Changing Partners lyrics - Elvis Costello

We were dancing together to a dreamy melody
When they called out "Change partners"
And you waltzed away from me
Now my arms feel so empty as I gaze around the floor
And I'll keep on changing partners
Till I hold you once more

Though we danced for one moment and too soon we had to part
In that wonderful moment somethin' happened to my heart
So I'll keep changing partners till you're in my arms and then
Oh, my darlin' I will never change partners again

Though we danced for one moment and too soon we had to part
In that wonderful moment somethin' happened to my heart
So I'll keep changing partners till you're in my arms and then
Oh, my darlin' I will never change partners again

"Momofuku" (2008)

No Hiding Place lyrics - Elvis Costello

In the not very distant future
When everything will be free
There won't be any cute secrets
Let alone any novelty

You can say anything you want to
In your fetching cloak of anonymity
Are you feeling out of breath now?
In your desperate pursuit of infamy

Two lovers rocking up and down
In an elevator
15 minutes later
They'll make a killing in the market
They know how to work it
On that close circuit
My, my, it's a terrible disgrace
You'll find these days that there's
No Hiding Place

How proud you are
You got the knack
Of howling in a vacuum
Whatever I said about you
I didn't say it behind your back

I paid for my immortal sins
I know the enemy within you
As it seems these days
There is no hiding place

Next time someone wants to hurt you
Or set alight your effigy
Don't call on me to help you out
Don't come crying to me for sympathy
You stay there with your daubs and scratches
While I summon up the red machine
I'll be handing somebody matches
And carrying a can of kerosene

Walk up to me
And say what you said
Let's see how brave you are
When I'm about this far

You sit in judgment and bitch
Well, baby that's rich
You're nothing but a snitch

My, my, it's a terrible disgrace
My, my, it's a terrible disgrace
My, my, it's a terrible disgrace
You'll find these days that there's
No Hiding Place

American Gangster Time lyrics - Elvis Costello

One, two, three, four

Somewhere downtown a pretty girl kneels
Offers her soft lips and a handful of pills
Peels off her dress and then the rest of her skills
It buys what she wants and the rest she just steals

He speaks between deep swallows of rum
While her head is beating like a big bass drum
And she wishes he were mute and not just dumb
When the trick asked her quick, "Did you come?"

It's a drag
Saluting that starry rag
I'd rather go blind
For speaking my mind
Or use it just like a gag
So raise it in anger
Just let it hang
American Gangster Time

He sits back and starts to invent
All about some Saigon correspondent
"'Til the carbine fell silent and spent
I never knew it could be so eloquent"

Next week there'll be some fashionable new sin
For each harlot and each Puritan
Pull off their wings stick them on a pin
And just watch the money roll in

It's a drag
Saluting that starry rag
I'd rather go blind
For speaking my mind
Or use it just like a gag
So raise it in anger
Just let it hang
American Gangster Time

What you got hidden up your sleeve?
The tracks of the train that were bidding you to leave
When they say that you should flatter to deceive
Don't count on any reprieve

The hands of the helpless are raised
Your dead little secrets are praised
The people stand dumbstruck and dazed
By the inches that you have erased

It's a drag
Saluting that starry rag
I'd rather go blind
For speaking my mind
Or use it just like a gag
So raise it in anger
Just let it hang
American gangster time
Committing the perfect crime
In American Gangster Time

Here we go
Bye bye
American Gangster Time

Turpentine lyrics - Elvis Costello

I can't tell if this is real or if I am sleeping
I'll embroider the truth
And that's so I shall reap
I took things that didn't belong to me
I didn't mean to do you wrong

Looking back on all that stolen time
Back when I was drinking turpentine
Don't blame me
I only took you in
It takes time to do the poisoning
So let's close the door on this and lock it

And that's all it will ever be
Just an accident of chemistry

You did everything to me but stopped short of murder
Couldn't move me much closer to keeping my word
While the crowds threw stones at the hangman
The sky fell down
The bells rang

Looking back on all that stolen time
Back when I was drinking turpentine
Don't blame me
I only took you in
It takes time to do the poisoning
So let's close the door on this and lock it

And that's all that it will ever be
Just an accident of chemistry

Airless shaft of an underground railway
Effete assassin with a hawk in a sack
The earth will offer us in when our hearts fail
As it swallowed the river running under the track
Under the track yeah

I can't tell if I'm dreaming or if I'll awaken
With a song in my heart that is longing to break
Let it out and let it fly high
Up where the spires scrape the sky

Looking back on all that stolen time
Back when I was drinking turpentine
Don't blame me
I only took you in
It takes time to do the poisoning
So let's close the door on this and lock it

And that's all that it will ever be
Just an accident of history
Yeah

Airless shaft of an underground railway
Cute assassin with a hawk in a sack
The earth will offer us in when our hearts fail
Swallowed the river running under the track
That's right

Harry Worth lyrics - Elvis Costello

I met them first on their wedding night
Faces were flushed by their pledges plight
We passed in the hall and I met them well
But as their carriage arrived, I found that I couldn't quite tell them

It's not very far from tears to mirth
There are not many moments that will capture your breath
It's not very long that you spend on this earth
She'd never know just what Harry was worth
She'll never know

He walked the wet sands of summertime
Rain beat the window in drummertime
Cruel with his humour
She was quick with her tongue
But though a year had passed
The honeymoon didn't last
Somehow they didn't seem young

It's not very far from tears to mirth
There are not many moments that will capture your breath
It's not very long that you spend on this earth
She'd never know just what Harry was worth
She'll never know

They're on their holidays
But they still find a reason to fight
No matter how long they stay
Can't make the rest of the year right

Five years had passed 'til I happened along
He said, "Do you hear that noise? Well, that once was our song"
I looked in her eyes and saw barely a spark
He laughed too loud then he drank until dark

It's not very far from tears to mirth
It's not many moments that will capture your breath
It's not very long that you spend on this earth
She'd never know just what Harry was worth
She'll never know what Harry was worth
She'll never know what Harry was worth
No, she'll never know what Harry was worth
She'll never know what Harry was worth
No, she'll never know what Harry was worth
She'll never know what Harry was worth

Drum & Bone lyrics - Elvis Costello

Maybe we're nothing but skin and bone
Blare and rubber
Eyes that blubber
Teeth that bite
Hands that slight

And I'm trying to do the best I can
But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man

Maybe we're nothing but skin and bone
Nerves that shatter
Tongues that flatter
Lips that mutter
Lashes that flutter

Mounds of dust and lips of ripe
Twice as vicious
As the words I type
Under a ribbon
Of every stripe

There's a grip that tightens
A dark that frightens
A wise that crackles
A fear that shackles

And I'm trying to do the best I can
But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man

And then that kinder creation
Becomes a fine fixation
All of a sudden
With the parts we've hidden
Because they are forbidden

Beneath a hide of pain
You'll find a soul of stain
While fists still beat
At heart's deceit

And I'm trying to do the best I can
But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man

Maybe with nothing but a drum and drone
I want to beat it 'til I get unknown

Pig some skin
Stretch it tight
Make myself up overnight

Maybe this is nothing but drum and drone
Wanna beat it 'til I get unknown

Dig my pin
Kick up some stink
Find myself a brand new kink

Prick that berry
And squeeze this ink
Scratch out all of the words I think
Before your very eyes can blink

And I'm trying to do the best I can
But I'm a limited, primitive kind of man

Flutter & Wow lyrics - Elvis Costello

Last rays of sunlight die
Full moon begins to rise
Reflected in your eyes

I can't believe that this is happening
You make the motor in me
Flutter and Wow

The crowd was gathering
The clock struck five, then ten
My happy tears were descending

I can't believe that this is happening
You make the motor in me
Flutter and Wow

Flutter and Wow
Flutter and Wow
You make the motor in me
Flutter and Wow
Flutter and how

The incident tape across the bed
Threading it from the reel to the head
I'm planting this thought in a magnetic field
And pushing the button
And all of a sudden
Erase everything rotten
Fascinated and uptight
Make me shout out loud
Make me cry all day and night

My voice got stuck in my throat...
Pulled my hand up into the sleeve of my coat
So you'd never know how it was shaking

I can't believe that this is happening
You make the motor in me
Flutter and Wow

Flutter and Wow
Flutter and Wow

You make the motor in me
Start up and stop again
When I am spluttering
You make the motor in me
Flutter and wow
Flutter and how
Flutter and wow
Flutter and how
To the bridge

The incident tape across the bed
Threading it from the reel to the head
I'm planting this thought in a magnetic field
And pressing the button
And all of a sudden
Erase everything rotten
Fascinated and uptight
Make me shout out loud
Make me cry all day and night

Stella Hurt lyrics - Elvis Costello

You should wear your red galoshes
Walking o'er the city pride
Streets are paved with heaven's pennies
Gutters full of suicides

Teddy steadily fell from grace
Somewhere near Arcadia
Once she overheard a voice
That she didn't hear on the radio

Velvet gloves and country clubs
Were never going to hold her
Ringing the necks of silly
Southern belles
Who wanted to scold her

Don't bring me down
I'm trouble bound
Blue song
Red Alert
Who made Stella Hurt?

