Categorical Aperitif

As with many Elvis Costello songs, I've never quite known what to make of this one—but as I read of people in green being dragged off by thugs in Iran (h/t News Dissector), let's just say that it's accrued another layer of resonance.

There's a smart young woman
On a light blue screen
Who comes into my house
Every night
She takes all the red, yellow, orange and green
And she turns them into black and white

CHORUS:

But you tease, you flirt
And you shine all the buttons
On your green shirt
You can please yourself
But somebody's gonna get it

Better cut off all identifying labels
Before they put you on the torture table
'cause somewhere in the quisling clinic
There's a short time typist taking seconds over minutes

She's listening in to the Venus line
She's picking out names
I hope none of them are mine

Chorus

Never said I was a stool pigeon
Never said I was a diplomat
Everybody is under suspicion
But you don't want to hear about that

Chorus

Better send the begging letter
To the big investigation
Who put these fingerprints
On my imagination?

Chorus

I won't pretend that having a green blog or averring best wishes will do anything for the people currently being surveilled, beaten, and shot in the name of democracy in Iran. But I will say that I admire the hell out of them and that I hope that their bravery and ingenuity prove inspirational for us should we ever find ourselves fighting a tyrannical theocracy run by old men who think they're especially tight with God.

// posted by nash @ 8:13 AM