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[[image:50songsfor50days.jpg|440px|right|thumb|link=https://www.elviscostello.com/#!/50songsfor50days|50 Songs For 50 Days.]]

Between September 15, and November 3, 2020, Elvis posted a series of song lyrics on his website, one every day for 51 days.  He introduced the series on his FaceBook page thus: 

"'''Elvis Costello’s October Surprise'''

“''If you’re tired of the lies of politicians and of preachers<br>
''You can place your trust in me, help me be your brother’s keeper<br>
''If you pay too many taxes, think salvation should be cheaper<br>
''Just say “Blood and Hot Sauce''”<br>

These lines come from a campaign song that I wrote for a musical adaptation of the Budd Schulberg story, “A Face In The Crowd”, which would have been coming to the stage quite soon, had it not been for the present contagion.

“Face” is the tale of Lonesome Rhodes, a lying, cheating, pill-popping double-talking no-good, who is discovered in jail by, Marcia Jeffries, a radio producer who sees potential in his silver tongue and common touch.

The story sees him rise through the broadcasting world until Lonesome gets such good ratings that he believes that he holds sway over, “The Ordinary Man”, who he secretly despises.

But that story is for another day.

In the meantime, I have created this installation of “50 Songs For 50 Days”, presenting lyrics written over the last 50 years - most of them my own - and heard on recordings made between 1977 and 2020, including several that will be issued here for the first time.

These songs were written in response to events over these many years but it strikes me that you may find something useful in them at this present moment; a joke, a motto or even a couple of dance steps to keep the blood pumping and the hot sauce at hand.

I hope these songs will amuse, console or even infuriate, because passive indifference is hardly the way forward.

From September 15th, we will bring you a different song every day for the next 50 days via the miracle of your favourite streaming service and the wonder of the internet. Please stay tuned.

I hope you get what you wish for or what you really deserve and that we can all find a way to forgive those who trespass against us.

One day I will see you again in the stalls or in the stars. Love from your friend in the future. Elvis Costello"



