Song of the Day 8/18: Elvis Costello, “Blame It on Cain”

From Elvis’ first album, with Clover backing him. John McFee’s jazzy guitar and Costello’s delivery of his cryptic lyrics dominate the track. Nobody’s ever come up with a satisfying explanation of the song’s meaning, and I can’t find any record of Costello ever having said, but it’s pretty clear somebody is passing the buck.

The Attractions never got the right feel for the song, mainly because Steve Nieve’s keyboards gave it a honky-tonk flavor that undercut the vocals. Costello eventually switched to a stripped-down delivery based on his acoustic demo of the song.

An Elvis Costello fan site claims he’s performed “Blame It on Cain” live 250 times. In this late-period concert with the Imposters, Nieve’s piano has been mixed down, letting the guitars turn the song into a raucous rocker.