Hey Clockface (2020)












Revolution #49 lyrics - Elvis Costello

Cold as stone, hard as winter
She turned to me and this she said
"Kiss me once and you'll remember
Lay with me 'til we're both dead"

The land was white, the wind a dagger
Life beats a poor man to his grave
Love makes a rich man from a beggar
Love is the one thing we can save

Love is the one thing we can save
Love is the one thing we can save

Cold as stone
Cold as stone
Cold as stone

No Flag lyrics - Elvis Costello

I got no religion, I got no philosophy
Got a head full of ideas and words that don't seem to belong to me
You may be jokin' but I don't get the gag
I sense no future but time seems to drag

No time for this kind of love
No flag wavin' high above
No sign for the dark place that I live
No God for the damn that I don't give

I got no illusions, I've had no epiphany
Why should anybody listen to me?
She said, "I'm tearin' up the sheets that your love letters stained
All of your magic powers have drained"

No time for this kind of love
No flag wavin' high above
No sign for the dark place that I live
No God for the damn that I don't give

Here's a line in the sand, a word or two in the aftermath
I'm an arrow that shoots up and down on an advertising graph
I could write you verses and recite more than one
But they're not worth the paper that they're written on

No time for this kind of love
No flag wavin' high above
No sign for the dark place that I live
No God for the damn that I don't give

We want everythin' and we don't wanna share
Outer space for the faces we fear
Look in the mirror and see who I used to be
Made out of plastic in a factory

No flag
No flag

They're Not Laughing At Me Now lyrics - Elvis Costello

Tell me, how does it feel?
In the hour of deception and the moment of pretend
To be scorned by those rank and those unkind strangers
You were fool enough to call your friends

Will you say as the curtain descends?
"They're not laughing at me now"

When the last of the garlands and laurel crowns
And fine bouquets have all been swept away
You were lost in the smokescreens of cavalcades
And accolades instead of traitor's pay

Where will you find the courage to say?
"They're not laughing at me now"

You could shake my hand
If I could unfold my fist
If I were a gentleman
If I were a Christian
But I wouldn't risk it
Why would you?
You know my name now
And it's "Mister" to you

Now we're back at the start, no forgiveness in your heart
You turned your coat and asked me to turn my cheek
And it's all in a language
That I can understand but never bring myself to speak

I'll leave it to you, if you dare
It's a peal too appalling to bear
I wonder if you're here or you're there
They're not laughing at me now

They're not laughing at me now
They're not laughing at me now

Newspaper Pane lyrics - Elvis Costello


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"Newspaper Pane" lyrics
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"Newspaper Pane"

She looked at the pictures on a newspaper pane
That was taped to the window to keep out the wind
To keep out the rain

To keep out the nonsense
And block out the needing
To keep up her spirits
With improving reading

But the ink from the columns
Dissolved down into the stain
On the bare wood floor
That extended to the door

Pictures of bright futures somehow ignored
That offered her finery she could never afford
Tempting out savings she didn't have, or could never risk
Not a fashionable kindness, it was grotesque

The beaus with their fiddles played The Rascal's Release
We toasted to valor and wished there were peace
Six months later, in a newspaper margin
They were all cut down in a cavalry charge

Weeping Miss Imogen said to her priest
"I gave him my virtue, it was the least I could leave him
On the eve of departure
Though I will long for him now and hereafter"

"And the child I'll be raising may have his blue eyes
What if he grows up and dies
On some distant unnameable hillside or field
'Cause a king and a concubine put a mark on his shield?"

Thomas tomorrow, Thomas no more
Father and sunshine, beyond and before
William, who brought his drum home from the war
To beat it for young lads whose days didn't even add up to a score

I don't spend my time perfecting the past
I live for the future 'cause I know it won't last
A bent note on a horn I can't play
The ghosts in the window that I can't wish away

Freedom to be reckless, freedom to plunder
Freedom to dream, freedom to wonder
When you get where I am now, you may feel differently
The cliff drops away sharply, falls into the sea

No work today, no hope tomorrow
No bread for breaking, no wine for sorrow
Nobody is selling, no truth for telling

No work tomorrow, no work today
Look at that child bride and her ideal bouquet
Boys, pick up a rifle, that's too much to pay
Count out her teardrops, wipe them away

I Do (Zula's Song) lyrics - Elvis Costello

There's a tree at the crossroads
There's a nail in my shoe
Repeat to me softly
As you vow that we'll see it through

Let's go to the other side
And take in the view
Our eyes will see better there
Watching the river flow
You may say, "I don't know", but "I do"

Every night will be starless
Every day will be fine
Each hour will be peaceful
As the reeds make the river slow

The earth will be broken
And will lie there below
I am yours, you are mine
To long for longer is a crime
You may say, "I don't lie", but "I do"
But "I do"

We Are All Cowards Now lyrics - Elvis Costello

Time has taught us
That they're sending out their sons
To take away our guns and our daughters
We are all cowards now

Rivers rising
Darkness fell upon
People blotting out the sun
Disguising how
We are all cowards now

At least the Emperor Nero had an ear for music
But that's history
Caligula said "God's speed, my steed"
But that's his story

They're coming for our Peacemakers
Our Winchesters and Colts
The rattle of our Gatling Guns
Our best cowboy revolts and threats and insults
We are all cowards now

The emptiness of arms
The openness of thighs
The pornography of bullets
The promises and prizes can't disguise
We are all cowards now

They're draping stones with colours
And a roll of stolen names
Except those we never cared about

And those we need to blame
We'll extinguish that flame, just the same
We are all cowards now

Arms are empty
The pornography of plenty
Count commands from one to ten
Number sins from ten to twenty

There's an illusion we believe in
There is honour in their need
Pretty confetti, chemical debt
And a necessity to bleed

My fears too fleet to scupper
My prayers too thin to scream
On my lover's back a zipper
On her limb a straightened seam

So, close the windows tightly
Lower lamps and shades
On the screen, silent rehearsals
For tomorrow's parades
For tomorrow's parades
For tomorrow's parades
We are all cowards now

Hey Clockface / How Can You Face Me? lyrics - Elvis Costello

Hey Clockface
Keep your fingers on the dial
You stole those precious moments
And the kisses from her smile
And now I'm living in these hours
Away we will while
I'm not wasting any more time

Hey Clockface
I really want to know
Why is it when we're apart
You always take it slow
And when she's here
You always say "It's almost time to go"
You said you'd be a friend to me
But time is just my enemy
And it is hurting me so

The moon comes through the window shining crescently and bright
The sun rolls round again
If I could turn your face back
Before all of this started
Forty minutes past four when her secrets she parted

Forty minutes past four in the faithless A.M
She wound up in his arms and not the man that I am
A spring that is sprung
A cuckoo-bird that sung
Now there's a nail in a bare wall
Where your face once hung

Hey Clockface
Now I don't feel a thing
You stole away the heart in me
And then removed my spring
The winding mechanisms shot
The movement is unwound
Don't tick or tock or dare to make a sound

Hey Clock-face
Well, don't you ever dare
Count me down to zero hour
And keep me waiting here
A minute from departure
I will twist your key and have her come back to me
And have her come back to me

How can you face me?
After what I've been through
After you broke that vow
How can you face me now?
How can you face me now?
How can you face me now?

