Stephen Colbert closed out his final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert with a couple of musical performances that made a perfect send off. The final song, of course, was the Beatles classic “Hello Goodbye,” led by Paul McCartney. It was a wonderful uplifting ending, saying goodbye to us while reminding us it was not the end. The Beatles song finale was even more touching with the recognition that Paul McCartney was turning out the lights on the show in the Ed Sullivan Theater, a place where the Beatles captured America so many years ago. But what was that acoustic song before “Hello Goodbye”?
This final segment began with Colbert wandering around before sitting and starting to sing, “Everybody’s talking like they can’t sit down / And looking like they can’t stand up.” And then for the next line, the camera moved to the songwriter of that song,”Jump Up,” Elvis Costello. Then, the song continued with Jon Batiste in a touching inclusion of the former Late Show band leader, and then Louis Cato, the current Late Night band leader.
In my music collection, I have “Jump Up” as a bonus acoustic demo song on my special CD edition of Elvis Costello’s 1977 debut album My Aim is True. Of all the songs in the world, why did Colbert choose an obscure bonus track from the 1970s as the penultimate song for his show?
Colbert has been a fan of the song “Jump Up” for a long time, so, as you can see from the look on his face, it was a joy for him to sing a favorite song with the songwriter. And it must have been cool to then “close” the show with the song and “goodnight,” and then go into the encore where the four “Jump Up” singers joined Paul McCartney for “Hello Goodbye.”
Why “Jump Up”?
But why did Colbert choose the obscure Elvis Costello song, as he loves other songs too? The likely reason for Colbert’s fondness for “Jump Up,” and the reason it worked so well in closing the show, arguably cancelled by CBS at least partly for its criticisms of a thin-skinned Donald Trump, is its satirical take on untrustworhty politicians.
Candidate talkin` on the radio from the “Cheaters Jamboree”;
It must be their latest fool;
`Cause it`s a two-horse race and he changed his bets,
Like it was just another brand of cigarettes.
Way back in 2012, Colbert explained his love of “Jump Up” in this interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air: “I love the song because it’s sort of a satirical song. It’s got a parodic nature to it, or not a parodic nature, but it’s really, it’s got sort of a political, satirical song. And I’ve never discussed this song with Elvis, so I might get a message from Elvis Costello after this interview with you, saying, ‘You know nothing of my work. What are you talking about?’ But I’ve always thought of it as a – it’s sort of like a – it’s a person who is talking about insignificance in the name of power or of something that they want, and also talking about the hypocrisy of politicians.”
Colbert further explained how the song captures a young man on a street corner, looking to get noticed, who has no power. And maybe he felt a little like that with his show’s cancellation. But the song, in Costello’s skillful writing, has a power behind it with its uplifting melody, jokingly making fun of those in power. And isn’t that what The Late Show was always about since the first episode with David Letterman?
For those of us who grew up watching The Late Show since David Letterman started the show, through Colbert’s ongoing journey from The Colbert Report to The Late Show, it was a touching send off, looking back and looking forward.
And the look of joy on Colbert’s face as he sang “Jump Up” with Costello, Batiste, and Cato, I’m sure, far surpassed any joy left in the hearts of the politicians in Washington or the people running CBS.
Hello Goodbye indeed.
Jump up–hold on tight,
Can`t trust the promise or a guarantee;
`Cause the man `round the curve says that he`s never heard,
Of you or me.
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