Elvis Costello – 13 Steps Lead Down

I remember being so curious when I saw Elvis Costello’s debut album. My first thought at 10 years old was, who is this skinny guy with Buddy Holly glasses named Elvis? I found out quickly who the skinny guy was…

Costello had been away from The Attractions for years in the studio. This album Brutal Youth felt like a return. An album with the band chemistry that helped make those late 70s records so sharp. The Attractions, Steve Nieve, Bruce Thomas, and Pete Thomas played on much of the album. Costello later said songs like this reminded him how powerful the band could still sound together.

The song itself came fast. Costello said he wrote it during a one-day burst where he also came up with songs like Rocking Horse Road and Pony St. He would crank up his guitar loud and ad lib and then go back and see what was worth saving. He said: “I would work for about half an hour with the guitar cranked up really loud, and make a tape of just anything that came into my head. I did it in bursts, and then I listened to see if any of it was interesting. A lot of it was gibberish.”

The title of this song came from the Tomb of the Spanish Kings at El Escorial, where thirteen steps supposedly created a feeling of dread as people descended. Some said the song poked at the growing culture of twelve-step recovery programs that were everywhere in the early 90s.

The recording captured the late seventies energy. The guitars are jagged and loud. The ending guitar solo sounds almost out of control, which I love! Critics at the time heard it as Costello reconnecting with the energy of This Year’s Model and Armed Forces.

13 Steps Lead Down

When nobody knows she puts on secret clothes
And lies in the meadow with her hands tied behind her back
I won’t refuse if you know how to use it
Just stop playing that ugly drug music

Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down
There’s commoners and kings
And everyone’s a prisoner of
Paper and glue
And a decent pair of scissors
So tonight I’m drinking to your health
Because I just can’t stand myself

Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down

She stands and fails
On fashion fingernails
Her lovers have her walking ’round
On instruments of torture
And one of them is poisonous
The other is a thief they say
So what one could give to her
The other cannot take away

When nobody knows she puts on secret clothes
And lies in her splendor for a picture opportunity
Cover up that bruise, put on patent leather shoes
Just stop playing that bad mood music baby

Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down
There’s commoners and kings
And everyone’s a prisoner of
Paper and glue
And a decent pair of scissors
So tonight I’m drinking to your health
Because I just can’t stand myself

Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down
Thirteen steps lead down

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

14 thoughts on “Elvis Costello – 13 Steps Lead Down”

  1. In July 2024, my husband and I went to see Daryl Hall perform at Mohegan Sun. We’ve always liked Daryl Hall and Hall & Oates since the very beginning and knew it would be a great show. Daryl’s warm up act was Elvis Costello; I was a fan, but my husband didn’t really know Elvis and figured he would just bide his time while he performed, and wait for Daryl Hall to come out. Well, Elvis Costello was fantastic. My husband, who is not keen on concerts filled with unfamiliar music, became an instant fan, which shocked the hell out of me. Sadly, when Daryl Hall and his band came on stage, it was clear something was not right with his audio system, and his show was a big disappointment (the sound check guy spent a lot more time with Elvis Costello’s equipment than he did with Daryl Hall’s). Also, and people would be lying if they didn’t agree with this, we were hoping Daryl Hall would play some of his greatest H&O hits; he didn’t. Elvis Costello blew us away that night. He’s phenomenal.

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    1. That is awesome…I have a similiar story in a way. I saw Bob Dylan at the Ryman. He had a unknown opening act and all of a sudden…here comes this guy out with an acoustic…it was Costello! Not announced… and he played a complete set. He blew me away. Then…if that wasn’t enough…Bob was playing and Jack White came out and played a couple of songs with him…great night!
      The unknown guy was very good…but it was cool seeing Elvis!

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  2. Pingback: Elvis Costello – 13 Steps Lead Down – MobsterTiger

  4. I didn’t know the album but it came out in ’94 but this song definitely has elements of his ’77-78 arrival on the scene as the Angry Young Man or Smart Punk. He’s really dabbled in a lot of sounds and genres in his career, you have to hand it to him for doing that.

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    1. Yes I do…he is one guy I got to see live…and it was a surprise. I went to see Dylan and totally unannounced…Elvis came out with an acoustic and did a set…it was great. This does sound like his earlier work…the Atractions were a powerful band…

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