The Whirlwind lyrics - Elvis Costello

I came out to this town
To seek a new career
Or just another kind of whirlwind
Than one that brought me here
I stare up through the ceiling
Past the plaster and the paint
Considering the stars that shine
And flare and fall before they're spent

How could you know?
My common senses had deserted me
On certain nights
When other gentlemen have courted me
But in the light of morning
They would turn to see me go

I've had my moments
But all too few
You think you know me
Maybe you do

But in the light of morning
You will turn to see me go
Nothing's lost and no one's won
It's over now and now it's done

I may be lying
This may be true
You think you know me
Maybe you do, maybe you do
Maybe you do

Hetty O'Hara Confidential lyrics - Elvis Costello

Hetty said if you ask me nicely
I'll write you up well
Don't tell me twice
Or quote you directly
Or you'll pay the price
I'll peel off your skin like a thin veneer
If someone tells me something that I didn't hear from you

Who's got the dope?
Who's got the potential?
Hetty O'Hara Confidential

Those were different days
Those were different drugs
From a gold-plated palace with the half-mast flags
To a chalk lined body that was full of slugs
She was trading favors for footnote plugs
Who's got the needle?
Who is fit to burst?
A morphine tattoo on an unquenchable thirst

Who's got your girlfriend?
And who had her first?
Reading her column was essential
Hetty O'Hara Confidential

She could kill a man with a single stroke
She is not the one you want to provoke
If you can't take the heat
Or you can't take a joke

Who's got the dope?
Who's got the potential?
Hetty O'Hara Confidential

If there was a gentleman caller
To a comely wench
And a snooping peeper
In a coat of trench
She'd place a line or two
At the foot of the page
A cue or a clue
To the latest rage
With your true dimensions
And your actual age
Trade a life of scandal
For a career on the stage

These little things seem inconsequential
Except to Hetty O'Hara Confidential

On the night he came home
From the debutante ball
Passed out drunk on the bathroom floor
Call-girl called after taking a peek
At the secret drawer of atomic secrets
Repeating something that I whispered about
They have to take it
But they can't dish it out

Who's cleaning up his act?
And breaking the bank?
But unfortunately didn't remember to thank me
But now the rumor is doing the rounds
That his only friends
Are villains and scoundrels
Her reputation curled like yellow smoke
She named the wrong man in the story she broke

She had an unfortunate character trait
The irresistible impulse to assassinate
But the damage she did was quite substantial
Hetty O'Hara Confidential

They've got witch trials now
With witches to spare
And a jukebox jury full of judgement and fury
With bright neon dresses and porn star hair
She was thrown to the wolves
Or the dogs or the foxes
Once they'd had their fill of shares and stocks
Their gaze is unforgiving
If your morals are lax
Pointing manicured fingers and making a mockery
With voices that sound like broken crockery
Hetty said "I'm powerless and I feel alone..."
Now everyone has a megaphone

Who's got the dope?
Who's got the potential?
Hetty O'Hara Confidential

The Last Confession Of Vivian Whip lyrics - Elvis Costello

Hear the last confession of Vivian Whip
If you're reading this
"My life was lonely
Never hurt a fly
Or spared a kiss
Never killed a soul
Except my own"

But when I took you in my arms
I wondered why it took so long
For me to recognize this precious song
Had it been playing all along?

Just when I needed it
When I couldn't conceive that it's
So hard to lose your nerve
To just get what you need
And not, not what you deserve

See the first impression of Vivian Whip
Still denied parole
He's etched in charcoal
"Never hurt a fly or killed a soul
Entertained a doubt
I cared about"

But now I fear we fear too much
I tried my best to keep my watch
To bear up in the light that strips
So stop my mouth up with your lips

What Is It That I Need That I Don't Already Have? lyrics - Elvis Costello

What is it that I need that I don't already have?
Who was there in the past that I couldn't seem to save?
But will I seem so smart, me and my broken heart
When I am pretending to be brave

What is there up ahead that I can't already see?
Startling as it seems, well, it's supposed to be
Where am I going next?
And if no one objects
Just close the door and that'll be the end of me

What is it that I lost that I don't really need
Some glasses for my eyes
And an hour or two of speed
My hands don't blister, my hands don't bleed
But I'll never be contented, repent or ever be lamented
'Til I'm planted down like rotten crops
And covered up with weeds

What is it that I want that I can't already taste?
A damson from a tree
A girl that I once chased
A girl who ran away and wanted to be caught
Then bade farewell to my love like some merchandise she bought

Things are going up like blasphemous prayers
I burned up all my paper money on those London derrieres
Prayers and paper money will burn until you choke
The things I should have said
They were so easily left unspoken
I didn't break you down
You were already broken

What is it that I need that I don't already have?
Who was there in the past that I couldn't even see?
But will I seem so smart, me and my broken heart
When I am pretending to be free?
When I am pretending to be free
When I am pretending to be free

Radio Is Everything lyrics - Elvis Costello

I'm sitting here wondering if this matchbox will hold my dreams
Will the red head in my arms go up in flames?
Or dissolve mighty regimes with her screams, or so it seems
She dragged my face from the eye to my lip on the rough side of the striking strip
To the port side of a sinking ship
Staring in a compact mirror
A siren calling from another era
While you made faces and then blew kisses
Drowned in a pool that hypnotized Narcissus

They say I have a perfect face for radio
And a trumpet for listening
A cheek to turn to you
An eye for glistening
Tear that tear from me
Hold it in your memory
Pull away the powder and pain painted dream
Of this and that disgrace
A silver band of marching soles
A button of brass an epaulet of gold
That lenten light, that slight fanfare that consoles
That trivial, sniveling rosary, that ring-a-ding rosemary
Condemned a man, alas, at last, at requiem mass

I sound much better than I look
Like a hero in a book
Now there is too much at stake
But perhaps you mistook my mistake
For the tip in the print you dusted for
From the hand you forgot to shake

Tumbledown Dick said to King Oliver
"I don't shrink down at the thought of you
Give the people back their ringlet Prince just like you ought to do
Journey far from here like Gulliver
To lands at the edge of everywhere
That we have still to discover
Where there's a sole of a jackboot in a broken brace
Poised above a human face forever and ever"

You don't need to see my face
Radio Is Everything
You don't need to know my name
Radio Is Everything
The lie that I tell
It just doesn't matter
If I should deceive you
Or if I should flatter
If your bankroll gets thin while some kitty gets fatter
Radio Is Everything
From the straight to the narrow to the broadcast from within
Radio Is Everything

I Can't Say Her Name lyrics - Elvis Costello

How can I show my face?
I'm a mess
And I fear I may confess
I'm a fool with or without her
Make up what you will about her
It's part of the game
I can't say her name

I've been left in the dark
Shine a light
Right in my eyes
You'll never make me talk
Alibis I must protect
An alias you won't detect
I won't place the blame
I can't say her name

I whisper it so soft and slow
When I think no one's listening
No one knows
The thought of her so strong and slow
Stays on my mind
I won't ever let her go

