Green Shirt

This is obviously about surveilance and paranoia, but also has that feeling of Costello's brilliant ability to meld personal and political. The chorus is obviously personal, but the rest of the song deals with the concept of someone listening in. I think it may deal with apathy as in all this is going on and you just wanna flirt and look good. Dunno. The way he says it, though is so great. "Short time typist taking seconds over minutes" is a great play on the word 'minutes', as it is a measure of time, but also the transcript of a meeting. I can't remember if the Armed Forces version has it, but on the demo, there's a great catchy little bridge that goes as such: "There were wires in the window There were wires in the walls There were wires in the kitchen and wires in the halls.

There were wires on poles there were wires in your face there were wires in holes comin' out all over the place."

Agree with the above, but also about an infatuation with a newswoman on the tele.

II got the impression that the narrator was describing an oppressive government in between chastising a friend for ignoring it and being more concerned with flirting and appearance - the "green shirt" maybe being a uniform, like he's in some fascist group for the outfits and the girls. Meanwhile, the news is controlled and the phones are bugged and people are in jeopardy.

costello's working title for Armed Forces was Emotional Fascism. this is one of many songs which seem to be about love (or something akin to it), filled with phrases and metaphors borrowed from the Third Reich. Quisling BTW was a historical "stool pigeon," and his name is used in a similar manner as "Boycott" and "Comstock[ery]"

The first verse kinda seems like it's about the media's ever-increasing tendency to filter out all information that doesn't support whatever agenda they're currently working, thereby turning everything black and white.

@JTrois,

Yes, but it's not the social networks - I agree with the others, the symbolism of the TV/Media makes it really overtly external: government.

I tripped over this song in my collection today, and I really miss good, intelligent songwriting.

This song is about how television media can take the complexities of the world and turn them into simplistic black and white scenarios. It does so using attractive smart young newsreaders. Can make everyone smug or only interested in sexiness, just shining the buttons on their shirt. Oblivious to fascistic type behaviors that the sex is selling. Of course Elvis isn't oblivious, he's criticizing the vapidity while also yelling 'watch out!'

Love how the music coincides with the lyrics, for example just after the line about the 'short time typist taking seconds over minutes' there's a drum beat going 'dot dot dot dot' that simulates a typewriter. This brilliant line also reflects someone taking seconds on drinks or sex rather than recording what's going on - another example of ahistorical pursuit of pleasure over the vigilance require to accurately record what's happening around us.

I think it's about a guy who's afraid his friend's womanizing ways will eventually be misinterpreted and will end up ruining his own reputation by association. His attributing an Orwellian quality to the social networks of young woman.

Thank you for your explanations and comments, especially the adding lyrics!

The newswoman was being painted as a co-conspirator in the right wing take over of British politics, hence the "Quisling clinic" line.