unknown

Everybody knows you been steppin' on my toes
And i'm gettin pretty tired of it
Keep steppin' outta line and messin' with my mind
If you had any sense, you'd quit

But ever since you were just a little bitty girl
Since i was the only man in this whole world
Now you better do some thinking then you'll find
You got the only daddy that'll walk the line

I keep workin' everyday, all you wanna do is play
I'm sick of stayin' out all night
You've been coming unglued from your funny little moods
So, honey-baby, that ain't right

'cause ever since you were just a little bitty girl
Since i was the only man in this whole world
Now you better do some thinking then you'll find
You got the only daddy that'll walk the line

Everybody knows you been steppin' on my toes
And still just puttin' me on
When i start-a-walkin', don't i hear you start-a-squawkin'
Beggin' me to come back home

'cause ever since you were just a little bitty girl
Since i was the only man in this whole world
Now you better do some thinking then you'll find
You got the only daddy that'll walk the line

Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
Have you ever seen the like of this mankind?
If a boy or girl is cute, we simply shoot to starry heights
Any maybe, any might
But always so capricious, in the face of wonder we're suspicious
And though we came from frogs and fishes
Our taste is far from fine
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness

Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness
Have you ever seen the like of this mankind?
You take the himalayas, you'll take manhattan's finest mountain top
He wouldn't change his whiskey sour for any bitter crop

But always so contrary, from father christmas to the virgin mary
And though the moments of belief
Fly by before you find if you'd just unhand your mind
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness

But always so contrary, from father christmas to the virgin mary
And though the moments of belief
Fly by before you find if you'd just unhand your mind
Put your big toe in the milk of human kindness

She was smitten from the first
By a curious fellow
She said i love the way you talk
And with a a flounce she announces
I love the way that you pronounce it: "marshmallow"

So she liked to sing along
To her favourite song
From the year that she was born
She had mysterious affairs [?]
And promptly work out what her age is [?]

Chorus:
So speak to me
Just like you should
And then you can say those wicked things
And if you want
We'll make it good
Before my mood swings

Well he looked like one of those
Who would take off his clothes
Like he would peel a tangerine
Don't ****** know what truly blind is [?]
Once you have found out what your sign is

Chorus

(elvis costello/aimee mann)
There's no charity in you
And that surprises me
I guess i thought you were a golden idol
'cause i called you majesty
On the balustrade
You watched me hunt for tips i was obliged to pick up
From the passing trade

Chorus:
Hey, kids--look at this
It's the fall of the world's own optimist
I could get back up if you insist
But you'll have to ask politely
'cause the eggshells i've been treading
Couldn't spare me a beheading
And i'll know i had it coming
From a caesar who was only slumming
Hey, kids--look at this
It's the fall of the world's own optimist

Well, i could have objections
Which you could override
But what's the point--we're only flogging the horse
When the horseman has up and died
Once i testified
And swore i'd never leave a stone unturned--
I bet you're really glad that i lied

Chorus

Hey, kids--look at this
It's the fall of the world's own optimist
I could get back up if you insist
But you'll have to ask politely
Yes, you'll have to ask politely
Yes, you'll have to ask

When that i was and a little tiny boy
With a hey-ho
The wind and the rain
A foolish thing was but a toy
For the rain it raineth
Every day
But when i came to man's estate
With a hey-ho
The wind and the rain
'gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate
For the rain it raineth
Every day

But when i came alas to wife
With a hey-ho
The wind and the rain
By swaggering i could never fright
For the rain it raineth
Every day

But when i came unto my bed
With a hey-ho
The wind and the rain
With tosspots still a drunken head
For the rain it raineth
Every day

A great while ago the world began
With a hey-ho
The wind and the rain
But that's all one our play is done
And we'll strive to please you
Every day

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
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 or which is mine? - 45

Here is a song to sing to do the measuring
What did you lose, what did you gain, what did you win?