How can I go to sleep?
When I know all too well I'm in this thing too deep
It's all I can do not to shout about it
I don't need your pity
I'm powerless and proud
And I don't feel ashamed
Oh, but I can't say her name

Byline lyrics - Elvis Costello

I read by line by line by line
Some words of yours, some words of mine
Some sentiments are best forgot
Some letters read then folded shut

The profile on a postage stamp
I traced it by my reading lamp
Remembered when I'd sit in wait
Then marked our parting from that date

I read by line by line by line
That old sarcastic Valentine
That you denied you'd sent to me
Then took it back

It's a thought that we shared, a careless phrase
A curse or a joke, some words of praise
But I didn't write
Did you wonder why?
It was the easiest way to say "Goodbye"

You'll see my photo beside the article
"That's just some guy I used to know
I was never his
He was always mine
But I wrote him off by line by line"
By line by line by line by line by line by line
By line by line

EP: Purse (2019)












Everyone's Playing House lyrics - Elvis Costello

Well, well, isn't this sweet
Everyone's playing house
I'm not meaning to mock
Or trespass
On this pretty plain picture-perfect scene

This is delicious
How could I be so rude?
I'd never be malicious
Or dare even to intrude

It's coming to pass
Can you believe your eyes?
Are you living with love?
Or are you living with a lie (lie, lie, lie lie)?
Lies

I know that you want me
Scatter those dishes
Give into your wishes
You've seen it all
I know that you do
You've pictured this
With the light pouring in
Glistening
With the covers pulled back
And my clothes torn away from my skin

Well, well, isn't this tart
Just like my bitter heart
So let's end if you don't
Have the courage to begin with

Do you want to slap me?
Until I can say what for
Do you want to kiss me?
Just once and no more

You play the family man
In the sad aftermath
Fingers for peeking right through
Just like Daddies do

Now my scent is on your breath
I'm going to make you a mess
He pressed the glass to my lips
"I'm going to make you"
I'm going to make you
I'm going to make you a mess

The Lovers That Never Were lyrics - Elvis Costello

I have always needed somebody girl
But I close the doors to keep out the world
But for you, I would be here all alone
Locked in a photograph

All of the clocks have run down
Lover beware
We'll be the lovers that never were

I hang patiently on every word you send
Will we ever be much more than just friends?
As for you, you sit there playing this game
You keep me waiting

When all of the clocks have run down
All over the world
We'll be the lovers that never were

For as long as the sun shines in somebody's eyes
I believe in you baby, so don't tell me lies
For as long as the trees throw down blossoms and leaves
I know there will be a parade of unpainted dreams

And I know dear, how much it's going to hurt
If you still refuse to get your hands dirty
So you, you must tell me something... I love you
Say goodbye or anything

All of the clocks have run down
Time's at an end
If we can't be lovers we'll never be friends

For as long as the sun shines in somebody's eyes
I believe in you baby, so don't tell me lies
For as long as the trees throw down blossoms and leaves
I know there will be a parade of unpainted dreams

If You Love Me lyrics - Elvis Costello

The fluctuating worth of this very terminal earth
And the satellite that glows at night above me
Won't bear upon my mind
But concerning womankind
I don't care if you're there
If you love me

The seed must die, I know
Before new life can grow
And so would I die before I'd let you go

So let the cold winds blow
Let the seasons come and go
Let the times gone by just die
Like that old part of I
Again the sun may rise and burn through yellow skies
But I'll see it through your blue eyes
If you love me

The seed must die, I know
Before new life can grow
And so would I die if you don't love
(If you love me)

I'll see it in your eyes
If it's true or if it's lies
But I'll feel it if it's real
If you don't love me

If you love me
(If you love me)

Down On The Bottom lyrics - Elvis Costello

Always been in trouble
Nearly all of my life
Always been in trouble
Struggle, scorn and strife

Down on the bottom
Down to the last drop in the cup
Down on the bottom
With no place to go now but up

Go find me my bluebird
Flying so high up above
Go find me my bluebird
Find me somebody to love

Down on the bottom
Down to the last drop in the cup
Down on the bottom
No place to go now but up

Go find me my bluebird before it turns and disappears
See the sky is painted before it rains down like tears

The hour of eleven
The little finger of fate
Pointing to heaven before it's too late

Down on the bottom
Down to the last drop in the cup
Down on the bottom

No place to go now but up

Look Now (2018) - (as Elvis Costello and The Imposters)












Under Lime lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

It's a long way down from the high horse you're on
When you stumble and then you're thrown
The last time we saw him, he was out in the rain
Watching that train roll down the track
Now he's back in showbiz
Trying to make a comeback

We know that he's desperate
And we know that he's broke
He's the mystery guest we'll puncture
They told a young girl with a clipboard
"Just keep him amused"
"Whatever you do, don't tell him your name"
"Whatever you think, don't let him drink"
Under lime, under lime, under lime

He whistles out of tune
His words don't always rhyme
But we will be right back
We're almost out of time

Down a long corridor, he's trying to impress
He was helping a showgirl fasten up her dress
And the clock on the wall tick-tocked the time away
And the band starts to play

In the violent strip of an undressing room
She loosened his grip and started
Tell me your story if you feel so inclined
He was a mess, almost resigned
Though she could guess, I think you will find
She thought "Oh, you know, I wouldn't mind"

He asked her boyfriend's name
Then her whole family tree
She thought I can't believe
It's happening to me

And upset, said "Hey, Pet, would you kindly pass that pill"
And allow me to just dictate my dying will
And the clock on the wall tick-tocked the time away
And the band starts to play

Jimmie was dreaming as she uncrossed her legs
He shuttered his eyes discreetly
And he thought of a drummer and considered a snare
But the beat of his heart said, "Don't ever start"
His conscience was bare, it said "Don't even dare"
She's completely unaware

She forced a laugh or a sign
At every alibi
Once every crime was confessed
He buttoned up his vest

Said "Hey gal, you're a pal, you've really been a sport"
And you don't get a record if you never get caught
And the clock on the wall tick-tocked the time away
And the band starts to play

It's a long way down from that high horse you're on
It's a long way back, 'less you cover your track
Or you bury your crime
Under lime, under lime, under lime, under lime

It's a long way down from that high horse you're on
It's a long way back, 'less you cover your track
Or you bury your crime
Under lime, under lime, under lime, under lime

It's a long way down from that high horse you're on
It's a long way back, 'less you cover your track
Cause you bury your crime
Under lime, under lime, under lime

Don't Look Now lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

Don't look now, don't you dare
I'm not decent, go sit over there
Would you rather I was draped in priceless fur?
As there's nothing else to wear

Don't look now
I saw you shoot that glance
I said, "Don't peek
At the sway of my dance
And the length of my limb
And the blush of my cheek"

Okay, look at me now
What do you see?
I see you looking at me
Looking at how you're looking at me
Oh, oh, oh

I know what you're thinking
I can read your mind
Oh, I promise, I'll be good this time

Now I wonder what you see
Will you be thinking of me?
Later on, when you're alone
Are you ever alone and longing?

I'll sit here silent and still
See if I'm breaking your will
I see you looking at me
Looking at how you're looking at me

Oh, don't look at me now...

Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

She says, "What is it that I've done
That you want me to be punished?"
When she woke up one day to find
That he had started to vanish

But if you overhear voices
Perhaps you should not be listenin' at all
Twitch the vigilant lace
Make a slow, sour face
Set the scandalized whispering

She's out on her own with the rest of her riches
As the kids paint him out of their refrigerator pictures
She picks up the bill, pays off the babysitter
'Cause everybody knows burnt sugar is so bitter

Once there was a time
Before he turned strange
She thought they would be together
For more than a lifetime
Look at him now
My, how things have changed
He could tear the sweet heart out of any girl
On just a whim
And turn it from a candy to a caramel
And make her hate the silly way she used to feel
And say, "I know nothing about him"

Now what's left of the birthday cake
Is very beautifully frosted
An absent father picks up the phone
To find the number's unlisted
But while the kids are distracted
They don't notice she's nervous at all
But how long will it take
Not to make a mistake
When a gentleman comes to call?

She's out on her own with the rest of her riches
As the kids tear down the refrigerator pictures
They already know how a woman may advance
From a pretty picture hat to a supermarket trance
But if he's unkind, he might as well forget her
'Cause everybody knows burnt sugar is so bitter
Burnt sugar is so bitter
Burnt sugar

Stripping Paper lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

I got time on my hands I'm just stripping paper
It's amazing what you will find
Stripping paper
When you get down to the past
Back then we didn't have means
For fine decorations
So we painted while mixing wine
With flirtation
There, in the mess of it all

He took me right there in the thrill
Not quite against my will
With my back to that rococo wall
We slipped right down to the floor

I kicked closed the door
He complimented my taste
I anointed his serious face
With wallpaper paste
I wish we could laugh like that now
But what seemed to follow
And ended up hollow
Was our vow

Tear a strip or two
See what came not much later
Here's a pony and toy balloon
Behind a vine that withered all too soon
Here's the pencil of a measuring mark
And a monster she spied in the dark
Now I've got no place in her heart
Let me go back to the start

I got time on my hands I'm just stripping paper
I got time on my hands I'm just stripping paper
I got time on my hands I'm just stripping paper

Unwanted Number lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

You should hear the things that they say about me
They're saying "She's no better than she needed to be"
They don't know that he was kind and warm and tender
Soon he's gonna be another Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number

How can I tell them?
How can I express?
How it felt to step out of this life and into his embrace
How can I tell them?
How can I explain?
All the love that I never had, I found in him

There may be a stain on the family name
And if my father was here I think I know who he'd blame
Mama says that he just doesn't care to remember
And all he thinks of me is another Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number

What can she tell me?
What can I expect?
Of all the painful lessons that she learned she never earned respect
What can she tell me?
What can I believe?
That she really didn't hear me cry whenever he would leave?

There's a local game where they whisper my shame
They say "He gave her his child, he wouldn't give her his name"
They will torture me from January till September
And I will give my love to another Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number

I will give my love to another Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number

And I will give my love
And I will give my love
I will give my love to another Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number

And I will give my love
And I will give my love
I will give my love to another Unwanted Number

Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number
Unwanted Number

I Let The Sun Go Down lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

Whenever I'm in the tightest corner
Whenever I feel forlorn
I think of the isle where I was born
And the duty to which I've sworn
But I woke up in a nightmare
With a Union Jack and half a crown
John Bull got caught with his pants down, again
That's inviting sundown

It's time to do or die
It's time to say "Good-bye"
Cause I'm the man who lost the British Empire
Yes I'm the one, I let the sun go down

Don't let the shadows lengthen
And cover my good intentions
They say that darkness brings the right time
But it's also time for tears
I'm so sorry and sincere
Ahead of me a brilliant career
Now I'm going nowhere

It's time to do or die
It's time to say "Good-bye"
Cos I'm the man who lost the British Empire
Yes I'm the one I let the sun go down

Stay awhile
Delay the night
I'm too young for twilight
They'd tell the sun to hesitate
That's when Britain was Great
Now that the lights are flickering
My pulse is quickening
All over the world the lamps will dim
And never be seen again

The balloon's gone up
The night descends
As they lower the flag on no-man's land
They'll take you down a peg or two
This is the bitter end

I walk into darkness
It's time to do or die
It's time to say "Good-bye"
Cos I'm the man who lost the British Empire
Yes I'm the one, I let the sun go down
I let the sun go down
Don't let the sun go down
I let the sun go down

Mr. & Mrs. Hush lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

I tripped through a house of mirrors
Distorted my suspicions and fears (I heard a whisper)
There is a place where those secrets begin (they had a list)
I gave my name and they invited me in (but here's the twist)
A sign flickered and it started to flash
"Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Hush"

Haven't you tired of that darkness yet?
Didn't you cry your heart out?
It's only a dream
What is it about love you can't accept?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
To be
Mr. and Mrs. Hush
Mr. and Mrs. Hush

But it was something I just couldn't understand
Until I slipped my finger into the band
Just think what those eyes might betray
Stare hard and now don't look away

Haven't you tired of that darkness yet?
Didn't you cry your heart out?
It's only a dream
What is it about love you can't accept?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
To be
Mr. and Mrs. Hush
Mr. and Mrs. Hush

I don't know if I'm deep down right inside her heart
Or outside her door
I don't know if I have the key to either
Uncertain if I should take her hand or leave her

(I thought I saw her)
It's a game of blindfold and bluff
(I thought I saw her)
You know I love you
Is it ever enough?
(I thought I saw her)
Oh, what did I know
(I thought I saw her)
Heigh-ho and there you go
(I thought I saw her)
A voice that caresses and heels like spurs
(I thought I saw her)
What if you walked in with some other fella
(I thought I saw her)
Heat is rising
And red is the colour
(I thought I saw her)
Green is the colour of my true love's eyes
(I thought I saw her)
And green is the colour of those jealous disguises

Haven't you tired of that darkness yet?
Didn't you cry your heart out?
It's only a dream
What is it about love you can't accept?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
To be
Mr. and Mrs. Hush
Mr. and Mrs. Hush
Mr. and Mrs. Hush
Mr. and Mrs. Hush

Photographs Can Lie lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

He was wired, dynamite
And she was rare as treasure
That's not the kind of story
You deny
In a frame, under glass
They'll always be together
And so in love, but photographs
Can lie

Now they say I have the gaze
That must recall my father
Saying, "He's my knight,
My bright morning sun"
Now I am mourning everyone

See him now, know he cheats
Why can't she see through him?
He used to be more valiant
Than vain
Put him on a pedestal
And it's a long way down there
I'll never be his little girl
Again

Now they say I have the gaze
That must recall my father
Saying, "He's my knight,
My bright morning sun"
Now I am mourning everyone

Someone else will look at me
And think he is my lover
Developing the image
In his eye
In a frame, under glass
We'll always be together
And so in love, but photographs
Can lie

Dishonor The Stars lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

If you wake and chance to look above you
There's one I named to show how much I love you
Hanging up high

Poets long have written and have sung
Of moonlight and some distant satellite
And when we're young we wish upon them

Other men may only dream to kiss you
But it's not a thrill like this
Put your lips a little closer to my cheek
Then whisper, then speak
So, tell me if you know
How deep can this thing go?

