All She Thought Of Was Betrayal

As an American who was only a child throughout most of the 1980s, I was not much aware of the political landscape in the UK during that time. It wasn’t until purchasing Elvis Costello’s 1989 album Spike several years after its release that I first encountered “Tramp the Dirt Down,” and thus examined the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, from a remove of both time and distance. 

And it is a song for Thatcher, about Thatcher; but it’s also impossible to escape that ghouls far more diabolical than the Iron Lady have been able to find global power in the decades since her term. “Tramp the Dirt Down” is a song that is both specific enough to resonate in a time and place, but sadly universal enough to apply just as easily to the political monsters of today and tomorrow. 

I am ill-equipped to speak about Margaret Thatcher, or how things were or felt in Britain in the 1980s. But like many Americans, I have lived through hopelessness. In some ways, we’re still there. 

I would like to believe that our political figures are motivated by something other than self-interest or greed, but in the balance, it’s hard to see how most of them are focused on anything but themselves. I suppose there’s something selfless in the mere choice to pursue a life of public service; what’s confounding is that there seem to be so many who take on this career as a means to consolidate power, money and control. 

Although Google doesn’t cough up any easy evidence, my understanding is that this song was received as a shockingly specific act of protest in England at the time. It was apparently significant enough to inspire a 222-page academic treatise; if I’m ever pulling down mid-six figures for writing this Substack, I’ll devote some time to reading it and share a review. 

Those who would criticize a song like “Tramp the Dirt Down” for its brutality almost never seem to have a problem with the brutality of the policies that conservatives like Thatcher inevitably support. Thatcher advocated for “austerity” in public policy which helped poverty and hunger spread through the UK like wildfire. Meanwhile her foreign policy approach seemed solely designed to trigger jingoistic bloodlust as a distraction from how terrible living conditions became. 

That’s based on a very primitive understanding of history and politics of the era. But the playbook isn’t all that different from any other conservative politician who has found purchase in the past thirty years. The rich get richer, and the poor get fucked. 

There’s critique in Costello’s song, and observation, but what hits hardest is the vitriol. There’s plenty of ways in which an artist can misuse their capabilities to attack the wrong target, or the right target with the wrong tone. “Tramp the Dirt Down” doesn’t do any of those things. It’s not trying to be clever; it’s not a dodge or a processed voice of protest. It’s more of an exorcism in response to institutionalized cruelty, and it’s a near-perfect example of it.