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Iona’s Song of the Week - No 12

This Week's song follows last week’s, which was delayed due to internet difficulties! As I write this, I have yet to choose a song, so whatever it is will be a surprise for all of us! Every week, as I listen to copious amounts of ‘music’, I pick out several possible choices, and this week was no different. However, I can't recall a single contender!


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Ah ha, I have come up with a classic (in my humble opinion!), and as it happens, it's probably my favourite Declan Patrick Aloysius Macmanus song. However, it is a coin toss between this and What’s So Funny ‘bout Peace, Love and Understanding. Neither of which he wrote, by the way! Maybe I’ll select WSFBPLAU one day; however, we will return to this week’s choice. On this live recording, Mr Macmanus, AKA Elvis Costello, states that the composer was Jack Kittel. However, he got that (eternally) wrong, as it was penned by one Leon Payne after he had watched a horror movie, possibly Psycho. Payne was a prolific blind songwriter from San Antonio and this was one of his best, again in my humble opinion!

Over the years, I have collected versions of this song by Jack Kittel, Leon Payne, Elvis Costello, Rudi Protrudi, Teddy Thompson, Eddie Novak, Hugh Cornwell, Acapulco Radio and Ricky Whitley, to name a few. However, Elvis Costello and the Attractions really nailed the underlying menace of the original for me.


This version comes from the extended version of the band’s Almost Blue, a 1981 album of country songs which was their first venture into this particular genre. The lyrics detail the exploits of a deranged serial killer, the song is beyond chilling. As the lyrics progress, the killer drowns a dog, strangles Johnny (who is presumably a family member), and kills a girl named Bettie Clark with a wrench. The song is sung from the perspective of the killer himself. Through this narrative choice, Payne created some profound character depth, leading most interpreters to make the narrator’s voice deadpan. Bet you cany wait!

And so, without further ado, here is Elvis Costello and the Attractions version of Leon Payne’s Psycho


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