Honey will still desire the flowers
And there will be a love like ours
Until the sky dishonours the stars

What in the world would all this amount to?
If I can't tell you how much I want you
On such a night the sky might dishonour the stars
Disown and dishonour the stars

Poets long have written and have sung
Of moonlight and some distant satellite
And when we're young we wish upon them

Other men may only dream to kiss you
But it's not a thrill like this
Put your lips a little closer to my
Cheek then whisper, then speak
So, tell me if you know
How deep can this thing go?

Honey will still desire the flowers
And there will be a love like ours
Until the sky dishonours the stars

What in the world would all this amount to?
If I can't tell you how much I want you
On such a night the sky might dishonour the stars
Disown and dishonour the stars

Suspect My Tears lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

Do you remember how to say please?
You've had your own way for such a long time
Your lashes sweep down, I dry your cheek
You think I'm powerless when you speak
You may have something, I don't deny
You look so beautiful when you cry

If I seem unconcerned
Perhaps it's time you learned

I'll cry until you suspect my tears
I'll cry until you suspect my tears
You're not the only one who can turn it on
When oh when you need it

Do you remember how bad it felt?
Big eyes would fill up, your lip would tremble
You want to hurt me, but then you melt
You always promise to lose control

I learned the trick that you used to play
I'm tired of you having it your own way
With the power to persuade
Beginning to cascade

I'll cry until you suspect my tears
I'll cry until you suspect my tears
You're not the only one who can turn it on
When oh when you need it

If you hear me weeping
I may be cheating or just laughing inside
If you're suspicious
That I'm sly and vicious
Here's your chance to decide
Two hypocrites collide

I'll cry until you suspect my tears
I'll cry until you suspect my tears
You're not the only one who can turn it on
When oh when you need it
Oh when you need it

I'll cry until you suspect my tears
I'll cry until you suspect my tears
You're not the only one who can turn it on
When oh when you need it
Oh when you need it

I'll cry until you suspect my tears
I'll cry until you suspect my tears
I'll cry until you suspect my tears
I'll cry until you suspect my tears

Why Won't Heaven Help Me? lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

I set off alarms and fire off flares
Cause sometimes they answer prayers
I'm listening
I wait for some distant bell to ring

Why won't heaven help me?
(Far, far away)
Why won't heaven help me?
(It's so hard to say)
Why won't heaven help me?

Hey you out there!
Even if you dare...
Take care of your wishes
If you find they do come true
You may regret that too

Why won't heaven help me?
Why won't heaven help me?

Remember the thrill that followed praise
While dressed for a lover's gaze
The moment when
You saw through the lies of older men

Why won't heaven help me?
(Far, far away)
Why won't heaven help me?
(It's so hard to say)
Why won't heaven help me?

Hey you out there!
Even if you dare...
Take care of your wishes
If you find they do come true
You may regret that too

Why won't heaven help me?
(Why won't heaven)
Why won't heaven help me?
(Why won't heaven)
Why won't heaven help me?
(Why won't heaven)

I sensed this was wrong but take my word
I thought somehow I'd be spared
Alone again
Believe what you want of me
'Til then

Why won't heaven help me?
(Far, far away)
Why won't heaven help me?
(It's so hard to say)
Why won't heaven help me?

Hey you out there!
Even if you dare...
Take care of your wishes
If you find they do come true
You may regret that too

Why won't heaven help me?
(Why won't heaven)
Why won't heaven help me?
(Why won't heaven)
Why won't heaven help me?
(Why won't heaven)

He's Given Me Things lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

He's given me things you never would have
And if you did you'd want them back
Forgiven me things I didn't know that
I had done, but just faded to black

He's given me time and consolation
Some verses to read and lines to say
I will stay here for a while now
He call me "child" now
But it works that way

He's given me things you couldn't guess at
I don't mean jewels although they were fine
A way to depart, one way to enter
A right to dismiss upon a whim
When I close the door and you're supposing
I kick up my heels and then I scream
"Why was I chosen?" You'll never know
What I give to him

He's given me things you never thought of
Because they were not yours to give
So take this pill and tranquilize
And roll your eyes at the husbands
Not the customer's wives

He's forgiven me trials and tears and tantrums
And even all my false alarms
You sat there amused while I was crying
And just seemed to sigh but that's money can buy
And now I know why I come back to him
And now I know why you'll never do

Who are you?
Out there with one penny
You are so many
And we are so few

So cover the canvas if you're leaving
There's a bowl in the hallways to wash your hands
If the waters runs black please leave some silver
Then step past the glass and never come back
I'm living up here and you can see me
Yes, you can look but you can't touch
'Cause you don't belong, the air is thin here
You may asphyxiate my dear
For didn't you tell me "You should hold me"
"Oh please, you must hold me, as if I were hung"
To think you were exciting when love was frightening
But I was so young

He's given me things you never dreamed of
Where hopes are dashed and trash is praised
He has an awful lot of money
The past can be bought and then erased

Isabelle In Tears lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

Isabelle in tears, Isabelle is ringing
Saying, "I need you near to me,
But a telephone just isn't worth the flinging
Like a book or that ashtray that I aimed at your head
I'd rather see you dead"
But it's not as it appears so I tripped up the stairs
To find Isabelle in tears

Isabelle remains Isabelle in tethers
Wears a flimsy negligee of innocence and feathers
She says, "That's a good idea" as she pours herself a shot
But she can't get the genius back into the bottle
"After you're kind you'll find that no-one cares"
So her lovers and her fears leave Isabelle in tears

And I left her standing out there in the rain calling my name
As I pulled away pretending that I'd never met her

Oh, you never know the thrill of the Isabelle of memory
They say she was a bombshell who turned to an incendiary
Till the whole town burned down and returned into the earth
Can you admit your love? Can you confess her worth?
That the slant of time obscures and on certain nights appears
Like Isabelle in tears
That the slant of time obscures and on certain nights appears
Like Isabelle in tears

Adieu Paris (L'envie Des Etoiles) lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

Adieu, Paris
Mon, ancien amour
O, Adieu Paris
Could I have loved you much less,
or wanted you more?
O, Adieu...

Regarde la lumière
Et regarde ton regard
I looked in your eyes,
so long and hard
L'envie des étoiles

L'écho de nos rires
Au milieu des débris
O, Adieu Paris
You've taken back all
That you've given to me
O, Adieu...

Regarde la lumière
Et regarde ton regard
I looked in your eyes,
so long and hard
L'envie des étoiles

Après la tristesse
Larmes sur la page
Après la douleur
Le premier cri de rage
Seulement silence
Alors étudie mon visage
Ce sera le dernier,
que vous voyez de moi
Adieu, mes amis
L'envie des étoiles
So long, fare thee well, mes amis
O Adieu, Paris

Regarde la lumière
Et regarde ton regard
I looked in your eyes,
so long and hard
Adieu, Paris
Mon, ancien amour
O, Adieu...

