When you hear that slinky, reggae-lite bassline of "Less Than Zero," it’s easy to get lost in the groove. It’s catchy. It sounds like a summer day in London, 1977. But if you actually listen to the words, things get dark fast. Most American fans in the late seventies thought they knew what Elvis Costello was singing about. They were wrong.
Basically, the song isn't a sunny pop tune. It’s a middle finger. Specifically, a middle finger aimed at a very specific British villain named Oswald Mosley.
If you don't know the name, Mosley was the founder of the British Union of Fascists back in the 1930s. He was a literal "Blackshirt" who spent his time trying to bring Mussolini-style politics to the UK. By the time Costello was a young man in the 70s, Mosley was an old man appearing on the BBC, trying to polish his image. He was acting like he was just a misunderstood elder statesman rather than a man who once palled around with Hitler.
Costello saw that interview. He was disgusted. He went home and wrote a song about it.
The Mystery of Mr. Oswald
"Calling Mr. Oswald with the swastika tattoo."
That’s the opening line. It’s not subtle. Yet, when Costello first brought the song to America, audiences were confused. They heard "Oswald" and immediately thought of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who shot JFK.
It makes sense why Americans made that leap. The name Oswald is basically synonymous with the Kennedy assassination in the US. Costello, being the sharp-witted (and admittedly stubborn) songwriter he is, found this misunderstanding hilarious and frustrating at the same time. He eventually got so tired of explaining who Mosley was that he actually rewrote the lyrics.
He created what is now known as the "Dallas Version."
In this alternate version, the lyrics actually do refer to the Kennedy assassination. Instead of a British fascist on TV, you get "Jenny" taking her clothes off while her husband is in the "President's procession." It’s much more graphic and fits the American conspiracy-theory vibe of the era. Honestly, though? The original is better. The original has that raw, localized anger that defined the early UK punk and new wave scene.
Why the TV is Always On
The chorus is where the personal meets the political in a weirdly claustrophobic way:
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"Turn up the TV, no one listening will suspect / Even your mother won't detect it / So your father won't know."
Costello is painting a picture of a couple having sex while the news is blaring in the background. It’s a metaphor for apathy. While this "despicable" man (Costello's words, not mine) is spewing "poisonous" rhetoric on the screen, people are just going about their business, drowning out the noise with their own private lives.
It’s about how evil becomes background noise.
Everything means less than zero. That phrase isn't just a cool title; it’s a mathematical statement of worthlessness. The values are gone. The respect is gone. It's a "slandering fantasy," as Costello later described it in his memoirs.
The Saturday Night Live Incident
You can't talk about less than zero elvis costello lyrics without talking about the night he got banned from NBC.
It was December 17, 1977. Elvis was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. His record label, Columbia, was desperate for him to play "Less Than Zero" because it was his big single. They wanted a hit. They wanted the American public to buy the record.
Elvis didn't want to play it.
He knew the American audience wouldn't get the Mosley references. He felt the song was too "low-key" for a live TV performance. He wanted to play something with more teeth.
He started the song anyway. He played maybe three or four bars of that familiar intro. Then, he signaled his band, the Attractions, to stop.
"I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but there's no reason to do this song here," he told the live audience.
They immediately slammed into "Radio Radio," a blistering attack on corporate-controlled media. Lorne Michaels, the producer of SNL, was reportedly so furious he stood off-camera holding up his middle finger for the entire performance. Costello was banned from the show for 12 years.
It was the ultimate punk rock move.
Connection to Bret Easton Ellis
Interestingly, the song’s legacy isn't just in music. It’s the title of Bret Easton Ellis's debut novel.
Ellis was a huge Costello fan. He took the title because he felt it captured the same sense of moral emptiness he was seeing in 1980s Los Angeles. While Costello was writing about political fascism and apathy in London, Ellis was writing about rich, bored kids in LA who felt nothing.
The phrase "less than zero" became a shorthand for a generation that was burnt out before they even started.
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Decoding the Lyrics: A Section-by-Section Breakdown
- The "English Voodoo": This refers to the dark undercurrent of racism and extremist politics that was bubbling up in the UK National Front during the late 70s.
- "South America is coming into style": This is a direct jab at the fact that many high-ranking Nazis and fascists fled to South America (like Argentina or Brazil) after World War II to escape prosecution.
- The Chevrolet: In the final verse, there’s a line about a couple trading their baby for a Chevrolet. It’s a cynical take on American consumerism—the idea that people would trade anything, even their own future, for a shiny new car.
Costello’s writing during this period was dense. He was cramming as many metaphors as possible into three-minute pop songs. He wasn't just writing "Boy Meets Girl" songs; he was writing "Boy Meets Girl and they both realize the world is ending" songs.
How to Listen to "Less Than Zero" Today
If you’re revisiting the track, try to find the version on My Aim Is True.
Don't just listen to the melody. Look for the sneer in his voice. When he sings "Hey, Red," he's mocking the political labels of the time. He’s taking shots at everyone—the fascists, the apathetic public, and even himself.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Check out the "Dallas Version" if you want to see how a songwriter "translates" a song for a different culture. It’s a masterclass in lyrical adaptation.
- Read the liner notes of the 2001 Rhino reissue of My Aim Is True. Costello goes into great detail about his mindset during the recording sessions.
- Watch the SNL clip. It’s on YouTube. You can see the exact moment he decides to blow up his American career for the sake of artistic integrity.
The song remains a staple of his live sets, though today he often plays it with a bit more of a rock-and-roll swagger than the twitchy, nervous energy of the original 1977 recording. It stands as a reminder that the best pop songs often have the sharpest teeth.