Alison (song)
1977 song performed by Elvis Costello
title: "Alison (song)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1970s-ballads", "1977-songs", "elvis-costello-songs", "linda-ronstadt-songs", "rock-ballads", "songs-written-by-elvis-costello", "song-recordings-produced-by-nick-lowe", "stiff-records-singles", "columbia-records-singles", "asylum-records-singles"] description: "1977 song performed by Elvis Costello" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_(song)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1977 song performed by Elvis Costello ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Alison |
| cover | CostelloAlison.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Elvis Costello |
| album | My Aim Is True |
| B-side | Welcome to the Working Week |
| released | 21 May 1977 |
| recorded | 1977 |
| genre | |
| length | 3:21 |
| label | Stiff (UK) |
| Columbia (US) | |
| writer | Elvis Costello |
| producer | Nick Lowe |
| prev_title | Less Than Zero |
| prev_year | 1977 |
| next_title | (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes |
| next_year | 1977 |
| :: |
| name = Alison | cover = CostelloAlison.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Elvis Costello | album = My Aim Is True | B-side = Welcome to the Working Week | released = 21 May 1977 | recorded = 1977 | studio = | venue = | genre = | length = 3:21 | label = Stiff (UK) Columbia (US) | writer = Elvis Costello | producer = Nick Lowe | prev_title = Less Than Zero | prev_year = 1977 | next_title = (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes | next_year = 1977
"Alison" is a song written by and first recorded by Elvis Costello in 1977 for his debut album My Aim Is True on Stiff Records. Costello claimed the song was written as an ode to a woman he saw working at a supermarket, though he has remained vague on the meaning. Though Costello's single never charted, it has become one of his most critically acclaimed songs.
Linda Ronstadt, who covered the song and released her version in 1979, had a moderate hit with it.
Background
The song "Alison" was included on Elvis Costello's debut studio album My Aim Is True as the fifth track, and was released in 1977. As "Alison" was recorded before the Attractions formed, his backing band on the track was Clover. Costello has divulged little on the meaning of the song other than to say that it is about "disappointing somebody" and to deny suggestions that the lines "somebody better put out the big light" and "my aim is true" refer to murder. He has also declined to reveal who the song is about, writing in the liner notes for Girls Girls Girls, "Much could be undone by saying more."
However, in his 2015 autobiography Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, Costello wrote: "I've always told people that I wrote the song 'Alison' after seeing a beautiful checkout girl at the local supermarket. She had a face for which a ship might have once been named. Scoundrels might once have fought mist-swathed duels to defend her honour. Now she was punching in the prices on cans of beans at a cash register and looking as if all the hopes and dreams of her youth were draining away. All that were left would soon be squandered to a ruffian who told her convenient lies and trapped her still further".
Costello has also said that the musical idea for the chorus, breaking up the line "I know this world is killing you", in a staccato fashion, derives from the manner that the line "Life ain't so easy when you're a ...", precedes the title refrain, on "Ghetto Child", by The Detroit Spinners. "Alison" is written in the key of E major.
Reception
"Alison" was released as a single in the United Kingdom with a B-side of "Welcome to the Working Week", and as two singles in the United States; one with a mono version of the same song on the B-side, the other with "Miracle Man". The US (and Canadian) single versions of "Alison" are unique in that it is remixed to add a string section. Record World called it "a stirring ballad" and said that "the strings add a dimension the song lacked in its original version and should help send it to the top."
The single did not chart, but the song did get airplay in the U.S. on album-oriented rock radio. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 318 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and Entertainment Weekly voted it as one of Costello's top 10 greatest tunes. The Telegraph named it Costello's second greatest song only after "Oliver's Army", calling it "a wonderful song about unrequited love."
Linda Ronstadt version
| name = Alison | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = Linda Ronstadt | album = Living In The USA | B-side = Mohammed's Radio | released = April 1979 | recorded = 1978 | studio = | venue = | genre = Country rock, new wave | length = 3:20 | label = Asylum Records | writer = Elvis Costello | producer = Peter Asher | prev_title = Just One Look | prev_year = 1979 | next_title = How Do I Make You | next_year = 1980
Background
Linda Ronstadt recorded a cover version of "Alison" for her studio album Living in the USA, in 1978, which sold over 2 million copies. Released as the disc's fourth single in the spring of 1979 on Asylum Records, it was produced by her longtime producer Peter Asher. Ronstadt's B-side to "Alison" was "Mohammed's Radio", also produced by Asher.
Reception
Ronstadt's version of "Alison" was a moderate hit, reaching number 30 in the U.S. on the Billboard adult contemporary chart. Her single also reached number 66 in the UK Singles chart.Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 469. . Years later, Costello joked that he might have been publicly derisive of Ronstadt's version, "but I didn't mind spending the money that she earned me". Costello donated royalties from Ronstadt's version to the African National Congress after she played at Sun City in South Africa.
References
References
- Herbert, Geoff. (18 June 2018). "Elvis Costello tour dates include Turning Stone, Buffalo concerts".
- (2017-08-10). "My Aim is True by Elvis Costello".
- "Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True".
- (9 December 2004). "Alison". [[Rolling Stone]].
- (1988). "Girls Girls Girls". [[Columbia Records]].
- (2001). "My Aim Is True". [[Rhino Entertainment]].
- Elvis Costello. (13 October 2015). "Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink". [[Viking Press.
- Elvis Costello, Unfaithful Music, p.187
- Elvis, Costello. (2004-03-29). "Alison".
- (September 1983). "Elvis Costello: A complete guide to his British and American releases, promos, and rarities". Record Collector.
- (October 29, 1977). "Hits of the Week".
- (9 October 2004). "Alison". [[Entertainment Weekly]].
- (May 11, 2016). "Elvis Costello's 40 best songs". [[The Daily Telegraph.
- (2019). "Adult Contemporary: Linda Ronstadt".
- Griggs, Simon. (26 November 1998). "Elvis Costello Interview".
- (2014). "Elvis Costello and Thatcherism: A Psycho-Social Exploration". [[Ashgate Publishing]].
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