Girls Talk (Elvis Costello song)

"Girls Talk" is a new wave song written by Elvis Costello and first recorded by Dave Edmunds in 1978. Costello gave an early version of the song to Edmunds, who reworked the song and released it on his album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 in Ireland, becoming one of Edmunds' most successful career singles.

Costello later released his version of the song as a B-side to his version of "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down", a rendition featuring a soul-inflected arrangement with a prominent bass line performed by Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas. Both Edmunds and Costello's versions have attracted critical acclaim.

Background
As with many of Costello's previous songs, it is tricky to ascertain a particular meaning, as his lyrics are replete with such double meanings as "though you may not be an old-fashioned girl, you're still going to get dated". In the liner notes for the 2002 Rhino reissue of Get Happy!!, Costello stated that the record was about women's gossip.

The most successful version of the song was by Dave Edmunds, to whom Costello says he donated the song "in a moment of drunken bravado." Edmunds said, "Elvis came to the studio one day, and he said, 'I've got a song for you.' And he gave me a cassette. Now, it wasn't very good - it was just him on a guitar, and he was rushing through it at a furious pace. At first I couldn't see it. I really liked the complete new arrangement and feel that I put to it. I'm not sure Elvis liked it, mind you. He's quite an intense person and he's quick to point out things that he doesn't like."

Released in June 1979, Edmunds' version charted at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart, spending 11 weeks on the chart. It was his final top ten hit in that country. The single additionally reached number 65 on the US Hot 100, a rare commercial success for Edmunds there. The success of Edmunds' version also boosted Costello's reputation as an coverable songwriter; Edmunds later joked while introducing the song at a concert, "Here's a song by Elvis Costello, and he thanks you from the bottom of his wallet."

Costello recorded a version which was released as the B-side of his single "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down", and was a fixture of the set lists for his tours for some time after it was recorded. Bassist Bruce Thomas commented that it started out as a "country song" before the band rearranged it around Thomas' bass line, which Costello compared to the bass part from "A Love Supreme".

Music video
A music video was produced for the song. It features Edmunds and Rockpile playing on the roof of the Warner Brothers Records building in Midtown Manhattan as well as assorted shots of people walking through Manhattan.

Critical reception
"Girls Talk" has seen critical acclaim since its release. In a 1979 article, The New York Times wrote of Edmunds' version, "Mr. Edmunds tackles the sort of airy pop lyricism that is Mr. Lowe's specialty with consummate taste and skill." The Miami Herald opined in 1980, "When Edmunds did 'Girls Talk,' he stole the song away from Costello and made it his own." AllMusic referred to the Edmunds take as a "classic" in a retrospective review.

Costello's version has also attracted acclaim. Stewart Mason of AllMusic gave the song a positive review retrospectively, complimenting the tone of "suppressed menace", and saying that "it features some of his sharpest lyrics of the era". In addition, Debra Rae Cohen of Rolling Stone said that although Edmunds' version was "cocky [and] rowdy", "Costello restores the tune's paranoiac underpinnings with the nervous quaver of his voice and soft keyboard parts that echo like footfalls". Musician Aimee Mann included Costello's version on her list of "songs that made her," commenting, "I used to cover 'Girls Talk' live for a while. I was so crazy about that song."

Other versions
Linda Ronstadt also recorded a version of "Girls Talk", fashioned after the Dave Edmunds version, for her 1980 album Mad Love, which contained three songs composed by Costello. Ronstadt had previously released a version of Costello's song "Alison" in 1979. Pop duo Tegan and Sara recorded a version of the song for the series finale of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 2023. Edmunds' version was also featured as the end credits song in the pilot.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1979 songs
Dave Edmunds songs
Swan Song Records singles
Songs written by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello songs
1979 singles