Bass and treble heal every hurt
There's a rebel in a nylon shirt
But the words are a mystery i've heard
Till you turn it down to thirty-three and a third
'cause it helps with the elocution
Corporations turn revolutions - 45

I heard something peculiar said
"perhaps he's got a shot" and "now he's dead" - 45
So don't you weep and shed(?)
Just change my name instead
But what do you lose when it all goes to your head?

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've blessed
I'll be lost i confess - 45 45 45

(composed: elvis costello/paddy moloney)
If on every ocean the ship is a throne
And for each mast cut down another sapling is grown
Then i could believe that i'm bound to find
A better life than i left behind

But as you ascend the ladder
Look out below where you tread
For the colors bled as they overflowed
Red, white and blue
Green, white and gold

So i had to leave from my country of birth
As for each child grown tall
Another lies in the earth
And for every rail we laid in the loam
There's a thousand miles of the long journey home

But as you ascend the ladder
Look out below where you tread
For the colors bled as they overflowed
Red, white and blue
Green, white and gold

she (tous les visages de l'amour)


(charles aznavour and herbert kretzmer)
She
May be the face i can't forget
A trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price i have to pay
She may be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day.

She
May be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
A smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem
Inside her shell

She who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She may be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That i'll remember till the day i die

She
May be the reason i survive
The why and wherefore i'm alive
The one i'll care for through the rough and ready years
Me i'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes i've got to be
The meaning of my life is

She, she, she

(mccartney/macmanus)
She said, "come in, my dear,
You're looking tired tonight
Your bath is drawn, let me loosen your tie
And fix you your usual drink"

He settles back
Takes a magazine
Kicks off his shoes
As he studies the form
Of every appealing soubrette

But where are the flowers that he used to bring?
Every endearing remark
Reminds her of passionate promises
That he only made in the dark
In her bed

She wants to shout at the back of his head
Look at me, look at me, look at me
I'm afraid
See what it's come to
I'm just your mistress and maid

The wine is warm
But the dinner is cold
The look in his eye tells her it won't be long
Till the girls on the page come to life

And they'll get the flowers that he used to bring
With every endearing remark
And all of the passionate promises
He'll never fulfil in the dark
In their bed

She wants to shout at the back of his head
Look at me, look at me, now that i'm not afraid.
See what it's come to
I'm not your mistress and maid

See what it's come to
I'm not your mistress and maid

(costello/nieve)
Above the tears
Before the scream
Invisible and secret scar
The true salvation is the human voice

Beloved voices of the past
The forever stiffled voice

Tender echoes
Lost cause
Miserable voice
Whispering voice

Incantations
Immaterial instrument

Attentive mothers
Darkness lighting lullabies

Stare of silence
Cruel disease
The ________ gag of hate

Unfailing welcome to the voice
Be welcome

Attractive red fruit of the mouth
Dangerous message on my skin

I feel so fluid
Lighter than air
Shy caress

A fleeting bride's veil on the throat
Forbidden kisses to drink
_______ siren

Virtuous sound
Vocal pleasure
Pleasure vocal

It's the real way to be drunk
To desert the common place
Sacred [bluesy prophet?]

I'm a slave to the voice
Unfailing welcome to the voice
In every tone a poignant oath

Voices to pray to fly to escape
[harmonized]
The sublimation of the hopes

The sublimation of the hopes
Spiritual vehicle of thought
The voice [is boundless?]