==50 Songs For 50 Days - September 15 - November 3, 2020==
{| border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"
| style="width:7%" | ''number''
| style="width:23%" | ''song''
| style="width:50%" | ''lyric''
| style="width:20%" | ''album or other release'' (date) 
|-
| 01. 
| [[...This Town...|(You’re Nobody “Til Everybody In) This Town (Thinks You’re A Bastard)]]
| "It was a song with a topical verse which I’m<br>
Afraid he then proceeded to sing<br>
Something about the moody doomed love of<br>
The Fish-Finger King”
| ''Spike'' (1989)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 02. 
| [[Waiting For The End Of The World]]
| “Hiding from a scandal in the national press<br>
They had been trying to get married since they stole the wedding dress<br>
You may see them drowning as you stroll along the beach<br>
But don't throw out the lifeline till they're clean out of reach”<br>
| ''My Aim Is True'' (1977) 
|-
| 03. 
| [[Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?]]
| "Must he be burdened by all that he's taught to consider his own?<br>
His skin and his station, his kin and his crown, his flag and his nation<br>
They just weigh him down”<br>
| ''All This Useless Beauty'' (1996)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 04. 
| [[Jimmie Standing In The Rain]]
| “Eyes going in and out of focus<br>
Mild and bitter from tuberculosis<br>
Forgotten man<br>
Indifferent nation”<br>
| ''National Ransom'' (2010) 
|-
| 05. 
| [[Night Rally]]
| “They're putting all your names<br>
In the forbidden book<br>
I know what they're doing<br>
But I don't want to look”<br>
| ''This Year's Model'' (1978)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 06. 
| [[Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)]]
| "In time you can turn these obsessions into careers<br>
While the parents of those kidnapped children <br>
Start the bidding for their tears” <br>
| ''Mighty Like A Rose'' (1991)
|-
| 07. 
| [[All This Useless Beauty (song)|All This Useless Beauty]]
| “Nonsense prevails, modesty fails<br>
Grace and virtue turn into stupidity<br>
While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise<br>
While our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts<br>
They still think they're the gods of antiquity”
| ''All This Useless Beauty'' (1996)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 08. 
| [[Brilliant Mistake]]
| “He thought he was the King of America
Where they pour Coca Cola just like vintage wine<br>
Now I try hard not to become hysterical<br>
But I'm not sure if I am laughing or crying”
| ''King Of America'' (1986) 
|-
| 09. 
| [[Less Than Zero]]
| “He said he heard about a couple living in the USA
He said they traded in their baby for a Chevrolet<br>
Let's talk about the future now we've put the past away"
| ''My Aim Is True'' (1977)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 10. 
| [[Withered And Died]] 
| “This cruel country has driven me down
Teased me and lied, teased me and lied<br>
I've only sad stories to tell to this town<br> 
My dreams have withered and died"  - [[Richard Thompson]]
| ''Out Of Our Idiot'' (1987)
|-
| 11. 
| [[Shut Him Down]]
| "Say something once
Does it make a true?<br>
To me<br>
To you<br>
And everyone you knew”
| Single, (2020)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 12. 
| [[Tokyo Storm Warning]] 
| “So you look around the tiny room and you wonder where the hell you are
While the K.K.K. convention are all stranded in the bar<br>
They wear hoods and carry shotguns in the main streets of Montgomery<br>
But they're helpless here as babies 'cause they're only here on holiday”
| ''Blood And Chocolate'' (1986}
|-
| 13. 
| [[Refuse To Be Saved]] 
| “They're hunting us down here with Liberty's light
A handshaking double-talking procession of the mighty<br>
Pursued by a T.V. crew and coming after them<br>
A limousine of singing stars and their brotherhood anthem<br>
The former dictator was impeccably behaved<br>
They're mopping up all the stubborn ones who just refuse to be saved”
| ''Wise Up Ghost'' (2013)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 14. 
| [[No Flag]]
| “No time for this kind of love
No flag waving high above<br>
No sign for the dark place that I live<br>
No God for the damn that I don't give
| ''Hey Clockface'' (2020) 
|-
| 15. 
| [[20% Amnesia]]
| “The wine you drink has never seen a grape
And now your sci-fi suit has lost its shape<br>
But it's a dangerous game that comedy plays<br>
Sometimes it tells you the truth, sometimes it delays it"
| ''Brutal Youth'' (1994)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 16. 
| [[Beyond Belief]]
| "History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies the same defeats<br>
Keep your finger on important issues<br>
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues"
| ''Imperial Bedroom'' (1982) 
|-
| 17. 
| [[Walk Us Uptown]]
| “Will you walk us uptown
Will you gather us near<br>
As cowards flee<br>
And traitors sneer<br>
Keep a red flag flying<br>
Keep a blue flag as well<br>
And a white flag in case<br>
It all goes to hell”
