This was a good song to get you through the Bush administration years.

*sigh*
Tune out... change station.

Just not in the mood for oldies.
Word that fits this piece: Maudlin.

Adjective Self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness.

Synonyms sentimental - mawkish

Basher rules!! Awesome....  'So it Goes' / 'Heart of the City' has to be one of the alltime top 45's 

Who ever said that they are funny?

Minimalist perfection.

 Proclivities wrote: 
thanks, you got in just ahead of me (and have better spelling of Brinsley Schwarz than I do!)

 kingart wrote: 
actually, he wrote it before he met Elvis - he was in a band in the early 70's (Brinsley Scwarzt - sp?) and wrote it for them, but I think they either passed on it, or he decided to keep it for himself. He said it was about the backlash against the hippy values of "peace, love and understanding", that he thought where still relevant. 

 kingart wrote: 
Nick Lowe wrote and recorded this song around 1974, with his band Brinsley Schwarz.  While he did produce Costello's version several years later, he was never a member of The Attractions.

Beautiful. Poignant.

 tipper wrote: 
considering that it was recorded in one take, live to air for a Toronto radio station, I think you could cut him a little slack.

 kingart wrote: 
i'd like to hear either one back to back with billy bragg's waiting for the great leap forward.

It's on this album:

Very appropriate given what is happening in the world today. I made the mistake of reading the paper this morning. Syria, Colorado, even Toronto. Has sanity begun to slip away? What so funny 'bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?

As I went to right this comment, I noticed someone else commenting that the lyrics were ridiculous. Listen to them in context to the poor soles lost to senseless shootings in the past week. Maybe the lyrics do make some sense? 

There's so much beauty and joy in the world. Why can't we focus on that? 

I like this version because it's quite different from Elvis's.  I do like Elvis's more but this is quite good.

It's not Nick doing a cover of the Elvis Costello song. Nick the wrote song when he was with Costello in the Attractions; it's Lowe's song, it's one of the great social consciousness songs. It's a 9. Of course, so is the smokin' rock version. I have both on my Pod. 

 RKeaton wrote: 
Nice troll (I hope).

Whoever this guy is he does a decent cover of this Elvis Costello song.

surprised how much I  liked this

 (former member) wrote:  Very very true.

He wrote and first recorded this when still with Brinsley Schwartz, the band and the man.

 terrapin52 wrote: 

He wrote the bloody words.  He can sing them any way he bloody wants.

nuttin

This song speaks to my soul.... I love it.

He got the words wrong

 cc_rider wrote: 
I love that term 'driveway' song, and I know exactly what you mean. You feel compelled to sit and listen to that song before driving away. Falls into the same category as 'parking lot' songs. You pull into a parking lot, but you wait for a song to end before you get out of your car and go into a store.

Nick the Knife made enough dough from this being on The Bodyguard soundtrack that he could do whatever he wanted afterward.

What a great thing for a guy who, otherwise, might've just struggled to get by - despite his talent and contribution to contemporary music. 

For me this is what I've heard called a 'driveway song'. The first time I heard Mr. Lowe performing this, it was a version recorded live at the KGSR studios in Austin. I was on the way home from work, and pulled up to the house about 1/3 of the way through the song. I sat and listened to the entire thing right there in the car, blown away by the intensity. A 'driveway' song.

This version seems to bring the point home much better than EC's version, although I really like that one.