Australian singles chart:
Watching the Detectives entered the Kent Music Report on 13 February 1978 and peaked at #35.
Album:
The song is on My Aim is True which entered the Kent Music Report album charts on 13 February 1978 and peaked at #25.
Songwriter:
Elvis Costello
Producer:
Nick Lowe
Record label of Australian release:
Stiff
Songfacts:
This song is an example of the “noir thing” Costello says runs through much of his material. Inspired by American detective shows, the lyric is filled with images of detectives, dames, guns and cigarettes – all the film noir tropes. The story is rather opaque, but the wordplay is quite compelling.
Elvis Costello wrote Watching the Detectives after an all-night bout of listening to The Clash’s debut album, The Clash, on headphones, which explains the reggae influence.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/elvis-costello/watching-the-detectives
Lyrics:
Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dog’s under her legal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs
She is watching the detectives
Click for full lyrics
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