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As Elvis Costello prepares to walk down the aisle with Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall, he's giving fans a flavour of what Canada is all about in a forthcoming song called "North."
Hinting of a possible relocation to his fiancée's homeland, Mr. Costello's only public comment on the album's title was, "That's where I'm headed."
But a closer examination of the lyrics for the song of the same name more explicitly explain his intentions:
Up where polar bears and moose and geese will play
And some of them address you en francais
Give me the ice and snow
Time to go... North
Far from where the francophone moose roam, Ms. Krall hails from Nanaimo, B.C. This past May, her father, Jim, confirmed his daughter was engaged to the British baritone crooner.
The duo met at last year's Grammy Awards where Ms. Krall, 38, won the best jazz vocal album award. Mr. Costello, 48, and his wife of 16 years, former Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan, split up last November.
During an energetic set at Bluesfest earlier this month, Mr. Costello had Ottawa fans pumping their fists in the air to hits like "Alison" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?"
Canadian fans can now add "North" to their repertoire of concert singalongs:
So run up a banner and we'll stand underneath
They'll give you a starry flag for one with a leaf
I'm on the borderline, I jump back and forth
There's nothing to stop me now, I'm heading... North
The lyrics have appeared on Internet fan sites and a spokeswoman for Mr. Costello confirmed they are genuine.
Although his forthcoming album is entitled North, the song is not on the track list, but listed as a special bonus song that will be made available on the Internet — a first for the singer.
In a statement, Mr. Costello revealed little about the new record, which is due out on Sept. 23.
"The record begins with a song called 'You Left Me in the Dark' and ends with a track called 'I'm in the Mood Again,'" he said. "You have to listen to what goes on in between to find out why."
The 11 songs on the album are love ballads sung to the accompaniment of horns, piano and a 48-piece ensemble. There are only 12 bars of electric guitars on the record. It was recorded in New York City earlier this year. It is his 24th album in 25 years. He was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in March of this year.
Historically, Mr. Costello has not included title songs on the albums, says Craig Danuloff, webmaster for a site called The Trainspotters' Guide to Elvis Costello. They typically appear as B-sides later on.
"The only guess I would venture is that its not the centrepiece of the album," he said. "Maybe it's a piece he wrote and he likes, but may not fit with the rest of the album."
Mr. Danuloff hasn't heard the new material yet. Attempting to read literal meanings into Elvis Costello lyrics without the context of the music — or the other songs on the album can be a fruitless task, he says.
"Given the personal circumstances, the lyrics make sense," he says. "But looking at it on paper before you hear it will only tell you a fraction of what's there."
The lyrics are comparable to Patti Smith's farewell ode, "Frederick," which appeared on Wave, the last album she put out in 1979 before she married MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith and disappeared from public life for eight years.
But where Patti Smith left a question mark ("Bye bye / Hey hey / Maybe I'll be back someday"), Mr. Costello is more definite in his promise to return from his northern retreat:
And so I must leave you all, alas and alack
And though we are parting now, I'll always come back...
It's something I will always carry in my heart
A place when dreams begin and life can start
Who cares what people know?
Let me go... North.
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