I love the voice

I see you laughin'
Right in my face
I guess i'm gonna have to
Put you in your place

Because if silence was golden
You couldn't raise a dime
Because your mind is on vacation
And your mouth is working overtime

You're quoting figures
And dropping names
You're tellin' stories
About the dames
You're over-laughin'
When things ain't funny
You're tryin' to sound
Like you're the big money, honey

If talk was criminal
You'd lead a life of crime
Because your mind is on vacation
And your mouth is working overtime

Life is short, talk is cheap
Don't go makin' promises that you can't keep
If you don't like this little song i'm singin'
Just grin and bear it
All i can say is if the rich shoe fits, wear it

If you must keep talkin', please try to make it rhyme
Because your mind is on vacation
And your mouth is working overtime

Well, i recall when we first met
It was on a friday night
We spent two lovely hours together
And the world seemed all right
I'm beggin' you, baby, please stop that off-the-wall jive
'cause if you don't treat me no better
It's gonna be your funeral and my trial

Well, the lord made the world and everything that's in it
The way my baby loves me, it's a sign that it's it [?]
She can love to heal the sick, she can love to raise the dead
You might think that i'm jokin', you better believe what i said

I'm beggin' you, babe, please stop that off-the-wall jive
Oh, if you don't treat me no better
It's gonna be your funeral and my trial

I see you laughin'
Right in my face
I guess i'm gonna have to put you in your place
'cause if talk was criminal
You'd lead a life of crime
Because your mind is on vacation
And your mouth is working overtime

(burt bacharach/hal david)
What do you get when you fall in love?
A guy with a pin to burst your bubble
That's what you get for all your trouble
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

What do you get when you kiss a girl
You get enough germs to catch pneumonia
After you do, she'll never phone you
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

Don't tell me what it's all about
'cause i've been there and i'm glad i'm out
Out of those chains those chains that bind you
That is why i'm here to remind you

What do you get when you give your heart
You get it all broken up and battered
That's what you get, a heart that's shattered
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

Out of those chains those chains that bind you
That is why i'm here to remind you

What do you get when you fall in love?
You only get lies and pain and sorrow
So for at least until tomorrow
I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

I'll never fall in love again
I'll never fall in love again

(mccartney/macmanus)
I feel such sorrow, i feel such shame
I know i won't arrive on time
Before whatever out there is gone
What can i do, that day is done

It's just a promise that i made
I said i'd walk in her parade
Hot scalding tears i thought would flow
Still in my heart they'll never show

Chorus:
That day is done
That day is done
You know where i've gone i won't be coming back
That day is done

Well i recall the time and place
When they announced her precious face
I thought at once my heart would burst
Still every time is like the first

There was applause when she stepped up
I wished that i could interrupt
I made no sign, i made no sound
I know i must stay underground

Chorus

That's why she walks, or so they say
She always knew just what i needed
Now if she would just look my way
One time before they proceed

She sprinkles flowers in the dirt
That's when a thrill becomes a hurt
I know i'll never see her face
She walks away from my resting place

Chorus

(mccartney/macmanus)
How many days does the wet weather lack?
I wanna go where the clouds when they roll back
Reveal a man in an old mack
Living on a park bench
Sitting on his own

Cut to the rain as it rolls down the glass
But then she leaves through the lightning and thunder
You see a man going under
This is how it happens
This is what he said

"i don't need love
Temptation is sweet
Give me your hand
Till i'm back on my feet
You're always telling me
About my misery
I'll see things you'll never see
Don't pity me"

Focus in on the breath of a man
Takes a brown paper bag from his knapsack
Between his whispers and wisecracks
He's looking for the wishing
Screaming at the sky

"i don't need love
Temptation is sweet
Give me your hand
Till i'm back on my feet
You're always telling me
About my misery
I'll see things you'll never see
Don't pity me"

"i'll be fine again,
Be all right without you
I'll stand up again
Kick off the puzzlement, too"

Cut back again to a girl walking by
To the beat of her old shoes and rolled socks
Climb on an invisible soapbox
Laughing at the traffic
Shouting at the word

"i don't need love
Temptation is sweet
Give me your hand
Till i'm back on my feet
You're always telling me
About my misery
I'll see things you'll never see
Don't pity me"

"i'll be fine again,
Be all right without you
I'll stand up again
Kick off the puzzlement, too"

Seeing life through the eyes of a man
As he lives and he dies by a simple titan
Well there you go, though you trying hard to know
When he's there on his legs
Sees the kinks where the people all go
Things start to fade as he pulls down the shade
And the picture made is in glorious cinemascope