Regarde la lumière...
I looked in your eyes,
so long and hard
Adieu, Paris
Mon, ancien amour
Adieu, Paris
Mon, ancien amour
Adieu, Paris
Mon, ancien amour
Adieu

The Final Mrs. Curtain lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

He was a plain piece of paper, an ordinary smith
The kind that you never trifle with
Drawn in wide-eyeliner, a solitary lass
Her beauty veiled by tortoiseshell and tinted glass

She was a husband collector of impeccable taste
She said, "My hands are tied but my glass is chaste"
He said, "If I were him, I'd fill that to the brim, so tell me more,
'Cause that's the kind of talk that I adore"

To lay with you
To lie with you
To live with you
Maybe die with you
As first love fades
Then two, then three
I'm certain to see
The Final Mrs. Curtain

There's not enough paper, there's not enough ink
There's not enough hours in the day, or poisons to drink
But there are too many teardrops that are still left to cry
And different kinds of kisses to help them dry

To lay with you
To lie with you
To live with you
Maybe die with you
As first love fades
Then two, then three
I'm certain to see
The Final Mrs. Curtain

To lay with you
To lie with you
To live with you
Maybe die with you
I'm the one who'll hold you
Till we're through
The Final Mrs. Curtain

You Shouldn't Look At Me That Way lyrics - Elvis Costello and The Imposters

Am I fine, am I pleasing
Are you pitying, are you teasing
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Should a glance from you, just shoot through me
If a glimpse of you could undo me
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Time among all of your enemies
Leaves you nothing but bitter memories
From the first splash of affection
To avoiding your own reflection
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Now the flashbulbs may dazzle
While you're figuring out this puzzle
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Don't take more than I offer
All my love or I'll make you suffer
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Time among all of your enemies
Makes disguises from drastic remedies
From the first splash of detection
To avoiding your own reflection
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

You shouldn't look at me that way

Elvis Costello other songs:


 

Anyone Who Had A Heart lyrics - Elvis Costello

(Live In London at Royal Festival Hall, October 29, 1998)

Anyone who ever loved
Would look at me and know that I love you
Anyone who ever dreamed
Would look at me and know I dream of you
Knowing I love you so

Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in her arms and love me too
You couldn't really have a heart
And hurt me like you hurt me
And be so untrue
What am I to do?

Every time you go away
I always say
"This time it's goodbye, dear."
Loving you the way I do
I take you back
Without you I'd die, dear
Knowing I love you so

Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in her arms and love me too
You couldn't really have a heart
And hurt me like you hurt me
And be so untrue
What am I to do?

Knowing I love you so

Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in her arms and love me too
You couldn't really have a heart
And hurt me like you hurt me
And be so untrue

Anyone who had a heart would love me too
Anyone who had a heart would surely take me in her arms and always love me
Why can't you?

Anyone who had a heart would love me too
Anyone who had a heart would surely take me in her arms and always love me
Why can't you?

Anyone who had a heart would love me too
Anyone who had a heart would surely take me in her arms and always love me
Why can't you?

Blue Minute lyrics - Elvis Costello

Blue minute, blue minute, blue minute
I don't know how I got in it
I thought about you for a while
And then I tried to dial you anyway
Can't get you out of my day

I tried to get you off my mind
I'm better off without your kind
Then I get along just fine for a day or two
But now that I'm on my own again
I find that every now and then
Something always seems to remind me of you

Blue minute, blue minute, blue minute
I don't know how I got in it
I thought about you for a while
And then I tried to dial you anyway
Can't get you out of my day

Why oh why do you affect me this way
Oh I get that helpless feeling any time any day

Blue minute, blue minute, blue minute
I don't know how I got in it
I thought about you for a while
And then I tried to dial you anyway
Can't get you out of my day
Can't get you out of my day
Can't get you out of my day
Blue minute, blue minute, blue minute

But Not For Me lyrics - Elvis Costello (feat. Larry Adler)

Old man sunshine, listen you
Never tell me dreams come true
Just try it and I'll start a riot
Beatrix Fairfax, don't you dare
Ever tell me she will care

I'm certain it's the final curtain
I never want to hear from any cheerful Pollyannas
Who tell you fate provides a mate
It's all bananas

They're writing songs of love
But not for me
A lucky star's above
But not for me
With love to lead the way
I've found more skies of gray
Than any Russian play could guarantee

I was a fool to fall and get that way
Hi ho alas and also lackaday
Although I can't dismiss
The memory of her kiss
I guess she's not for me

I was a fool to fall and get that way
Hi ho alas and also lackaday
Although I can't dismiss
The memory of her kiss
I guess she's not for me
I guess she's not for me

Here, There And Everywhere lyrics - Elvis Costello & The Imposters

(originally by The Beatles)

To lead a better life
I need my love to be here

Here
Making each day of the year
Changing my life with a wave of her hand
Nobody can deny that there's something there

There
Running my hands through her hair
Both of us thinking how good it can be
No one is speaking, but she doesn't know he's there

I want her everywhere
And if she's beside me I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere

Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching her eyes
And hoping I'm always there

I will be there and everywhere
Here, there and everywhere

Honeyhouse (Cruel No. 2) lyrics - Elvis Costello

I exit through the spotlight glare
I stepped out into thin air
Into a perfume so rarefied
Here comes the bride

Not quite aside, they snide, she's number four
There's number three just by the door
Those in the know, don't even flatter her, they go one better
She was selling speedboats in a trade show when he met her

Look at her now
She's starting to yawn
She looks like she was born to it
But it was so much easier
When I was cruel

She reaches out her arms to me
Imploring another melody
So she can dance her husband out on the floor
The captains of industry just
Lie there where they fall

In eau-de-nil and pale carnation creation
A satin sash and velvet elevation
She straightens the tipsy head-dress of her spouse
While hers recalls a honey house

There'll be no sorrows left to drown
Early in the morning in your evening gown
But it was so much easier
When I was cruel

The entrance hall was arranged
With hostesses and ushers
Who turned out to be the younger wives
Nursing schoolgirl crushes

Parting the waves of those
Few feint friends
Fingers once offered are now too
Heavy to extend

The ghostly first wife glides up
On stage, whispering to raucous talkers
Spilling family secrets out to
Flunkey's and castrato walkers
See that girl, watch that scene
Digging the dancing queen

Two newspaper editors like playground sneaks
Running a book on which of them is going to last the week
One of them calls to me and he says, I know you
You gave me this tattoo back in '82

You were a spoilt child then with a record to plug
And I was a shaven headed, seaside thug
Things haven't really changed that much
One of us is still getting paid too much

There are some things I [?] report
The memory of his last retort
But it was so much easier
When I was cruel, oh

Look at me now, she's starting to yawn
She looks like she was born to it
Ah, but it was so much easier
When I was cruel

I'll Still Love You lyrics - Elvis Costello

(originally by Johnny Cash)

One of these mornings
I'm gonna rise up flying
One of these mornings
I'll sail away

Beyond the blue
I've gotta promise
There's a world ahead
I want you to know that when I come
I'll still love you
I'll still love you

I won't be a stranger
When I get to heaven
'Cause you gave me heaven
Right here on earth
If I get rewarded
With an ancient heart of gold
[?] for what it's worth
I'll still love you

