1727 – Elvis Costello – Watching the detectives (1977)

 

Escrita por Elvis Costello, foi gravada em maio de 1977 e lançada em compacto em 14 de outubro de 1977, com Blame it on Cain como Lado B. Foi produzida por Nick Lowe. Foi inspirada no The Clash e em Bernard Herrmann, tem uma batida de reggae e uma letra cínica. Sendo seu quarto compacto, foi o primeiro dele a entrar nos charts, chegando ao número 15 no Reino Unido, número 35 na Austrália e número 60 no Canadá. Chegou ao número 108 do Billboard Hot 100. É o número 363 das 500 greatest songs of all time da revista Rolling Stone. A canção fala de um amante que prefere assistir TV do que namorar. Elvis Costello disse que essa é a música que ele mais gosta da fase que compreende os cinco primeiros anos de sua carreira. Steve Goulding tocou bateria e Andrew Bodnar tocou baixo. Steve Nason tocou teclado e órgão. Elvis Costello canto e tocou guitarra. Foi regravada por Toto e Duran Duran, entre outros artistas. Steve Nason tinha apenas 19 anos e foi a primeira vez que ele gravou algo na sua vida.

A letra:

Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs

She is watching the detectives
"Ooh, it's so cute"
She's watching the detectives
When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

Long shot of that jumping sign
Invisible shivers running down my spine
Cut to baby taking off her clothes
Close-up of the sign that says: "We never close"

You snatch a chill and you match a cigarette
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake

She is watching the detectives
"Oh, he's so cute"
She is watching the detectives
Oh, and they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
Now baby's here to stay, love is here for a visit
They call it instant justice when it's past the legal limit
Someone's scratching at the window, I wonder, who is it?

The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance
Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
It only took my little fingers to blow you away

Just like watching the detectives
Don't get cute
Just like watching the detectives
I get so angry when the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

Watching the detectives
It's just like watching the detectives
Watching the detectives
Watching the detectives
Watching the detectives
We're watching the detectives
They're watching the detectives
Watching the detectives
Watching the detectives

A versão de Elvis Costello:

A versão de Toto:

A versão do Duran Duran: