45 (Elvis Costello song)
{{Infobox song
| name = 45
| cover = Costello_45.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Elvis Costello
| album = When I Was Cruel
| B-side = My Mood Swings
| released = 2002
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Rock
| length = 3:33
| writer = Elvis Costello
| producer = Elvis Costello, Leo Pearson, Kieran Lynch
| prev_title = Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)
| prev_year = 2002
| next_title = Monkey to Man
| next_year = 2004
}}
"45" is a song written by Elvis Costello from his 2002 album When I Was Cruel. The second single released from the album reached number 92 in the UK charts.{{cite book| first= David| last= Roberts| year= 2006| title= British Hit Singles & Albums| edition= 19th| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London| isbn= 1-904994-10-5| pages= 122–3}} To date, it is his last single to chart in the United Kingdom.
Joining Costello on the recording were drummer Pete Thomas, bassist Davey Faragher and keyboardist Steve Nieve. They would later be collectively known as The Imposters.
Background
The song was written on the day of Costello's 45th birthday in August 1999. He said, "I don't think there were any rough drafts at all. It all just appeared one afternoon. Sometimes that happens, and then other times you might wait years to come up with a song."{{cite magazine | title = Jesus of Cruel| author=Alan Di Perna | magazine = Pulse!|page = 22| date = May 2002}} On September 29, 1999, Costello and Nieve played a stripped-back version of the then-unrecorded song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
The story within the song commences in 1945, and then progresses in nine-year increments, through Costello's birth, up until his 45th birthday. Costello said, "it was really just about the measuring of your life in musical signposts and landmarks. Which we all do, I believe."{{cite magazine | title = 10 Questions for Elvis Costello| author=David Cavanagh | magazine = Mojo|pages = 40–41| date = May 2002|issue=102}}
Throughout the song, "45" refers to the end of World War II, the playing speed of a 7-inch single, the caliber of a revolver, as well as Costello's age.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2002/04/22/when-i-was-cruel |title=When I Was Cruel |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=22 April 2002 |access-date=29 January 2016 |last=Browne |first=David |author-link=David Browne (journalist)}}
The B-side, "My Mood Swings", was co-written with then-wife Cait O'Riordan for the movie The Big Lebowski.{{cite AV media notes | title = King of America | year = 2005 | others = Elvis Costello | type = Inset | publisher = Rykodisc | location = USA}} The recording, featuring Marc Ribot, Jim Keltner, and Greg Cohen, appeared only momentarily in the movie on The Dude's Walkman.{{cite magazine| magazine= Record Collector | title=Blood and choc-ice| author=Terry Staunton | url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/in-motion-pictures}}
Reception
Pulse! described "45" as a "key song" that was "remarkably concise — a metaphysical conceit that showcases Costello's formidable lyrical discipline. It is one of the most unguardedly autobiographical Elvis Costello songs ever written."
Len Righi of Allentown Morning Call said, "Costello spins together, with casual brilliance, a tale of war, marriage, birth and betrayal."{{cite news | title = When I Was Cruel| author=Len Righi | work = Allentown Morning Call|page = 46| date = 11 May 2012}} The A.V. Club claimed that the song sounded "as catchy and clever as one of the singles it celebrates."{{cite news| work= The AV Club | title=Elvis Costello: When I Was Cruel| author=Keith Phipps | url=http://www.avclub.com/review/elvis-costello-emwhen-i-was-cruelem-17419|access-date=6 February 2016|date=23 April 2002}}