Watching the Detectives

Buy the Album at Rhino.com

Written by: Costello
Produced by: Nick Lowe
Released: Nov. '77 on Columbia
Charts: Did not chart

In the summer of 1977, Costello was still an aspiring songwriter when he took the Clash's debut back to his London flat and "listened to it for thirty-six hours straight," he recalled. "And I wrote 'Watching the Detectives.' " A clever but furious burst of cynicism, the song merges punk aggression with noir menace, as Costello snarls about a lover who'd rather watch TV.

Appears on: My Aim Is True (Rhino)

Next: Bad Moon Rising

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