Teddy soon dropped out of sight
Turned up in another town
Changed her name for the spotlight
Singing like a blue bird in a sequin gown

She finally fell and married well
But I knew it wouldn't last
Reversing back into the limelight
No one ever saw her even half-plastered

Don't bring me down
I'm trouble bound
Blue song
Red Alert
Who made Stella Hurt?

Then she saw those soldier boys
Throw their bonnets in the air
Self-made men would pledge their fortunes
And dream of her
And dream of her...

Generals in the commissary opened up a case of wine
Checked the perfume of the cork
Said "Made in 1929"...

They used her up, to raise morale for money
And Old Glory
Her voice was shot beyond repair
But this is not the last act of this story

The night is black as cracked shellac
Abandoned in an attic
Stella is silent as the grave
Until the needle drags her through the static

Don't bring me down
I'm trouble bound
Blue song
Red Alert
Who made Stella Hurt?

Mr. Feathers lyrics - Elvis Costello

They looked at her this way ever since she was a girl
Mr. Feathers, Mr. Feathers
The echo in every smile that would curl into a leer
Oh my dear, Mr. Feathers is near

The counter is falling
Something is spoiling
It's really appalling
You pleased and you promised
You never saw it through
Nobody knows the damage that we do
Do you carry it with you?

She passed him out in the street
He suddenly seemed so frail
As her fast heart beat
She should kick him anyway
Sharpen her nails...
For eyes that strayed where hands should never stray

She thought she was wanton ever since she was a girl
Mr. Feathers, Mr. Feathers
The kindness in every smile that would curl into a sneer
Oh my dear, Mr. Feathers is near

Her lover is calling
Something is spoiling
It's really appalling

You pleased and you promised
You never saw it through
Nobody knows the damage that we do
The damage that we do

My Three Sons lyrics - Elvis Costello

Day is dawning
Almost sounded like a warning
Wind was rushing through the trees almost roaring
I never thought that I'd become
The proud father of
My three sons

Here's a fragment
Between the shame and the sentiment
For all the years that I might have been absent
I can't do what can't be undone
Oh no, my three sons

I love you more than I can say
What I give to one
The other cannot take away
I bless the day you came to be
With everything that is left to me

Here's your pillow
Go to sleep and I will follow
May you never have any more sorrows
That's not something you can count upon
Still I want it for my three sons
My my
My three sons

Deep in the night I turn cold and sick
But I only curse arithmetic
I bless the day that you came to be
With everything that is left to me

Day is closing
Old men and infants are dozing
That's the kind of life I've chosen
Just see what I've become
The humble father of my three sons
The humbled father of my three sons

Song With Rose lyrics - Elvis Costello

Between last breaths and first regrets
The days dragged on like cigarettes
In the distance martyrs and martinets
Dally, dancing with the empty silhouettes of threats

So, where but heaven does love end
And where on earth does it begin
It's not the kind of love that is pinned
Like a medal
Or presses pennies in a tin

There is hope, and after that, there is only faith
Love like a wraith
Never made me afraid
Consoled as I was by that shade...

Here lie the roses in the ashes
Deep as the barnacles that cling
Just like a lace that runs through everyone and everything

In that other still forever
In that time before the past
I told myself we'd be together
Can you promise me that it will be eternally?

There is hope, and after that, there is only faith
Love like a wraith
Never made me afraid
Consoled as I was
Consoled as I was
Consoled as I was by that shade...

Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve lyrics - Elvis Costello

Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
I think it's time for you to leave
I don't believe that we have met
That's one thing you would not forget

In another time or life
When I was his only wife
When I was his only bride
Before I was torn out from his side

In the orchard apples are withering
In the shadows something is slithering
So go along there if you must
And try to do as I suggest
He's just a gathering of dust

And if he can't recall my name
Tell him to take his time, it's worth recovering
Look at me, and what I'm covered in
I'm covered in shame

I came back looking for my man
Wandered everywhere and then
Stood outside and gazed upon
A beautiful garden, a shimmering pond

See the sunlight on the leaves that dapple
Did you see my little teeth marks on the apple?
Don't close the door on the hand I'm offering
There is always someone on the outside doing all of the suffering

In the orchard, apples are withering
In the shadows, something is slithering
But in another time or life
When I was his only wife
When I was his only bride
Before I was torn out
Before I was torn out
Before I was torn out
From his side

Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
Pardon me, Madam, my name is Eve
I think it's time for one of us to leave

Go Away lyrics - Elvis Costello

Are we rolling?
One, two, one, two, three, four

Here in my little spy movie
With my garter and dagger
And my gag and my cuff
And my gunslinger swagger

You used to be my hand-painted villain
You used to be so thrilling

It's a switch that you're flicking
A fuse you're always tripping
A button that you're pressing
A number that you're pushing

You're always delaying
Denying
And betraying
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

Go Away, Go Away
Why don't you go away?
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

Budapest intrigue
Three hours of black and white
Squinting at subtitles
Through a telescopic sight

Hungarian melody
Repeating endlessly
Is this the end I see?
Approaching in front of me

A switch that you're flicking
A fuse you're always tripping
A button that you're pressing
A number that you're pushing
You're always delaying
Denying
Or betraying
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

Go Away, Go Away
Why don't you go away?
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

In this hysterical epic
Secret passage of the palace
Powder from a hollow ring
Into the poisonous chalice

Unfrocked fondler
In a half moonlit gondola
Pampered hog in a ringlet wig
Gamboled a merry jig

You're always pursuing
But she won't need possessing
Just undoing and undressing
Please don't stop confessing

You're always delaying
Denying
Or betraying
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

Go Away, Go Away
Why don't you go away?
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

In my mystery caper
As I lower my lamp
On a fey little gunsel
Who dreamed of drilling that vamp

I'm walking the shade
Of this silent parade
With my pepper and mace
And my heartbroken face

Rainy railway station
Drowns out a tearful parting
Last canister rolling
On our little melodrama

Is a one-horse opera
A screwball comedy
Mistaken identity
Well, who do you want to be?

A switch that you're flicking
A fuse you're always tripping
A button that you're pressing
A number that you're pushing

You're always delaying
Denying
Or betraying
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

Go Away, Go Away
Why don't you go away?
Why don't you come back, baby?
Why don't you go away?

Hey hey
Why don't you
Go away
Why don't you go away?

"The River In Reverse" (2006) (w/ ALLEN TOUSSAINT)

On Your Way Down lyrics - Elvis Costello

Sunrise
Sunset
Since the beginning it hasn't changed yet
People fly high begin to lose sight
You can't see very clearly when you're in flight

It's high time that you found
The same people you misuse on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down

Vintage wines from the year '62
It's your thing, it's your thing
It pleases you
You got to frown when you cross town
You think it's an honor just to have you around

It's high time that you found
The same dudes you misuse on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down

You think the sun rises and sets for you
But the same sun rises, sets and shines
On the poor folks too
I don't mind you turning round
I myself would even like a little higher ground

It's high time that you found
The same people you walk on on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down
On your way down

Nearer To You lyrics - Elvis Costello

I may do things you don't understand
But remember I'm only doing the best I can
Every little thing I do
I'm trying to get closer to you

Nearer, nearer...

I'm sorry if I seem a little bit stubborn sometimes
I hope I'm not being a nuisance to you
I know you say that you'd be home soon
I've got to be nearer, nearer to you

Every deed I do
I'm trying to get closer to you

Nearer, nearer...

