Double Delivery

I didn't catch the likely source of the line "I am the mighty and the magnificent" in "Button My Lip" from The Delivery Man. (See "I Stand Accused," esp. p. 76-77.) The mighty M. Matos did; in a email exchange, MM also notes that the song was a UK #1 for two weeks in March 1971. Intuition told me EC's line had to be another cross-reference, but my mind was on soul, not reggae. It's worth noting that on The Delivery Man (and live) the line is repeated under dub effects (ala "Senior Service" and so on), which seemed strange for this largely "natural"-sounding album, but now makes sense as a stylistic pointer back to the song's origin.

I've also read that EC used Nick Lowe's "I Love My Label" as entrance music at a recent show in Nashville (where Lost Highway is based). And that he's been covering Lowe's "Heart of the City" (from Jesus of Cool/Pure Pop -- in different versions) on the current tour.

I think you can see how this could get out of control.