(wener)
Quickly she came dressed up for fame
Riding her perfume downstairs
Make-up like glue, she danced round the room
To the sound of her corduroy flares

Let's go to town, taxis all round
We could stop for a couple of beers
He looks at it all stifles a yawn
She tries not to look like she cares

Chorus:
What do i do now? are we going under?
What did i do wrong?
I thought we had it sorted out the other day
Maybe i'm just stupid
Can't we try again?
No one told me it was raining (raining, raining)

Can't face a club, they walk to a nearby pub
Watch a couple of bands
Draining the glass they walk home at last
Reaching for each others hands

Nothing is said he goes to bed
Dreaming of her on his own
She stays up all week, watching him sleep
Scared that she'll wake up alone

Chorus

Oh i'll miss you every day of your life
Oh you'll feel it too, you're not that strong
You know i'm on to you
Oh i'll miss you every day of your life
Maybe when you're dead
I'll get some rest from holding onto you (holding onto you)

What do i do now? are we going under?
What did i do wrong?
Thought we had it sorted
Is there someone else? am i too familiar?
Was it when i said i wanted to have children?

Tore up all your photos, didn't feel too clever
Spent the whole of sunday sticking you together
Now i'd like to call but i feel too awkward
Some things need explaining
No one told me it was raining (raining, raining...)

Shall i wear a buttonhole to jog your memory?
So you'll recall the promise
That i swore you made to me when we were younger
You look sorry for yourself but what about?
I'm some idea you're not without a doubt
So you can put away that tongue
I don't know who i'm trying to kid
I'll find another name for you
I'll try to put the blame on you
For everything we did
Life shrinks and before you know it
You have forgotten all the cuts and bruises
Just be thankful we were only fighting for buttons
And you know by now who loses

You're only half awake because you never go to bed
And when he hears about it
You know then the both of you's is dead and that's a promise
You'll be sorry because i won't tell you again
You'll stick like that one day
And if you don't believe me go and ask st. thomas
I don't know where it's going to stop
Spend your whole time trying to stay
From breaking down or running away
Or trying to keep up

She came dancing right before my eyes
She said she'd came to warn me
Before it dawned on me
I went walking on the blank hillside
Where the sunset falls
Where the sunset dies
She gave me love, she told me lies
That most mischievous ghost
She was in disguise, she was in disguise, she was in disguise.

He started to whistle, they bought him a flute
He was talking in tongues, they swore he was mute
He scoffed and blasphemed, they said it was beautiful
Busted a button, they bought him a suitcase full

They coloured him cricket and laced him up tight
As he drew on their days resurrected his nights
He raved in the dark, he went out in a blaze
"there you go," they said, "he's good for nothing and lazy"

With scandal and shame they slandered his name
They told him to freeze, they damned him to roast
Disappointed that he passed away peacefully
Never [trying/dying] to be a mischievous ghost

They dug him up quick with a polish and lick
They powdered him up till he only looked sick
The hinge in his backbone would bend to applause
But his dancing was not quite as lively of course

These are the rewards immortality affords
Bullied and bribed and beaten to bliss
[harrington slacks/harrods in slacks] and tormental laments
Of going away and not being missed

With scandal and shame they slandered his name
They told him to freeze, they damned him to roast
Disappointed that he passed away peacefully
Never dying to be a mischievous ghost

With the green beer and the shamrock tattoos
Singing his songs of the battles we lose
And [when/will] you come home again so we can murder you
What would you do if they took his word
With forty-eight million to join in the toast
Move over my darling
Mischievous ghost
Mischievous ghost