I know you say that you'd be home soon
I've got to be nearer, nearer to you
I've got to be nearer, nearer to you
I've got to be nearer, nearer to you

Tears, Tears And More Tears lyrics - Elvis Costello

Wake up early in the morning
I got you on my mind
Even a simple phone call would suit me just fine

Tears, tears and more tears
I can't help but keep on crying
Tears, tears and more tears
I can't get you off of my mind

You didn't say what happened
You just walked away
You've been nothing but sorrow
And a lot of rainy days

Tears, tears and more tears
Baby won't you please come home
Tears, tears and more tears
Oh you've been gone too long

I remember the good times
The good times we had
How can you leave all that behind
Like it was just another place you've had

Remember the time when we drank sweet wine
I thought that everything was fine
Remember the walk in the park
When we talked about love and peace of mind?
Remember the night when I held you tight
Let the world pass us by
Remember the day when I heard you say
We can make it if we try

Tears, tears and more tears
What happened to the love we had?
Tears, tears and more tears
I got the blues and I got them bad

Wake up early in the morning
I got you on my mind
Even a simple phone call would suit me just fine

Tears, tears and more tears
I can't help but keep on crying
Tears, tears and more tears
I can't get you off of my mind

Tears, tears and more tears
Baby won't you please come home
Tears, tears and more tears
Oh you've been gone too long

The Sharpest Thorn lyrics - Elvis Costello

I wore my finest suit of clothes
The sharpest thorn defending the rose
Hot as a pistol
Keen as a blade
The sharpest thorn upon parade

And it's the same most every year
Ghosts of the dear departed are near
We raise our glasses and we cheer
Should old acquaintance disappear
Just as we wipe away a tear

Archangel Michael will lead the way
Archangel Gabriel is ready to play
Although we know we must repent
We hit the scene and look for sins
That haven't even been invented

The strongest cage that guards the prize
The longest lash that covers your eyes
A sight no eyes are meant to know
Then on the third day he arose

Archangel Michael will lead the way
Archangel Gabriel is ready to play
Although we know we must repent
We hit the scene and look for sins
That haven't even been invented

So Good and Evil were having a fight
It lasts much longer than any one night
It may last longer than a life
And turn a mistress into a wife

And so confetti fills the air
My head is aching
My pockets are bare
I didn't recognise their warning
Then I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn

Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further? lyrics - Elvis Costello

We may seem happy like everything's alright
But from the outside looking in
Everything's uptight
But deep down inside we're covering up the pain
It's an old thing
It's a soul thing
But it's a real thing

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
One another

There's old dude standing on the corner
Waiting for a fox to pass
The only thing he's got to go by
Is this is where he saw her last
And there's old John, two dollars in his pocket
Talking loud and thinks he's rich
And look for little fool, too cool to go to school
Get a job, in two days he quits

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
One another

Mama get up early, early in the morning
Papa's already gone
Going out a-working for half of what he's worth now
You know that it's wrong
What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
Did it really ding-dong?
It must have dinged wrong
It didn't ding long

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right

Mama get up early, early in the morning
Papa's already gone
Working two jobs for half of what he's worth now
You know that it's wrong
What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
Did it really ding-dong?
It must have dinged wrong
It didn't ding long

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah

Did it really ding-dong?
It didn't ding long
Did it really ding-dong?
It didn't ding long

The River In Reverse lyrics - Elvis Costello

How long does a promise last?
How long can a lie be told?
What would I take in exchange for my soul?
Would I notice when it was sold?

Wake me up
Wake me up
Wake me up with a slap or a kiss
There must be something better than this
'Cos I don't see how it can get much worse
What do we have to do to send
The river in reverse

Every man a crawling kingsnake
Every girl a half a heartbreak
Every woman sold into shame
To any son without a name

Are your arms too weak to lift?
Another shovel on the graveyard shift
Here comes the flood if you catch my drift
Where the things that they promised are not a gift

If man falls through the mirror of a lake
They fish him out quick and they call him a fake
Give him all the temptations he can take
Tie him up high 'til his bones break

Wake me up
Wake me up
Wake me up with a slap or a kiss
There must be something better than this
'Cos I don't see how it can get much worse
What do we have to do to send
The river in reverse

I thought I heard somebody laugh
Look out your window
They're chasing shadows in the dark
They're counting widows

I felt a sliver of glass
Saw a cross in splinters
I felt the truce of spring
Dig me out of the trench of winter

So count your blessings when they ask permission
To govern with money and superstition
They tell you it's all for your own protection
'Til you fear your own reflection
But the times are passing from illumination
Like bodies falling from a constellation
An uncivil war divides the nation
So erase the tape on that final ape running down creation
Running down creation

Wake me up
Wake me up
Wake me up with a slap or a kiss
There must be something better than this
Wake me up
Wake me up with a slap or a kiss
There must be something better than this

Freedom For The Stallion lyrics - Elvis Costello

Freedom for the stallion
Freedom for the mare and her colt
Freedom for the baby child
Who has not grown old enough to vote.
Lord, have mercy, what you gonna do about the people who are praying to you?
They got men making laws that destroy other men,
They've made money "God"
It's a doggone sin,
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way.

Big ship's a-sailing, slaves all chained and bound,
Heading for a brand new land that some cat said he upped and found.
Lord, have mercy, what you gonna do about the people who are praying to you?
They got men making laws that destroy other men,
They've made money "God"
It's a doggone sin.
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way.

Some sing a sad song
Some got to moan the blues
Trying to make the best of a home
That the man didn't even get to choose
Lord, have mercy, how you gonna be with people like John and me
They've got men building fences to keep other men out
Ignore him if he whispers and kill him if he shouts
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way
Oh, Lord, you got to help them find the way
Oh, Lord, you got to help us find the way.

Broken Promise Land lyrics - Elvis Costello

There's a place
Where words mean nothing or much less
Such a disgrace
We got to get out of this mess

Coming in under the cover of darkness
How high shall we build this wall?
I could've said more but it would've seemed heartless
How hard did I slam that door?

I swore I'd never walk away
Until I saw this day
It didn't turn out the way we planned
Now I'm living in
Broken Promise Land
Broken Promise Land

There's a town I know
Has a strange resemblance to Jericho
Even though
Seven horns are getting ready to blow

Coming in under the cover of darkness
How high shall we build this wall?
Could've said more but it would've seemed heartless
How tight shall we close that door?

They only claimed to be redeemed
They take that name and then blaspheme
It didn't turn out the way we planned
Now I'm living in
Broken Promise Land
Broken Promise Land

There's a place
Where infidels and showgirls meet
Such a disgrace
Wedding bells crumble in the street

Coming in under the cover of darkness
How high shall we build this wall?
I could've said more but it would've seemed heartless
How tight shall we shut that door?

In the name of the Father and the Son
In the name of gasoline and a gun
It didn't turn out the way we planned
Now I'm living in
Broken Promise Land
Broken Promise Land

Ascension Day lyrics - Elvis Costello

Not a soul was stirring
Not a bird was singing, at least not within my hearing
I was five minutes past caring
Standing in the road just staring

Thought I heard somebody pleading
I thought I heard someone apologise
Some fell down weeping
Others shook their fists up at the skies
And those who were left
Seemed to be wearing disguises

Now there's a queen in waiting
Not enough loving and too much hating
For the prince hidden within her man
Always seems to be hesitating

He said, "Let her go, let her go, God bless her"
"She hasn't been gone long enough for me to miss her"
"Except every minute of every hour of every day when I wish I could possess her"

40 days passed by
40 alibis
So carry on... that way
And in time... you'll pay
But we'll all be together
Come Ascension Day

Not a hound was howling
Or whimpering or prowling
Now the wind had departed
Not a leaf was hanging on the tree like when it started

But I know they will return
Like they've never gone away
Come Ascension Day

International Echo lyrics - Elvis Costello

The streets were deserted and the house was dark
Down in the basement there was the faintest spark
Three boys hoping to make their mark
International echo

They said it was nothing but a worthless toy
Sign right here and you can be employed
Woke up startled in the state of joy
International echo

The roof is shaking and the house is ablaze
I've been wide-awake for days
I thought I heard a signal breaking through
And at this distance that is hard to do
Could be seven inches
Could be twelve
Drop the needle on it and let it revolve

I felt a pulse and a drum tattoo
I was just thinking about you

Send out a message and it's sure to rebound
What's that I hear?
What is that sound?
Seems to be coming from under the ground
International echo

It can't be repeated
It can't be resisted
It went out straight and it came back twisted
If you didn't see it then, then you probably missed it
International echo

Must be something in the atmosphere
Let me be your volunteer
I thought I heard a signal coming through
In a language that I never knew
Give me seven inches
Give me twelve
Drop the needle on it and let it revolve

I felt a pulse and a drum tattoo
Even though it was taboo
Solo!

