Song of the Day 2/18: Elvis Costello, “Pay It Back”

Let’s say you lend Donald Trump $5. Would you trust him to pay it back? Silly question. Of course not. Yet banks have lent him billions, and he’s paid them back – except for all those businesses that have gone bankrupt, of course. But now he’s on the hook for hundreds of millions.

Stop, thief, you’re gonna come to grief
If you don’t take a little more care
You’re gonna get more than the family plan
From this one shoestring affair

Elvis Costello was perceived as punk-influenced New Wave, but his first album, fronting Clover, Huey Lewis’ eventual backing band, felt more like the pub rock that punk replaced – catchy tunes with R&B influences and clever if ultimately slight lyrics, like this one.

Costello used to play “Pay It Back” in concert occasionally, but its last live performance was back in 2014. Here’s what it sounded like once he ditched Clover for the Attractions, from a 1977 sound check.