A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Pretty self-explanatory
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Stuart Gardner
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A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by Stuart Gardner »

First, I had to choose between replying to a thread that's been inactive for 13 years, or linking to it. Not knowing which option the mods would prefer, I'll link to it. Let me know if I should have taken the other route.

I was reading EC's liner notes to Girls Girls Girls last night, and in commenting on "I Hope You're Happy Now," he opens with this cryptic quote:

"My lady said, 'The baby's dead.' You gentlemen all work for me."

He doesn't deign to mention whose work this is, or what the work is titled, but a copyright mark reads, "(c) 1970 Westminster Music Limited."

Curious to know more, I Googled, and to my surprise and bemusement, I found only one reference to this quote on the internet... and it's on this very message board!

http://elviscostello.info/phpBB3/viewto ... 590#p53258

As you see, no remarks about the phrase are made in this thread from 2005. It merely appears as part of the full text of Costello's notes.

I take it that he fabricated the "quotation" and that it's a private joke, possibly between he and himself.

Can anyone suggest another possibility?

Many thanks to And No Coffee Table for giving us the notes to those songs not on the CD version! I've printed them out and stored them in the jewel box.
jardine
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

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Last edited by jardine on Mon Nov 26, 2018 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
GetHappy!!
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by GetHappy!! »

The quote comes from “Memo From Turner”, attributed to The Rolling Stones, but actually Mick Jagger, Ry Cooder and friends. From the Performance film soundtrack.
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Top balcony
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by Top balcony »

GetHappy!! wrote:The quote comes from “Memo From Turner”, attributed to The Rolling Stones, but actually Mick Jagger, Ry Cooder and friends. From the Performance film soundtrack.
This is my all time favourite "Stones" track - Ry is in mesmerising form.
erey
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by erey »

Sort of timely, too, as "Performance" was directed by Nicholas Roeg, who recently departed this plane of existence. Here's how the song appeared in the movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr76UV4sESg
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Man out of Time
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by Man out of Time »

I note that “Memo From Turner” was recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, West London as was “I Hope You’re Happy Now” which may help explain the reference.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memo_from_Turner

The Olympic Studios have now been turned back into a cinema. Before the main feature they show a short film on the history of the building, including footage of the Stones recording there.

MOOT
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Stuart Gardner
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by Stuart Gardner »

Well, that's one mystery that was put to bed in short fashion!
jardine, GetHappy!!, Top balcony, erey and Man out of Time, I thank all of you.
And now another mystery, although I'm not nearly so interested in this one... why doesn't Google recognize "My lady said, 'The baby's dead'" as belonging to "Memo from Turner," I wonder? As I said, it DOES recognize the phrase, but only in a link to this forum.
An old friend of mine travelled extensively with the Rolling Stones and authored Dance with the Devil, which is generally considered the best book about them. Stanley Booth is going to get a charge out of this!
Thanks again, all.
jardine
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by jardine »

google is how i found it. hmmm
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wardo68
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by wardo68 »

Also, the official copyrighted lyric is "The baby is dead, my lady said". Maybe that's it?
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Stuart Gardner
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by Stuart Gardner »

I see now that I actually only Googled this much of the quote (as an exact phrase in the advanced options):

My lady said, the baby's dead

Which does find only this forum:

https://www.google.com/search?q=+%22My+ ... AHoECAAQAw

But Googling the complete quotation does indeed find a lot of references to the song. Computers! Their ways are shrouded and dark to me.
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And No Coffee Table
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by And No Coffee Table »

https://twitter.com/ElvisCostello/statu ... 5168615426
Elvis Costello wrote:Mark AT&T’s astoundingly cynical decision to shutter of the marvelous “FilmStruck” service and tip your hat to Mr Roeg by watching “Performance” this evening. If You read this with minutes to midnight, try to catch “Memo From Turner”
One of M. Jagger’s finest vocal performances.
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Stuart Gardner
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Re: A Girls Girls Girls mystery

Post by Stuart Gardner »

Thanks for alerting me to this!
And just in time, apparently.
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