They paid me money for playing pretend
And they said this must be the end
I was just following the popular trend
International echo

Beer from the bottle and wine from the grape
Stood up straight, got bent out of shape
Now I'm just looking for some way to escape
International echo

Everything I said just seems automatic
Radio plays nothing but static
I think that I'm about to flip my lid
My waitress said that she might be my kid
Give me seven inches
Give me twelve
Drop the needle on it and let it revolve

Did you hear me calling you?
'Cos hear I go
International echo
Echo
Solo!

The streets were deserted
The house was dark
Down in the basement there was the faintest spark
Three boys hoping to make their mark
International echo

All These Things lyrics - Elvis Costello

The touch of your lips next to mine
Gets me excited makes me feel fine
The touch of your hand
Your sweet hello
The fire inside you
When you're holding me close

Your love so warm and tender
The thrill is so divine
It is all these things that make you mine

If you should leave me
I surely would die
You started to go
I started to cry
I've got it bad
But that's alright
As long as you're with me every night

Your love so warm and tender
The thrill is so divine
It is all these things that make you mine

If I should live forever
The only thing that I want to do
With all that time
Would be to give forever
All of my love, all my love
To you

Your love so warm and tender
The thrill is so divine
It is all these things that make you mine

Wonder Woman lyrics - Elvis Costello

When I'm down and out she stays by me without a doubt
And if I stumble like I'm gonna fall
She's right there at my beck and call
She's my wonder woman, wonder one
What she can't do, can't be done
(Make me feel so good)
Early in the morning
(I feel so good and thing)

A friend a mine said with this girl I shouldn't stay
But hey guess what?
I stuck by her anyway
O Lord, I'm glad I did
Just look what I'd be missing if I'd listened to that young kid

Every now and then, yeah yeah
I thank my maker for the shape I'm in
(Make me feel so good)
Early in the morning
(I feel so good and thing)

She makes me feel ten feet tall
If I'm worth anything she's got it all
Weeks into months
Months into years
I got to tell you how sweet it is

If you ever leave my life
I would surely die (cry and cry)
(Make me feel so good)
Make me wanna...
(I feel so good and thing)

Sometimes I think something will go wrong
Nothing this good ever lasts long
Then you come along and guarantee
Just how much you care for me

Every now and then, yeah yeah
I thank my maker for the shape I'm in
(Make me feel so good)
Early in the morning
(I feel so good and thing)

Six-Fingered Man lyrics - Elvis Costello

Six-Fingered Man
Playing a seven-string guitar
There are Seven Deadly Sins
Any one of them can do you in
Take what you lost from what you win
It's never enough

Six-Fingered Man
Always the first to blow his horn
His achievements multiply
Pity half of them seem to be lies
Always helps to advertise
It's never enough

He seems so satisfied
With a reputation to protect
Unless he thinks that you're more qualified
Gets so much of his own affection
Stares for hours at his reflection

Long-legged gal walking a very tiny man
They say that it should be forbidden
Must be something he has hidden
Take what you want from what you're given
Oh, it's never enough

Six-Fingered Man
Shaking his fist at everyone
Couldn't even act his age
If you put him on a stage
You might say he's all the rage
But it's never enough

Getting his prints on everything
He's got semi-precious gems
Glinting in his signet ring
Needs his fingers and his thumbs
To help him calculate his sums

Six-Fingered Man
Can't be bothered to stir himself
Sleeps the whole day long or more
Dreams of someone he adores
Drains one drink and starts to pour
Oh, it's never enough
Oh, it's never enough
Oh, it's never enough

Six-Fingered
Man Alive!
How'd I ever get along with five?

The Greatest Love lyrics - Elvis Costello

The greatest love I ever loved
Was the love I had for you
The greatest wish I ever wished
Was when I wished that you love me too

But I found out that you were lying
When you said that you'd be mine
All that talk about break up, never, leave me never
It was the greatest love
It was the greatest love
But I still love you
I still love you

The greatest hurt I ever hurt
Was the hurt you put on me
It took so long to find out
That this love could never be

But I found out that you were lying
When you told me you'd be mine
All that talk about break up, never, leave me never
It was the greatest love
We had the greatest love
But I still love you
I still love you

Well I found out that you were lying
When you said that you'd be mine
All that talk about break up, never, leave me never
It was the greatest love
We had the greatest love
But I still love you
I still love you

(Greatest love)
I still love you
(Greatest love)
We had the greatest love
(Greatest love)
I still love you

Where Is The Love lyrics - Elvis Costello

Where is the love
It's such a ruthless business
Where is the faith
The hope and the forgiveness
Twisting the words you say until the meaning fits
It starts with a little lying
Then there's no end to it
At best you are a cruel coward
At worst you are a worthless hypocrite

Where is the love
Now it's so badly needed
I heard a cry that always goes unheeded
Between your heart and hide
Something gets lost because it takes a tragedy
To trick it out of us
We never do the thing we should do
You just say anything to get your way
Where is the love
Where is the love

How can you face your face in the mirror
How can you turn a blind eye to all
What lurks inside of you that allows you to steal from the table of life
How can you place your head on the pillow
Knowing you are so guilty of all but the truth

Between your heart and hide
Something gets lost because it takes a tragedy
To trick it out of us
At best you are a cruel coward
At worst you are a worthless hypocrite
Where is the love
Where is the love

"My Flame Burns Blue" (2006)

• Hora Decubitus lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Favourite Hour lyrics - Elvis Costello
• That's How You Got Killed Before lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Upon A Veil Of Midnight Blue lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Clubland lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Almost Blue lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Speak Darkly My Angel lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Almost Ideal Eyes lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Can You Be True? lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Put Away Forbidden Playthings lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Episode Of Blonde lyrics - Elvis Costello
• My Flame Burns Blue (Blood Count) lyrics - Elvis Costello
• Watching The Detectives lyrics - Elvis Costello
• God Give Me Strength lyrics - Elvis Costello

Hora Decubitus lyrics - Elvis Costello

Siren is bending, the radio humming,
Sun is breaking through and the storm is coming
The score is obscure, the melody fractured
It went by my window
Refused to be captured

I hope that I wake up in time

Good King Neptune came flipping up my street
He was a sad case tripping up the staircase
Friends and relations are laughing at my head
Gathered like crows at the end of my bed

I hope that I wake up in time

If you can't or can't quite
Think again
You can't fight
That you might
Not be smite
If it's wrong, it's not right
I say it once and I'll say it again
Now and forever and ever, amen

Siren is bending, the radio is humming,
Who do you love now and who are you damning?
The score is obscure and the melody fractured
The bird by my window refused to be captured

I hope I wake up in time

If you can or can't quite
Think again
You can't fight
That you might
Not be smite
If it's wrong, it's not right
I'll say it once and I'll say it again
Life is a beautiful thing

I've said it before
I can't say it much more
Life is a beautiful thing

Favourite Hour lyrics - Elvis Costello

Figure hanging on a leather band
Cog consults the watch he cups in his hand
Bejewelled movement measures lost and vanished time
Pray for the boy who makes his bed in cold earth and quicklime

[Chorus:]
So stay the hands, arrest the time
Till I am captured by your touch
Blessings I don't count
Small mercies and such
The flags may lower as we approach the favourite hour

Now there's a tragic waste of brutal youth
Strip and polish this unvarnished truth
The tricky door that gapes beneath the ragged noose
The crippled verdict begs again for the lamest excuse

[Chorus]

Put out my eyes so I may never spy
Waving branches as they're waving goodbye
Their vile perfume brings to my mouth a bitter taste
The murmuring brooks had best speak up, it's a terrible waste

[Chorus]

That's How You Got Killed Before lyrics - Elvis Costello

Well, you're standing on the corner flagging all the girls you see
Now do like EC and let those ladies be
You know that's wrong, man, you know that's wrong
Boy, you better get control - that's how you got killed before

That girl you just met who got a big guy for a pal
Who'll put knots on your head for messing with his gal
So take it steady, man, let those women go
Well, I'm just trying to tell you - that's how you got killed before

Now, you wouldn't listen, Ephrom, you got two black eyes
That's what you get, Daddy, for messing with men's wives
So take it steady, whoa, let those women go
Well, I'm just trying to tell you - that's how you got killed before

Upon A Veil Of Midnight Blue lyrics - Elvis Costello

Upon a veil of midnight blue
There hung a crescent moon
To light the view
But I don't whisper the words
When the moment arose
I wonder how he knows
You say your tongue is tied
Your words escape and hide
But he's so patient and kind
He's prepared to read your mind
That's very well till you find
Because of the wine you drank
Your mind is still a blank

I wonder how he knows
I guess I will wonder until
I pluck up the courage to tell him
How I feel
So close I can feel his heart tremble
That look in his eyes as they close
I wonder how he knows

I wonder how he knows

Clubland lyrics - Elvis Costello

With a handful of backhanders and a bevy of beauty
You're going off limits
Going off duty
Going off the rails
Going off with booty
They tell tales of fiction found on all the criminal types
Lead to a higher ranking man or a face with thin red stripes

[Chorus:]
The boys next door
The mums and dads
New weds and nearly-deads
Have you ever been had in Clubland?