| ''Wise Up Ghost'' (2013)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 18. 
| [[The River In Reverse (song)|The River In Reverse]]
| “So count your blessings when they ask permission
To govern with money and superstition<br>
They tell you it's all for your own protection<br>
'Til you fear your own reflection<br>
But the times are passing from illumination<br>
Like bodies falling from a constellation<br>
An uncivil war divides the nation”
| ''The River In Reverse'' (2006) 
|-
| 19. 
|  [[Welcome To The Working Week]]
| “All of your family had to kill to survive
And they're still waiting for their big day to arrive<br>
But if they knew how I felt, they'd bury me alive<br>
Welcome to the working week”
| ''My Aim Is True'' (1977)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 20. 
| [[Riot Act]]
| "Why do you talk such stupid nonsense?
When my mind could rest much easier<br>
Instead of all this dumb-dumb insolence<br>
I would be happier with amnesia”
| ''Get Happy!!'' (1980)
|-
| 21. 
| [[The Other Side Of Summer]]
| "The automatic gates close up between the shanties and the palace
The blowtorch amusements, the voodoo chalice<br>
The pale pathetic promises that everybody swallows<br>
A teenage girl is crying 'cause she don't look like a million dollars<br>
So help her if you can<br>
'Cause she don't seem to have the attention span”
| ''Mighty Like A Rose'' (1991)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 22. 
| [[Wise Up Ghost (song)|Wise Up Ghost]] 
| “Old woman living in a cardboard shoe<br>
Lost so many souls, she don't know what to do<br>
So, say your prayers 'cos down the stairs it's 1932<br>
Wise Up Ghost”
| ''Wise Up Ghost'' (2013) 
|-
| 23. 
| [[Phonographic Memory]]
| Ever since the U.S. Mint was sucked dry and spat out, bookworms paid for rare tomes with wheelbarrows full of banknotes, some of them worthless Confederate money, stashes of which had been secreted in the plinths of various toppled statues.<br>
They bartered with it on a Mississippi square with the irony of victors.<br>
None of it helped the healing."
| B-side of [[We Are All Cowards Now]] (2020)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 24. 
| [[Bedlam]]
| “I’ve got this imaginary radio, and I'm punching up the dial
I've got the A.C. trained on the T.V. so it won't blow up in my eye<br>
And everything that I thought fanciful and mocked as too extreme<br>
Must be family entertainment here in the strange land of my dreams”
| ''The Delivery Man'' (2004)
|-
| 25. 
| [[Red Cotton]]
| “The Lord will judge us, with fire and thunder
As man continues with all his blunders<br>
It's only money<br>
It's only numbers<br>
Maybe it is time to put aside these fictitious wonders<br>
Man is feeble<br>
Man is puny<br>
And if it should divide the Union<br>
There is no man who should own another<br>
When he can't even recognize his sister and his brother”
| ''Secret, Profane & Sugarcane '' (2009)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 26. 
| [[Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?]]
| “What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
Did it really ding-dong?<br>
It must have dinged wrong<br>
It didn't ding long" - [[Allen Toussaint]]
| ''The River In Reverse'' (2006)
|-
| 27. 
| [[Green Shirt]]
| “Better send a begging letter to the big investigation
Who put these fingerprints on my imagination?”
| ''Armed Forces'' (1979)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 28. 
| [[This Is Hell]]
| “Endless balmy breezes and perfect sunsets framed
Vintage wine for breakfast<br>
And naked starlets floating in Champagne<br>
All the passions of your youth<br>
Are tranquillized and tamed<br>
You may think it looks familiar<br>
Though you may know it by another name<br>
This is Hell”
| ''Brutal Youth'' (1994) 
|-
| 29. 
| [[In The Darkest Place]]
| “In the darkest place
I`m lost<br>
I have abandoned every hope”
| ''Painted From Memory'' (1998)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 30. 
| [[Everybody's Crying Mercy]]
| “A bad enough situation
Is sure enough getting worse<br>
Everybody’s crying justice<br>
Just as long as there’s business first” - [[Mose Allison]]
| ''Kojak Variety'' (1995)
|-
| 31. 
| [[Hora Decubitus]]
| “Life is a beautiful thing”
| ''My Flame Burns Blue'' (2006)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 32. 
| [[Newspaper Pane]]
| “I don’t spend my time perfecting the past
I live for the future<br>
Because I know it won’t last<br>
<br>
A bent note on a horn I can’t play<br>
Ghosts in the window<br>
That I can’t wish away”
| ''Hey Clockface'' (2020)
|-
| 33. 
| [[Clowntime Is Over]] 
| “Tears on your blackmail
Written to ransom<br>
A point of the fingernail<br>
Says that he`s handsome”
| ''Get Happy!!'' (1980) 
|-
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 34. 
| [[American Gangster Time]]
| “Next week there'll be some fashionable new sin
For each harlot and each Puritan<br>
Pull off their wings stick them on a pin<br>
And just watch the money roll in”
| ''Momofuku'' (2008) 
|-
| 35. 
| [[Weird Nightmare]]
| “Weird nightmare
Why must you torment me?<br>
Weird nightmare<br>