One of these mornings
When my trouble's over
One of these morning
When all my suffering is through
I'll go out singing
It'll be a day to sing about
And I'll guarantee for eternity
I'll still love you
I'll still love you

I'll still love you
I'll still love you

Let Me Roll It lyrics - Elvis Costello & The Imposters

You gave me something
I understand
You gave me loving in the palm of my hand

I can't tell you how I feel
My heart is like a wheel
Let me roll it
Let me roll it to you
Let me roll it
Let me roll it to you

I want to tell you
And now's the time
I want to tell you that
You're going to be mine

I can't tell you how I feel
My heart is like a wheel
Let me roll it
Let me roll it to you
Let me roll it
Let me roll it to you

You gave me something
I understand
You gave me loving in the palm of my hand

I can't tell you how I feel
My heart is like a wheel
Let me roll it
Let me roll it to you
Let me roll it
Let me roll it to you

Magnificent Hurt (Remix) lyrics - Elvis Costello, The Imposters & chelmico

[Rachel:]
Shita o dashite sonobashinogi
Airashī sono ko shibai
Mirai mitaina shinajī
Shisen no oku ni wa mada mu i wadachi

Kawaiito kanashī wa kamihitoe
Wakaranainara sono sakini tobe
Taimingu wa osokare hayakare
Wakaranainara soko no kami ni toe

2tsu no engi kakeru tenbin
Kara mawaru made fukasu enjin
Boku ni wa nai sekinin
Kimi no katachi ni nuritsubushita sutenshiru
Nan datte shitterushi
Dokoni datte ikeru bokutachi

It's the way you make me feel, magnificent hurt

[Mamiko:]
Kore matamata mukashi no hanashi
Sōtei-gaina boku no me o choromakashi
Akai sora no shita mō dō surya ī
Iunareba kore wakagenoitari
Eda kara ringo ochiru toki
Boku no kokoro mo mata ochikomi
Tokidoki wakan'naku naru
Yueni kimi ni muchū subete sasagete ita
Rikai shitai
Shigeki-zai o nonde aruku
Kimi wa ippo rīdo itsu datte
Itsu datte kimi wa boku o warau
Korya migotona hodo no itamida

It's the way you make me feel, magnificent hurt

I stood at the door, and I almost went through with it
Tight as the angle of my amen and I swore

To ゙ u shiyō mo nai
Kimi ka ゙ sonoke ni sa seru toki
Furimawasare ni itteru
Waraeyo
To ゙ u shiyō mo nai
Kimi ka ゙ sonoke ni sa seta toki
Itaiyo kuse ni natteru
Baka nanoha to ゙ tchi

It's the way you make me feel, magnificent hurt

I stood at the door, and I almost went through with it
Tight as the angle of my amen
And I swore

To ゙ u shiyō mo nai
Kimi ka ゙ sonoke ni sa seru toki
Furimawasare ni itteru
Waraeyo
Utsukushi suki ゙ru kimi
Yurushi wa shi ゙-meta kokoro to karada
Mō tomaru koto wanai
Shigeki-teki sa
Ā itai na

[Japanese:]

[Rachel:]
舌を出してその場しのぎ
愛らしいその小芝居
未来みたいなシナジー
視線の奥にはまだ無い轍

可愛いと悲しいは紙一重
分からないならその先に飛べ
タイミングは遅かれ早かれ
分からないならそこの神に問え

2つの演技 かける天秤
から回るまでふかすエンジン
僕には無い責任
君の形に塗りつぶしたステンシル
なんだって知ってるし
どこにだって行ける僕たち

It's the way you make me feel, magnificent hurt

[Mamiko:]
これまたまた昔のハナシ
想定外な僕の目をちょろまかし
赤い空の下もうどうすりゃいい
いうなればこれ若気の至り
枝からりんご落ちる時
僕の心もまた落ちこみ
時々分かんなくなる
故に君に夢中全て捧げていた
理解したい
刺激剤を飲んで歩く
君は一歩リードいつだって
いつだって君は僕を笑う
こりゃ見事なほどの痛みだ

It's the way you make me feel, magnificent hurt

I stood at the door, and I almost went through with it
Tight as the angle of my amen and I swore

どうしようもない
きみがその気にさせる時
振り回されにいってる
笑えよ
どうしようもない
きみがその気にさせた時
痛いよ クセになってる
バカなのはどっち

It's the way you make me feel, magnificent hurt

I stood at the door, and I almost went through with it
Tight as the angle of my amen
And I swore

どうしようもない
きみがその気にさせる時
振り回されにいってる
笑えよ
美しすぎるきみ
許しはじめた心と身体
もう止まることはない
刺激的さ
ああ痛いな

Make It Easy On Yourself lyrics - Elvis Costello

(Live In London at Royal Festival Hall, October 29, 1998)

'Cause breaking up is so very hard to do

If you really love him
And there's nothing I can do
Don't try to spare my feelings
Just tell me that we're through

And make it easy on yourself
Make it easy on yourself
'Cause breaking up is so very hard to do

And if the way I hold you
Can't compare to his caress
No words of consolation
Will make me miss you less

My darling, if this is goodbye
I just know I'm gonna cry
So run to him
Before you start crying too

And make it easy on yourself
Make it easy on yourself
'Cause breaking up is so very hard to do

It's so hard to do
It's so hard to do

My Little Red Book lyrics - Elvis Costello

(Live In London at Royal Festival Hall, October 29, 1998)

I just got out my little red book
The moment that you said goodbye
I thumbed right through my little red book
I wasn't gonna sit and cry

And I went from A to Z
I called up every pretty girl in town
They danced with me and as I held them

All I did was talk about you
Hear your name and I'd start to cry
There's just no getting over you

No girl who's in my little red book
Just ever could replace your charms
And each girl in my little red book
Knows you're the one I'm thinking of

Won't you please come back to me?
Without your precious love I can't go on
Where can you be? I need you so much

All I do is to talk about you
Hear your name and I start to cry
There is just no getting over you

Won't you please come back to me?
Without your precious love I can't go on
Where can you be? I need you so much

All I do is to talk about you
Hear your name and I start to cry
There is just no getting over you

All I do is to talk about you
Hear your name and I start to cry
There is just no getting over you

I just got out my little red book
I just got out my little red book
I just got out my little red book

Out Of Time lyrics - Elvis Costello & The Imposters

(originally by The Rolling Stones)

You don't know what's going on
You've been away for far too long
You can't come back and think you are still mine
You're out of touch my baby
My poor discarded baby
I said, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

Well, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
I said, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
Yes, you are left out, yeah, you're out of there without a doubt
Baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

You thought you was a clever girl
Giving up your social whirl
You can't come back and be the first in line
You're obsolete, my baby
My poor old-fashioned baby
I said baby, baby, baby you're out of time

Yeah, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
I said, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
Yes, you are left out
Yeah, you're out of there without a doubt
Baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

Oh, oh, oh, baby, baby, baby you're out of time
I said, baby, baby, baby you're out of time
Yes, you are left out
Yeah, you're out of there without a doubt
Baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

Oh, yeah
Baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
I said, baby, baby, baby you're out of time
You're left out
Yeah, you're out of there without a doubt
Baby, baby, baby, you're out of time

Phonographic Memory lyrics - Elvis Costello

"We have not come so much to a fork in the road, as a fork on the plate, scraping the last lick off the gravy train of history"

There was nervous laughter round from the dais that rolled outwards through the crowd on a breeze that rustled flags and banners.