There's a piece in someone's pocket to do the dirty work
You've come to shoot the pony
They've come to do the jerk
They leave him half way to paradise
They leave you half way to bliss
The ladies' invitation never seemed like this

[Chorus]

The long arm of the law slides up the outskirts of town
Meanwhile in Clubland they are ready to pull them down
Hey

The right to work is traded in for the right to refuse admission
Don't pass out now, there's no refund
(when) Did you find out what you were missing
The crowd is taking forty winks minus ten percent
You barely get required sleep to go lingering with contemptment
Thursday to Saturday
Money's gone already
Some things come in common these days
Your hands and work aren't steady

[Chorus]

Almost Blue lyrics - Elvis Costello

Almost blue
Almost doing things we used to do
There's a girl here and she's almost you
Almost all the things that your eyes once promised
I see in hers too
Now your eyes are red from crying

Almost blue
Flirting with this disaster became me
It named me as the fool who only aimed to be

Almost blue
It's almost touching it will almost do
There's a part of me that's always true...always
Not all good things come to an end now it is only a chosen few
I've seen such an unhappy couple

Almost me
Almost you
Almost blue

Speak Darkly My Angel lyrics - Elvis Costello

Speak darkly, my angel
Or do I have to plead?
The sweetness has gone out of it
And all that's left is bitter barren greed

A needy lover with her almost vanished liar
Entangled as the gloom is strangled by the clinging briar
That ventures out to gather in the gloom

That perfect mouth is ruined now
For as you turn down the corners of your smile
And cloud your dim corrupted eyes
Just before the concertina wrecks your noble brow
The fatal flaw I can't allow

Depart now, my angel
The gaoler of my youth
Sends fifty thousand reasons why I never ever try to tell the truth
The season's over
And it's time for either one of us to go
Stand by the window
But don't lean so temptingly into the drop that calls below
For if you tumble back
I look so good in black

Almost Ideal Eyes lyrics - Elvis Costello

Here she comes with her almost ideal eyes
And her flawless skin and her petulant pout
The memory of such a long blonde alibi
Still makes me want to shout out loud and clear
When you clear your head my dear
You can't come round here in those stolen clothes
Telling me all about some mystery
I hope she isn't one, I hope she isn't one of those

Almost ideal eyes
Viewed through a rosy hue
So beautiful, trusting
You'll find liberal is an insult now and care is what you pay for
Be sure of what you wish upon, be careful what you pray for
When you look into those almost ideal

Love is smiles, he will hypnotize you while
He tries to analyze your dream
Fill you up with all his big ideas while he really wants to make you
Scream out loud at the phony innocence
And the pained pretence and the dismal rage
The vacant lot that thankfully time forgot
Where you never have to act, you never have to act your age

Almost ideal eyes
Viewed through a rosy hue
So beautiful, trusting
You'll find stupid is a compliment and thrill is what you play for
Be sure of what you wish upon, be careful what you pray for
When you look into those almost ideal

In despair all your friends get uglier
And you find you're wearing an evening gown
Weeping over some tiny broken bird
While the sky is decorated
Shocking pink and a dirty shade of brown
And you think you need to be tranquil
Lies the fear that befits your new career
Whatever you invent you'll never be content in

Almost ideal eyes
Viewed through a rosy hue
So beautiful, trusting
Rebellion is just currency, the moon is what you bay for
Be sure of what you wish upon, be careful what you pray for
When you look into those almost ideal
When you look into those almost ideal
When you look into those almost ideal

Here she comes, here she comes now
Here she comes, here she comes now

Put Away Forbidden Playthings lyrics - Elvis Costello

Put away forbidden playthings
Amusements and distractions
And dismantle the contraption and carry it away

In time as beauty dissolves into glamour
It slips from your heart and falls under the hammer.
Put away forbidden playthings...

And never return to pluck out that jewel
Or find the thrill that slumbers still
While suffering the dream of disobeying.
Put away forbidden playthings...

My Flame Burns Blue (Blood Count) lyrics - Elvis Costello

As the last light glimmers
And the evening hours dim
Maybe I'm too proud to utter it out loud
Even though my flame burns blue

As the night's descending
Once again I find I'll tarry and pretend
My confidential friend
Will suddenly appear in view

All my might
Between velvet and dynamite
Blow out the doors
Let in the light
Falling dust in the beam
And a small stifled scream

Alibis and decoys
Were his eyes so turquoise?
Covered with a lash
They flatter and they flash
Even though my flame burns blue

If I seem a stranger
I feel far from danger
We tamper and we toy
With passion over joy
Even though my flame burns blue

Even though the fire that once was desire
Doesn't look for trouble or dare to flare
Look now
And I won't be there

Watching The Detectives lyrics - Elvis Costello

Nice girls not one with a defect,
cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct.
Red dogs under illegal legs.
She looks so good that he gets down and begs.

[Chorus:]
She is watching the detectives.
"ooh, he's so cute!"
She is watching the detectives
when they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.
They beat him up until the teardrops start,
but he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart.

Long shot of that jumping sign,
Visible shivers running down my spine.
Cut the baby taking off her clothes.
Close-up of the sign that says,"We never close"
You snatch a tune, you a match a cigarette,
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet.
I don't know how much more of this I can take.
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake.

[Chorus]

You think you're alone until you realize you're in it.
Now fear is here to stay. Love is here for a visit.
They call it instant justice when it's past the legal limit.
Someone's scratching at the window. I wonder who is it?
The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance.
Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay,
it only took my little fingers to blow you away.

Just like watching the detectives.
Don't get cute!"
It's just like watching the detectives.
I get so angry when the teardrops start,
but he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart.
Watching the detectives.
It's just like watching the detectives.

"The Delivery Man" (2004)

Button My Lip lyrics - Elvis Costello

Don't want to talk about the government
Don't want to talk about some incident
Don't want to talk about some peppermint gum
Don't want to talk about the time to come

Button my lip
'Til I'm smart enough

Don't raise your hand
'Cos I'm not offering
It serves you right
Now you are suffering
Give me a chance
To see it though
It all depends on what you hold is true

Button my lip
With your kiss

Don't want to hear some little sniveling
You just don't get what I'm delivering
Maybe you want me
But you know you can't
I'd say, 'I want you?
But you know I don't

Button my lip
'Til I'm old enough
'Til I'm smart enough
'Til I'm?
Button my lip

Don't want to come at your beckoning
For any day they'll be a reckoning
Don't want to hear what is impossible
Baby, you've become invisible

Button my lip

I've seen those clowns vacant and insolent
I stand accused but I am innocent
I am the mighty and magnificent

Country Darkness lyrics - Elvis Costello

This tattered document
A mystery you can solve
Some burnt out filament
Flies still buzzing around the bulb

Country Darkness

He thought of traveling
Heard an approaching train
Drown out his desperate pulse
A song with no refrain

Country Darkness

She daydreams of forbidden sins
There must be something more
The prison she lives in
The one with the open door

The veil is covering
A glistening and cruel blade
Suffer little children
Repent, unfaithful maid

Country Darkness

There's A Story In Your Voice lyrics - Elvis Costello

Once upon another time
If you had the need
I'd step right in the shoes that you've been walking
'Cos someone put the hurt in you
For every one to see
And you only have to speak to tell your fortune

There's a story in your voice
Both by damage and by choice
It tells of promises and pleasure
And a tale of wine and woe
The uneasy time to come
And the long way 'round we go to get there

Once you told me fairytales
Everybody knows
But I didn't care for their prediction
Now you say you're leaving me
And packing up your clothes
I finally see you were a work of fiction

There's a story in your walk
Then you crumble just like chalk
And I could say that I was sorry
But I wouldn't mean it much
There are pages I can't touch
And something that's been torn out of this chapter

Far away, not far enough
'Cos I can still recall
How it felt when I read that last sentence
Now I go inside some rooms with Gideon in them all
And hide myself from all hope of repentance

There's a story in your eyes
Cheap sunglasses might disguise
But when the bedroom light reveals
All that bravado and that fright
That you cover up in spite
Attempts to strip away this fabrication

