I like both Aimee Mann and Costello versions, but prefer the Costello one 'cause I think it nails the melancholic tone better and find it easier to make sense of.
It's unrequited love and the singer's inability to let go of it. I agree that the other end of the telescope evokes the idea of looking through the telescope backwards making the singer seem very small and far away from the subject. But the flip side of that is that the singer is looking through the magnifying side - they're still hung up on the subject.
The singer knows there's no hope ("I know it don't make a difference to you") and the obsession is gradually fading even for them ("I don't want to hurt you now / But I think you're shrinking"). The singer is a little bitter, they do a little vilifying of the subject, but not nearly to the degree Costello is famous for. The singer even seems to start grasping that the subject is becoming something they no longer understand. But the singer still can't let things go, they're still moping around looking through the telescope.
I agree that it's a great love song, maybe even my favorite. It's just that it is one that's indulging in a powerful bittersweet feeling that consumes you and won't let go. You want things to work out and you know they never will.
I like both Aimee Mann and Costello versions, but prefer the Costello one 'cause I think it nails the melancholic tone better and find it easier to make sense of.
It's unrequited love and the singer's inability to let go of it. I agree that the other end of the telescope evokes the idea of looking through the telescope backwards making the singer seem very small and far away from the subject. But the flip side of that is that the singer is looking through the magnifying side - they're still hung up on the subject.
The singer knows there's no hope ("I know it don't make a difference to you") and the obsession is gradually fading even for them ("I don't want to hurt you now / But I think you're shrinking"). The singer is a little bitter, they do a little vilifying of the subject, but not nearly to the degree Costello is famous for. The singer even seems to start grasping that the subject is becoming something they no longer understand. But the singer still can't let things go, they're still moping around looking through the telescope.
I agree that it's a great love song, maybe even my favorite. It's just that it is one that's indulging in a powerful bittersweet feeling that consumes you and won't let go. You want things to work out and you know they never will.