica" is a single from Elvis Costello

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...

's 1989 album Spike

Spike (Elvis Costello album)

Spike is the 12th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on and compact disc as Warner Brothers 25848. It was his first album for the label. It peaked at #5 on the UK album chart, and at #32 on the Billboard 200....

, co-written by Costello with Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

. The song "Veronica" was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett

T-Bone Burnett

Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...

 and Kevin Killen, and features Paul McCartney on his iconic Höfner

Höfner

Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments....

 bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

voted it as one of Costello's top ten greatest tunes.

The song focuses on an older woman who has experienced severe memory loss. Costello's inspiration for this song was his grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's. When talking about the song on a VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 interview, Costello reminisced about his grandmother having "terrifying moments of lucidity" and how this was the inspiration for "Veronica".

"Veronica" was also Costello's highest-charting Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at #19 on 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...

Hot 100 singles chart, #1 on its Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and #10 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks

Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

 chart.

Music video

"Veronica" and its accompanying video depicts an aged woman, probably nearing the end of her life in a retirement home, engaging in detached reminiscences from her life from young girl to young womanhood (played by Zoe Carides

Zoe Carides

Zoe Carides is an Australian film and television actress who is best known for her roles in the television series G. P. as Dr. Sonia Kapek and Grass Roots as Liz Murray. Carides was born in Sydney, Australia.-Family:...

). The video for "Veronica" featured Costello delivering a spoken-word monologue to the camera, and occasionally singing the song softly over the original vocal track from the recording. The video earned an 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....

 Video Music Award nomination for Best Male Video.

Cultural references

In the episode "Veronica", from the third season of Lie to Me

Lie to Me

Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

, the title character is a woman suffering from Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

, a possible reference to the song.

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	27
Canadian Singles Chart	64
Irish Singles Chart	22
UK Singles Chart	31
US Billboard Hot 100	19
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks	10
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1