There's a story in your voice
Both by damage and by choice
It tells of promises and pleasure
And a tale of wine and woe
The uneasy time to come
And the long way 'round we go to get there

Either Side Of The Same Town lyrics - Elvis Costello

Nothing can ever be the same
All of the promises we made seem hollow
But there's still some streets in this town
Oh, they're marked, they're marked with your shadow

So if you see me, look surprised
Well, well, well, if you don't
Oh, just pass me by
And I may, I may even brush your sleeve
Oh, as you turn around, turn around and leave

Now it's hard to act like strangers
When we used to be so strong
Everything is changing
And most of it is wrong
What do we know of anything
Two fools of some renown
Either side, either side of the same town

Somewhere there's a light
Oh, I can sense it
Though I may fall back again
Oh, I know, yes, I know it's a fight
Oh, but I must, Lord, I must
Withstand the strain

Now it's hard to keep ignoring
Someone you recognise
And if I seem contented
Well, that's only my disguise
What do we know of anything
Two fools of some renown
Either side, either side of the same town
Oh, yeah, either side, either side of the same town

Bedlam lyrics - Elvis Costello

I've got this phosphorescent portrait of gentle Jesus meek and mild
I've got this harlot that I'm stuck with carrying another man's child
The solitary star announcing vacancy burnt out as we arrived
They'd throw us back across the border if they knew that we survived
And they were surprised to see us
So they greeted us with palms
They asked for ammunition, acts of contrition and small alms

I might recite a small prayer
If I ever said them
I lay down on an iron frame
Found myself in bedlam
I wish that I could take something for drowning out the noise
Wailing echoes down the corridors

I've got this imaginary radio, and I'm punching up the dial
I've got the A.C. trained on the T.V. so it won't blow up in my eye
And everything that I thought fanciful and mocked as too extreme
Must be family entertainment here in the strange land of my dreams
Now I'm practicing my likeness of St. Francis of Assisi
For if I hold my hand outstretched
A little bird comes to me

I might recite a small prayer
If I ever said them
I lay down on an iron frame
Found myself in bedlam
Escaping from the fingers that were stretching through the bars
Wailing echoes down the corridors

The player piano picks out "Life Goes On"
Ring tone rang out "Jerusalem"
And in this pit of sadness
Where the rank of wretched plunge
We've buried all the innocents
Now we must bury revenge

They've got this scared and decorated girl strapped to the steel trunk of a mustang
And then they drove her down a cypress grove where traitors hang and stars still spangle
They dangled flags and other rags along a coloured thread of twine
And then they dragged that bruised and purple heart along the road to Palestine

Someone went off muttering, he mentioned thirty pieces
Easter saw a slaughtering, each wrapped in bloodstained fleeces

Then my thoughts returned to vengeance, but I put up no resistance
Though I seemed a long way from my home
It really was no distance

And I might recite a small prayer
If I ever said them
I lay down on an iron frame
Found myself in bedlam
Bowing like an actor acknowledging applause
Playing the Crusader who was conquering the Moors
And he knew the consequences, but he won't accept the cause
Wailing echoes down the corridors

The Delivery Man lyrics - Elvis Costello

"Abel was able," so Vivian said
Her shoulders flung forward
Her lips in a purse
She talks like the beauty that she never was
Of the fabulous wild nights that she never has

In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he feels like Jesus
Everyone dreams of him just as they can
But he's only the humble Delivery Man

Geraldine blushes and brushes away
The cigarette ashes that Vivian scatters
Stares out of the window at the things that she says
While gossip within her competes with the widow

Ever since he's gone, she feels like crying all the time
She knows for sure Vivian is lying
Now she has a daughter to raise as she can
She just wouldn't trust that Delivery Man

Ivy puts down the ghost story she's reading
Looks up at that face on the wall

Thinking about how her father lay bleeding
Shot in the back 'cos orders were misleading
And how a flag and a medal don't have any meaning

On the 5th of July as they tore down the fair
And he'd seen all the local girls who were worth kissing
With the smell of the gunpowder still in the air
They noticed that Abel and Ivy were missing

In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he seemed like Jesus
He said "Why can't we be kind to me like you were meant to be?
When they let me out, I had a brand new identity.
Now everyone dreams of me just as they can.
I want to be your Delivery Man."

Monkey To Man lyrics - Elvis Costello

A long time ago, our point of view
Was broadcast by Mr. Bartholomew
And now the world is full of sorrow and pain
And it's time for us to speak up again

You're slack and sorry
Such an arrogant brood
The only purpose you serve is to bring us our food
We sit here staring at your pomp and pout
Outside the bars we use for keeping you out

You've taken everything that you wanted
Broke it up and plundered it and hunted
Ever since we said it
You went and took the credit
It's been headed this way since the world began
When a vicious creature took the jump from Monkey to Man

Monkey to Man

Every time man struggles and fails
He makes up some kind of fairytales
After all of the misery that he has caused
He denies he's descended from the dinosaurs

Points up to heaven with cathedral spires
All the time indulging in his base desires
Ever since we said it
He went and took the credit
It's been headed this way since the world began
When a vicious creature took the jump from Monkey to Man

Monkey to Man

Big and useless as he has become
With his crying statues and his flying bomb
Goes 'round acting like the chosen one
Excuse us if we treat him like our idiot cousin

He hangs up flowers and bells and rhymes
Hoping to hell someone's forgiven his crimes
Fills up the air with his pride and praise
He's a big disgrace to our beastly ways

In the fashionable nightclubs and finer precincts
Man uses words to dress up his vile instincts
Ever since we said it
He went and took the credit
It's been headed this way since the world began
When a vicious creature took the jump from Monkey to Man

Nothing Clings Like Ivy lyrics - Elvis Costello

Nothing clings like Ivy
Frightened by the dark
Though she cuts deep
It never leaves a mark

No one quite like Ivy
Ever gets it straight
What she believes
She won't negotiate

All the words of tenderness
That never quite got through
She said "You know how young girls are
From my contempt for you."

Outside in the hollow
She may dare herself
For there may be
A serpent in the grass

Nothing clings like Ivy
Trying to scare herself
And it may strike or
Wait for her to pass

All the words of tenderness
That she never possessed
"So what's the use of promises?
I had my fingers crossed."

All the words of tenderness
That never quite got through
She said, "I laughed behind your back
When I told them to you."

Nothing clings like Ivy
Frightened by the dark
Though she cuts deep
It never leaves a mark

The Name Of This Thing Is Not Love lyrics - Elvis Costello

There's a part of this feeling that I just cannot kill
But the name of this thing is not love
And I can't take a potion, and I won't take a pill
So it tortures me still
But the name of this thing is not love

Then you start entertaining such a terrible thought
Life is so very short
And the name of this thing is not love

There's a bruise on her arm
And some blood on the floor
But the name of this thing is not love
And they're taunting some girl
That they claim to adore
She can't take anymore
But the name of this thing is not love

Who in the world do you think that you are?
That you pushed me this far
But the name of this thing is not love

He thinks of her still
Although you'd never guess
He's trying so to forget her
The occasional moments that he'll always bless
Watching her dress
For worse or better

He watched her pick over her broken playthings
What played on his mind is not love
The cast aside tokens and discarded rings
Over one of his flings
But the name of this thing is not love

Then he threw something down in the wild rushing river
And won't ever recover
But the name of this thing is not love

Then you start out pretending that you're so very tough
Life is not short enough
But the name of this thing is not love

Heart Shaped Bruise lyrics - Elvis Costello

Tell me now
Or are you only teasing?
I felt the cold hard facts of life
Five degrees from freezing
Does it amuse you to always hurt me so?
I try my best it's not enough
Should I give up and let you?

What more is there to take from me?
There's nothing else to give you, dear
There's nothing more that I can lose
Except this Heart Shaped Bruise

It will fade
From purple to violet
It will fade
Just as the day dissolves into twilight

Tell me now
Or am I only dreaming?
You said that you'd be mine for life
And now you say you're leaving
If I could hold you once more before you go
When I approach you just lash out
Should I give up and let you?

What more is there to take from me?
There's nothing else to give you, dear
There's nothing more that I can lose
Accept this Heart Shaped Bruise

It will fade from purple to violet
It will fade?
She's pulling out the pin

She's Pulling Out The Pin lyrics - Elvis Costello

She's pulling out the pin
That lets her hair fall down
She shakes her head and
It goes tumbling
Her smile was out of place
So she swept it off her face

Let me find the words and say them
Like some softly whispered Amen

As she starts to pull away
And the lights begin to dim
Is she thinking of me
Or is she thinking of him
She's pulling out the pin

She's slipping off the hook
Unbuttoning her dress
There's just enough to make some man a mess
She tears away the veil
With her fingernails

She came out high and kicking
While the band played "Hey good lookin'"
Do you hear something ticking?