It was the voice of Orson Welles, his baritone coming to us over decades of dead silence through a metallic tannoy, each word meticulously tape-spliced from various soundtracks and radio broadcasts in the Library of Congress.

It wowed the crowd before it fluttered and faltered as the powder of lost oxide caused a catch in his voice just as the spool ran out.

Curiously, the simulated address seemed to be delivered in the same, strange, stage-Irish accent that Welles had possibly purloined from the actor, Michael MacLiammóir, when he had bluffed his way onto the Dublin stage as a teenager.

Now it was just one in a queue of immigrant inflections that might have taken the day.

It was also the voice that Orson had used in "Lady From Shanghai". You know, the one with the shootout amidst the shattered reflections of fun house mirrors.

Few remembered that motion picture now.

One man in the third row remarked to his wife that he seemed to remember this voice selling him sweet sherry in his youth but there were many in the crowd who knew nothing of this "Citizen" and the "Kane" he had once raised, back when the worst one could imagine was an invasion from another sphere.

After the peace was negotiated and the internet switched off, knowledge returned to its medieval cloister, in this and that illuminated volume, the jealous possession of the pious and the superstitious, who might once again wield ignorance like a scythe.

There were but dimly remembered facsimiles after many of the public libraries had been torched. Untouched books now went for the price of a Vuitton handbag.

Ever since the U.S. Mint was sucked dry and spat out, bookworms paid for rare tomes with wheelbarrows full of banknotes, some of them worthless Confederate money, stashed in plinths of various toppled statues.

They bartered it on a Mississippi square with the irony and arrogance of victors.

None of it helped the healing.

Yet in the absence of a noble woman or a statesman equal to the task, a tireless engineer had magically assembled the random words of Welles' oration into a speech worthy of the occasion from the depths of the national archive.

President Swift gave a slight, shy smile of pearl and pillar-box red and began to sing a plain song of her acceptance.

Smile lyrics - Elvis Costello

(originally by Nat King Cole)

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by

If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
For you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear
May be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on tryin'
Smile, what's the use of cryin'
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'd just smile

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear
May be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on tryin'
Smile, what's the use of cryin'
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you'd just smile

Smile

So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star lyrics - Elvis Costello & The Imposters

So you want to be a rock-and-roll star?
Then listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
Then take some time and learn how to play

And with your hair swung right
And your pants too tight
It's gonna be all right

Then it's time to go downtown
Where the agent man won't let you down
Sell your soul to the company
Who's waiting there to sell plastic ware

And in a week or two if you make the charts
The girls'll tear you apart

The price you paid for your riches and fame
Was it all a strange game?
You're a little insane
The money, the fame
And the public acclaim
Don't forget what you are
You're a rock-and-roll star

La, la la la la la, la la la la la la
La la la la la

La, la la la la la, la la la la la la
La la la la la

Someone Else's Heart lyrics - Elvis Costello

I got nosy and I read her letters
I read her diary it's the same story and nothing better
The words remind me of someone else's heart
Has gone and left a mark

And the pop music plays
On the local radio
There's people on the streets but no one that I know
And like my heart is now
I know not where they go

Same words different meaning
Same heart different feeling
So much for him so much for her 'cause that's past
Now I know about that someone else's heart

She got nosy and read my letters too
And my notebook surprised to find that
Love is not so new
So we both took
Someone else's heart
And walked it through the dark

A feeling so rich
I turned around to laugh
We had both indulged in each other's past
To find out that our love
Was true enough to last

Same words different meaning
Same heart different feeling
So much for him so much for her 'cause that's past
Now I know about that someone else's heart

(Someone else's heart)
Now I know about that someone else's heart

That's Me lyrics - Elvis Costello

(from "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" soundtrack)

Am I fine, am I pleasing
Are you pitying, are you teasing
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Should a glance from you, just shoot through me
If a glimpse of you could undo me
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Time among all of your enemies
Leaves you nothing but bitter memories
From the first splash of affection
To avoiding your own reflection
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Now the flashbulbs may dazzle
While you're figuring out this puzzle
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Don't take more than I offer
All my love or I'll make you suffer
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

Time among all of your enemies
Makes disguises from drastic remedies
From the first splash of detection
To avoiding your own reflection
You shouldn't look at me
You shouldn't look at me that way

You shouldn't look at me that way

Truth Drug - Memphis Magnetic Version lyrics - Elvis Costello & The Imposters

I've been taking the truth drug
I've been telling a friend
It's alright
I've been up all night

I've been taking the lid off
I've been telling a friend
Like it is
In the mood to fizz

Rushing here and there
Talking everywhere
I'll see everything
'Cause I don't care

Hands are getting wet
Drugs are feeling warm
I'm a modern boy
In the whole light of dawn
On the truth drug
On the truth drug baby

I've been taking the truth drug
I've been telling a friend
It's wonderful
Like an animal

I've been taking the truth drug
I've been telling a friend
It's alright
I've been up all night

One more
One more
One more

When I Was Cruel No. 1 lyrics - Elvis Costello

Did you talk your way out of this?
Did someone flip your switch?
Now there is only right or wrong
Can you tell which is which?

But it was so much easier
When I was cruel

Why did you leave your happy home?
Why did you travel far abroad?
So you could sleep with strangers?
You must have heard just how absurd
The words poured out of you, you fraud
I guess you don't know what pain is

So dont pretend you're innocent
Do I look like your fool?
I guess you have forgotten
When I was cruel

Oh, when I was cruel, I could make you so unhappy
Lonely cowards followed me like ghouls
And you liked me too, when I was cruel
Oh, you know you did

But if you should feel anything, a signal from within
Go back in your laboratory and try to dial it in
And if you should feel anything, a signal from without
Abandon your dreams of vengence

So don't protest your innocence
The truth is hard to judge
Perhaps you have forgetten when
I had a grudge

Oh, but I was cruel and I would make you very sorry
Lonely cowards followed me like ghouls
And you liked me too, when I was cruel
Oh, you know you did

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong About Me lyrics - Elvis Costello

(from "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" soundtrack)

Well you look down your noses
When anyone's having fun
I guess you can't remember
What it's like to be young

You got no fun lovin' spirit left in you at all
Just two young lovers here tryin' to have a ball
It's people like you
Who think that heaven's the place to be

But you're wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong about me
Well you've lied to your children
About what's good and bad
And you falsify the truth
About all the fun that you've had

You always act so goody-goody
With your "thank you, dear" and "please"
But you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong about me
In summation just to bring this to a close

I bet you've done some things yourself
That nobody's supposed to know
Don't forget who you're talkin' to, dear
Because everything you do I see

But you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong about me
Ten commandments, hell!
With me, there's only one
Each individual has the right
The fella next to you has none
You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong about me

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