Pain and misery<br>
In a heart that’s loved and lost<br>
Take away the grief you’ve caused”
| ''Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus'' (1992)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 36. 
| [[Poor Napoleon]]
| “You can take the truthful things you’ve said to me
And fit them on the head of a pin”
| ''Blood & Chocolate'' (1986)
|-  
| 37. 
| [[Tripwire]]
| “Torn from the pages of history
Repeated again and again and again<br>
You're either for or against us<br>
And that is how the hatred begins<br>
Tripwire"
| ''Wise Up Ghost'' (2013)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 38. 
| [[It's Time]]
| "The party's over
Time we broke up<br>
It always seemed like a bad dream<br>
One where I finally woke up<br>
This magic moment concluding our mutual fate<br>
But if you do have to leave me<br>
Who will I have left to hate?”
| ''All This Useless Beauty'' (1996)
|-
| 39. 
| [[New Lace Sleeves]]
| “Even presidents have newspaper lovers
Ministers go crawling under covers<br>
She's no angel<br>
He's no saint<br>
They're all covered up with whitewash and grease paint<br>
And you say…<br>
The teacher never told you anything but white lies<br>
But you never see the lies<br>
And you believe”
| ''Trust'' (1981)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 40. 
| [[Stick Out Your Tongue]]
| “The sugar-coated pill is getting bitterer still
You think your country needs you but you know it never will<br>
So pack up your troubles in a stolen handbag<br>
Don't dilly dally boys rally 'round the flag<br>
Give us our daily bread, give us our daily bread, in individual slices, in individual slices<br>
And something in the daily rag to cancel any crisis” - from [[Pills And Soap]]
| ''Wise Up Ghost'' (2013)
|-
| 41. 
| [[We Are All Cowards Now]]
| “They're draping stones with colour
And a roll of stolen names<br>
Except those we never cared about<br>
And those we need to blame<br>
We'll extinguish that flame, just the same<br>
We are all cowards now”
| ''Hey Clockface'' (2020)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 42. 
| [[How Much I Lied]]
| “A thief can only steal from you
He cannot break your heart<br>
He can never touch the precious things inside<br>
Someone like you should surely be<br>
Miles and miles away from me<br>
Then you'd never care how much I lied” - [[Gram Parsons]]
| ''Almost Blue'' (1981)
|-
| 43. 
| [[All The Rage]]
| “The twitching impulses to speak your mind
I'll lend you my microscope and maybe you will find it<br>
Is it in that ugly place that's just behind your face?”
| ''Brutal Youth'' (1994)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 44.
| [[National Ransom (song)|National Ransom]] 
| “Did you find how to lie?
Did you find out how to cheat?<br>
The elite bleat, their obsolete<br>
So what are your prospects?”
| ''National Ransom'' (2010)
|-
| 45. 
| [[American Tune]] 
| “We’ve lived so well, so long
Still, when I think of the road we’re traveling on<br>
I wonder what went wrong<br>
I can’t help it, I wonder what’s gone wrong” - [[Paul Simon]]
| Single, (2017)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 46. 
| [[This Sad Burlesque]] 
| “PS Well by now you know the worst of it
And we’ve heard all the alibis that they’ve rehearsed<br>
The smug predictions<br>
If it’s not a contradiction<br>
Keep faith in human nature<br>
And have mercy on the creatures in this sad burlesque”
| ''The Juliet Letters'' (1993)
|-
| 47. 
| [[Crawling To The USA]] 
| “Me dijo “no te creas tan especial no vas a impresionarme”
Ponle precio a mi lealtad y puedes desnudarme<br>
De sur al norte de rodillas<br>
Sólo el este los esquiva”
| ''This Year's Model'' (2021)<br>(Spanish language version) 
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 48. 
| [[I've Been Wrong Before]]
|“The night we met
The night that I won't forget<br>
You seemed what I'd been waiting for<br>
But baby, I've been wrong before” - [[Randy Newman]]
| ''Kojak Variety'' (1995)
|-
| 49. 
| [[Man Out Of Time]]
| “There's a tuppenny-ha’penny millionaire
Looking for a fourpenny one<br>
With a tight grip on the short hairs<br>
Of the public imagination”
| ''Imperial Bedroom'' (1982)
|- style="background:#F7F7F7;"
| 50.
| [[(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?]] 
| “As I walk through this wicked world
Searching for light in the darkness of insanity<br>
I ask myself, "Is all hope lost?”<br>
Is there only pain and hatred and misery?”
| ''Armed Forces'' (1979)<br>
(U.S. Release)
|-
| 51.
| [[Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4]]
| “So toll the bell or rock the cradle
Please don't let me fear anything I cannot explain<br>
I can't believe, I'll never believe in anything again”
| ''Mighty Like A Rose'' (1991)
|-
|}

==External links==
*[https://www.elviscostello.com/#!/50songsfor50days ElvisCostello.com]
*[http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11653 Elvis Costello Fan Forum]
*[https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0sdlgHokjcNbPneF4SvxXS?utm_source=embed_v2&go=1&play=1&nd=1 Spotify]

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