Did somebody tell her?
You can really be redeemed
Could she actually be?
As desperate as she seems
She's tearing at the seams
She's going to extremes
Nobody told her it was a sin
So she's pulling out the pin

She's taping up her hands
Just as a boxer will
They started laughing
But if looks could kill
She'd take them down right now
She's covering her mouth
With someone or without
There's nothing more to say
This is her wedding day

Full of shattered glass and mayhem
Not one softly whispered amen

She's knocking down some doors
And the smoke begins to fill
Where the world without her ends
And the next one begins
She's pulling out the pin

Needle Time lyrics - Elvis Costello

I wish that I didn't hate you
Least not as much as I do
And squander all my contempt for
A little nothing like you
Liars like you are ten-a-penny
Women would slap you, if you knew any

Sometimes I feel just like committing a crime

I've got this suitcase of phony wisdom to dispense
These twenty-seven or so years
You'd think I (would have) made them some cents
Now they want me fingerprinted
Like I was smuggling drugs
While the government does deals with the most convenient thugs

Sometimes I feel just like committing a crime
It's Needle Time

I'm trying not to despise you with a passion that is hard to extinguish
Or maybe I really love you
Although it's hard to distinguish

I wish I could be
A little more like a saint is
Forgiving those who trespass against us

Sometimes I feel just like committing a crime

I started talking nonsense, just like I did to begin with
Around the time I tired of those sour English

Sometimes I feel just like committing a crime
It's Needle Time

The Judgement lyrics - Elvis Costello

The accused will rise to be torn in two
Guilty of nothing but loving you
This is the judgement

And I'm willing to plead
How you don't want me
Hoping this torment will cease
Will I be released?

There'll be lies, there'll be tears
A jury of your peers
With a pitiful lack of experience
Hand down the judgement

And if I done wrong
And loved you too long
Stand up and just testify
How can I deny?

Objection overruled
I wait for my reprieve
With the trust of the deceived
The wisdom of the fool

It's his sorrowful face
Too heavy for his head
Cos he bowed it as something come over him
It was the judgement

He falls to his knees
Have mercy on me
He clings to the hem of her gown
She says, "Just take him down."

The Scarlet Tide lyrics - Elvis Costello

Well I recall his parting words
Must I accept his fate?
Or take myself far from this place
I thought I heard a black bell toll
A little bird did sing
Man has no choice
When he wants everything

[Chorus:]
We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

Man goes beyond his own decision
Gets caught up in the mechanism
Of swindlers who act like kings
And brokers who break everything
The dark of night was swiftly fading
Close to the dawn of the day
Why would I want him
Just to lose him again

[Chorus 2x]

"North" (2003)

You Left Me In The Dark lyrics - Elvis Costello

See how the elements obey?
Eyes are blue
Skies are grey
Nothing I do can make you stay
I'm glad it will rain today

You left me standing alone
Although I thought that we could not be parted
But if I'd only known
That this would be the last loving remark
You left me in the dark

Then I awoke to my dismay
I thought we'd make it all the way
Allowing myself one more cliche
The last hurrah, the first bouquet

You left me standing alone although
I thought that we could not be parted
But if I'd only known
That this would be the last loving remark
You left me in the dark

Someone Took The Words Away lyrics - Elvis Costello

Poor head
Can hardly move my lips for speaking
I said
So, what is this thing I cannot explain?
I'd blame all the things I feel but can't quite place
Perhaps they're written on my face
Someone took the words away

Why don't you speak up and say what you mean?
Summon my powers of conversation
I talk to myself,
I'm fine
When you're around,
Then I decline the invitation

It's strange to finally find myself so tongue-tied
A change has come over me
I'm powerless to express
Every thing I know but cannot speak
And if I try my voice will break
Someone took the words away
Someone took the words away

When Did I Stop Dreaming? lyrics - Elvis Costello

You appeared when I was lost in reverie
If this is not a dream, it's my mistake
And now I lie in wait for dawn to break
I'm fairly sure I'm wide awake

Pardon me, if I seem distant and strange
Just tell me when did I stop dreaming?
Let me get this straight
Did I hallucinate?
This fine and helpless feeling
Tell me when did I stop dreaming?

Let me know if you can help me explain
I didn't recognise the danger
But people will talk
Was I just sleepwalking?
Footprints left on the ceiling
Tell me when did I stop dreaming?

Then why should you care?
This is my nightmare
Was this one dream too deep?
Now if I could only sleep

Answer me, if you see the end in sight
I'm just a soul who's lost in limbo
Neither bad or good
I'd spare you now if I could
One more teardrop
Then I'll wake up
Tell me when did I stop dreaming?

You Turned To Me lyrics - Elvis Costello

You turned to me
And all at once
I knew I was betrayed
My eyes met yours just down the darkened path
Where both of us had strayed
Nothing good can come out of this
I know it may not be
But just then you turned to me

And I thought for a moment
Like the fool that I've become
I might be the one
To turn these lights back on
Just as I began to say
It's never worth the price you pay
I was going there anyway

You turned to me
And all at once
I knew that you had seen
How I was lost in something quite like love
When all I did was dream
Now as evening becomes the dawn
I wonder where you'll be
And just why you turned to me

Fallen lyrics - Elvis Costello

All the leaves are turning yellow, red and brown
Soon they'll be scattered as they tumble down
Although they may be swept up so invitingly

I never did what I was told
I trampled though the amber and the burnished gold
But now I clearly see how cruel the young can be

You can convince yourself of anything
If you wish both hard and long
And I believed that life was wonderful
Right up to the moment when love went wrong
I gaze up at the tree-tops and laugh
I need somebody to shake me loose
I want to know what happens next
'Til I don't care at all
There I go
Beginning to fall

When It Sings lyrics - Elvis Costello

All the words you say to me
Have music in them
All the sorrows and the joys like magnetism
And a selfish boy looks through a prism
And says what is
But never asks what isn't

But a voice contains many precious things
It laughs
And then it sings
And all the lies that we can tell
To our foolish selves

Maybe this is the love song that I refused to
Write her when I loved her like I used to
And I fear my heart may spin and fracture
Like tears of stone falling from a statue

But a voice contains all that's true and false
Then cries for someone else
And for some honest tenderness
So I must confess

All the words you say to me
Have music in them
All the sorrows and the joys like magnetism
And a selfish boy looks through a prism
And says what is
But never asks what isn't

Still lyrics - Elvis Costello

These few lines I'll devote
To a marvellous girl covered up with my coat
Pull it up to your chin
I'll hold you until the day will begin

Still
Lying in the shadows this new flame will cast

Upon everything we carry from the past
You were made of every love and each regret
Up until the day we met

There are no words that I'm afraid to hear
Unless they are "Goodbye, my dear"

Still
I was moving very fast
But in one place
Now you speak my name and set my pulse to race
Sometimes words may tumble out but can't eclipse
The feeling when you press your fingers to my lips

I want to kiss you in a rush
And whisper things to make you blush
And you say, "Darling, hush
Hush
Still, still"

Let Me Tell You About Her lyrics - Elvis Costello

I wasn't very indiscreet and yet
That is a notion that I might as well forget
Friends look at me these days with fond surprise
But when I start to speak they roll their eyes

Let me tell you about her
Hush now, I've said too much
There's something indescribable I can't quite catch
Let me tell you about her
The way that she makes me feel
Then draw a curtain on this scene I shan't reveal

Some things are too personal
Too intimate to spill
And gentlemen don't speak of them
And this one never will

I wasn't very conversational
Accept to say that, "You're sensational"
Friends now regard me with indulgent smiles
But when I start to sing they run for miles

Let me tell you about her
Hush now, I've said too much
There's something indescribable I can't quite catch
Let me tell you about her
The way that she makes me feel
Then draw a curtain on this scene I shan't reveal

Can You Be True? lyrics - Elvis Costello

Can you be true?
Can this possibly be real?
I knew quite suddenly
Do you sense how I feel?
I long to hear you whisper my name
'Til you tell me
"My Darling, you may be my man."

There will be days when you must go from my sight
There may be nights when clouds deny us starlight
Only time will tell us
I hope that it speaks gently if it isn't meant to be
Then again
By then we might not be listening so attentively

I will be there
If the days bring torments and trials
To close the distances only measured in miles
I long to hold you all through the night
And to tell you
"My Darling, you make everything seem right"
And then I'll hear you calling in my name
And I'll answer
"My Darling, I may be your man"

When Green Eyes Turn Blue lyrics - Elvis Costello

Every single time
It becomes too much
There's nothing I can say
Or I can touch
But the glory is, as it comes passing through,
I know I will be there
When green eyes turn blue

It's the same for me
Time appears to teach
There is nothing quite beyond our reach
Wits may sharpen up
Their cuts and clever flays
Let them squander all of them
You brighten up my darkest gaze

And as a consequence I can see out of the gloom
That I gathered about myself
That I thought would flatter me
What the hell was the matter with me

Every single time I approached despair
I thought of your name and you were there
I won't burden you
As promises will do
But I know I will be there
When green eyes turn blue.

I'm In The Mood Again lyrics - Elvis Costello

Hail to the taxis
They go where I go
Farewell the newspapers that know more than I know
Flung under a street-lamp still burning at dawn
I'm in the mood again

I walk the damp streets rather than slumber
Along the fine windows of shameless and plunder
But none of their riches could ever compare
I'm in the mood again

I don't know what's come over me
But it's nothing that I'm doing wrong
You took the breath right out of me
Now you'll find it in the early hours
In a lover's song

I lay my head down on fine linens and satin
Away from the mad-hatters who live in Manhattan
The Empire State Building illuminating the sky
I'm in the mood, I'm in the mood, I'm in the mood again.

Impatience lyrics - Elvis Costello

How long do I have to wait?
Before I can tell you the things I've been wanting to say
How long must I hesitate?

I know it makes sense but it's hard for me to stay away
But if this is how it has to be
Maybe it's just a feeling
That I could name
But I'd probably best blame...impatience

You can't miss - what you've never known
It's quite absurd how you started disturbing me so
Sometimes - when I am all alone
I lose my senses
I have no defences to go

But if this is how I lose my heart
Then I shall just embrace that
My pulse is racing still
I'm secretly thrilled
By the laughter that tumbled
And the tears that I spilled
As far as I know no one ever got killed
By impatience

Tell me - is there danger still?
I took no heed so a word might as well be deed
Although - I'd really like to see you now
I'm almost certain it can't be accomplished with speed

So, if this is how I'll bide my time
Then I will set it down
Til we lose our caution
I'll honour your order
'Cos it's such sweet torture
To carry this torch
In the light of temptation
Beyond conversation and all expectation
Pausing a moment or two just to mention...
Impatience

Too Blue lyrics - Elvis Costello

There may be a break in the road
The future looks drab and dreary
But if you were here with me, dear
I'd spin you a line that's far from cheer
There's always some scribe
Who's taken the bribe
Describing some Gentleman Jim
Who says he's in love with a beautiful girl
But she don't care about him

Say what you do
That sky is much to blue
You'll know sorrow
That's deeper than the ocean
It's a pitiful chain of events
You'd think that I might have more sense
He says
"The birds in the braches may whistle and croon
"But they're singing out of tune"

There may be bend in the track
But if you come back to see me
I'll be waiting patiently here
And if you believe that then I fear
There's always some clown
Who's bringing me down
By humming a tragic refrain
He says he's in love with a beautiful girl
But he doesn't know her name

North lyrics - Elvis Costello

The East has that Englishmen
And the rising sun
The West has the open plains
And how they were won
On Independence Day
For all it's worth
You can ring those southern belles
I'm going
North

Up were the rushing rivers run and salmon leap
I could even get there in my sleep
Give me the ice and snow
Time to go...
North

So run up a banner and we'll stand underneath
You gave me a starry flag
For one with a leaf
I'm on the borderline
I jump back and forth
There's nothing to stop me now
I'm heading...
North

Up where the polar bears and moose and geese will play
And some of them address you en francais
Give me the ice and snow
Time to go...
North

And so I must leave you all
Alas and alack
And though we are parting now
I'll always come back
So as the compass points
That's where I'll be
But if you could only see
The perfection of...

North
It's something I will always carry in my heart
A place when dreams begin and life can start
Who cares what people know?
Let me go...
North

"When I Was Cruel" (2002)

45 lyrics - Elvis Costello

Bells are chiming for victory
There's a page back in history
45
They came back to the world that they fought for
Didn't turn out just like they thought
45

[Chorus:]
Here is a song to sing to do the measuring
What did you lose?
What did you gain?
What did you win?

Nine years later a child is born
There's a record, so you put it on
45
Nine years more, if we're lucky now
Nine-year-old puts his money down
45
Every scratch, every click, every heartbeat
Every breath that I held for you
45
There's a stack of shellac and vinyl
Which is yours now and which is mine?
45

[Chorus]

Bass and treble heal every hurt
There's a rebel in a nylon shirt
But the words are a mystery, I've heard
'Til you turn it down to 33 and 1/3
'Cos it helps with the elocution
Corporations turn revolutions
45

So don't you weep and shed
Just change your name instead
What do you lose when it all goes to your head?

I heard something peculiar said:
"Perhaps he's got a shot and now he's dead"
45
Bells are chiming and tears are falling
It creeps up on you without a warning
45
Every scratch, every click, every heartbeat
Every breath that I bless
I'd be lost, I confess
45

Spooky Girlfriend lyrics - Elvis Costello

I want a girl to make a mess
To do no wrong she must confess
And then perhaps hitch up her dress
'Cos when the flashbulbs explode
She's such a sensitive soul...

I want a girl who is helpless and frail
Who won't pull on my ponytail
I want a girl who has no past
She's made up now
But that won't last
'Cos when she sits on my knee
And then she whispers to me

"Can't you see
I could be
I could be
Your spooky girlfriend..."

The broken toys are all scattered in the attic
Newspapers play with the words of the fanatic
While the greeting cards are your most poetic lyric
And the flat champagne is sweet sugar syrup

I want to paint you with glitter and with dirt
Picture you with innocence and hurt
The shutter closes
Exposes the shot
She says, "Are you looking up my skirt?"
When you say "No"
She says "Why not?"

I want a girl to turn my screw
To wind my watch, to buckle my shoe
And if she won't her mother will do
But when she does as she's told
We'll all turn platinum and gold

But when she sits on my knee
I hear her whispers to me
"Can't you see?"
"I could be your spooky girlfriend"

Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution) lyrics - Elvis Costello

Who dries your eyes when you cry real tears?
Who know or cares what an imitation is?
Only you do
You can paint his nails
Make him wear high heels
Why waste time altering the hemline?
Or do you?

Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution

You can bat your lashes
You can cut your strings
You can pull his hair with your moveable fingers
It looks so real
If one won't do it, so collect the set
Dress him in pink ribbons
Put him in a kitchenette
How does this feel?

Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution

What's that sound?
It will turn you around
It's a doll revolution

They're taking over
And they're tearing it down
It's a doll revolution

You can pull and pinch him
'Til he cries and squeals
You can twist his body 'til it faces backwards
Those plastic features
You could make somebody a pretty little wife
But don't let anybody tell you how to live you life
Broken pieces

Tear off your own head
Tear off your own head
It's a doll revolution
Tear off your own head
Revolution

When I Was 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 tradeshow 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 her 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 stage whispering to raucous talkers
Spilling family secrets out to flunkeys and castrato walkers
See that girl
Watch that scene
Digging the "Dancing Queen"

Two newspaper editors like playground sneaks
Running the 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 can't report
The memory of his last retort
But it was so much easier
When I was cruel

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

Soul For Hire lyrics - Elvis Costello

Hang my head and shut my eyes
What kind of justice is this?
Fool I was, I thought that you fought fire with fire
Got to me more than just a soul for hire

Speaking for myself I wouldn't take the fame, the fees, the glory
For whoring in the practice of the law
I make my case stop and stutter
Soul comes unglued from the uppers
Blood is seeping in the hole
A mother's eye is weeping

I see every human kind
And still the truth is distant
I see every evil men do and desire
Got to be more then just a soul for hire

When it's time to give protection
To the ones who need it most, who are desperate
I get distracted from my job
Streams of ink and piles of paper
What are the breaks?
Jump out the window? Parole? Escape?
Blood is seeping in the hole
A mother's eye is weeping

Hang my head and shut my eyes
I can't see justice twisted
I see every evil men do and desire
Got to be more than just a soul for hire

When it's time to give protection
To the ones who need it most, who are desperate
I get distracted from my job
Streams of ink and piles of paper
To hand them over to dopers and kiddie-rapers
Corrupt in every twisted grudge
And that is just the judge

Hang my head and shut my eyes
What kind of justice it this?