(words: costello, music: nieve)
Here's a thought to dwell upon,
Daddy's girl is almost gone
Now there's just a vain princess
'her ruthlessness'
Tearing up the nursery
Stars more used to glittering
Pictured in the guttering
Faces caught about to laugh
Torn in half
Slipping through your fingers
See them scatter
Maybe it doesn't matter
But i still really want to pick pieces up
You can't fool me
With this lesson in cruelty
It's not as if i was asking time to stop
In violent blue
Like roses red
She laughed as she tore off his head
The hours she gazed on her former champion
Now it's just a frame of sellotape and torn wallpaper
As she rips his pretty face to bits
-chorus
It's too much too soon or so it seems
To put away these childish dreams
You'll find out soon enough that worship can be tough
Love is just a name to celebrate a vision
Or confetti littered with regrets.
See it scatter...
Dear heart to good to waste
But if some hot-head should claim it
Don't rush to his embrace
And it remains to say...
I'll love you just the same, whatever your decision
As you put the paper to the flame
(it's a lesson in cruelty)

We're gonna drink enough tonight to drown the average army
By new year's day the next door neighbour will be goin' barmy (yep,
That's how it's spelled)
The milkman arrives at midday with his usual wisecrack
Who knows a girl with wednesday legs so when's they gonna snap?
Chorus:
Why does everybody have to be so hale and hearty
Can't they see we're tryin' to have a party party party party

The last thing i remember i was talkin' to some fellas
Then she said she'd have a word for me with her good-looking mate
And handed me a pint-pot filled with advocaat and tizer
And i woke up in the flowerbed fearing fertilizer

(i would have thought "feeling fertilizer" would make more sense, but
Maybe that's just me and my strange sense of humour!)

(note: advocaat is a dutch drink, sometimes described as the "dutch
Eggnog", tizer is a scottish drink (i think), it even has its own
Website: www.tizer.co.uk)

Chorus

Bridge:
So shift yourself and shake your bod
You got bullet proof insurance from fire, flood and act of god
You got to learn from your mistakes
When you got a face like last week's cornflakes

The doors and the window frames are by pablo picasso
The party decorations owned by michelangelo
The fine music that you hear is by stravinsky
With overall design by leonardo davinci

Chorus

Bridge:
So shift yourself and shake your bod
You got bullet proof insurance from fire, flood and act of god
You got to learn from your mistakes
When you got a face like last week's cornflakes

Two boys are upstairs in your bed
Three girls are downstairs cryin'
The alka seltzer in the glass is roarin' like a lion
You think you've aged 10 years tonight and still never been kissed
So you overdose on aftershave and try to slash your wrist

Chorus and fade

st stephen's day murders

(paddy moloney/elvis costello)

I knew of two sisters whose name it was christmas,
And one was named dawn of course, the other one was named eve.
I wonder if they grew up hating the season,
Of the good will that lasts

(mccartney/macmanus)
She was counting out the window of the outbound train
All the poles of the telegraph
And the rock-a-bye rhythm in the song of the rails
Couldn't make the sweeper laugh

Down down down so deep
Down down drowning in his sleep
Tommy's coming home again

And a hawk hovered high above a skinny jackrabbit
Pursued by a hungry fox
And a broker awoke her from a fitful slumber
Then consulted his shares and his stocks

Down down down they go
Down down how he'll never know
Tommy's coming home again
And it's almost april fools' day

As he glanced on his paper looking through the veil (?)
He could see she was really upset
As she tucked back the ribbon in a velvet box
As he offered her a cigarette

Down down down she took a drag
Now he's covered in a flag
Tommy's coming home again
And it's almost april fools' day

Almost april fools' day
And the joke's on everyone
He had that premonition
Only dead men dwell upon

But how could he know that only twelve months later
She would wear her skirt up over her knee
And in the very same carriage she'd be flattened with roses
And forget the tears of bigotry (?)

Down down down they flow
Now now now it just don't matter anymore
Tommy made it home again
When it was almost april fools' day

Almost april fools' day
And the joke's on everyone
He had that premonition
Only dead men dwell upon

Tommy's coming home again
Tommy's coming home again
Tommy's coming home

This cruel old country has driven me down, teased me and lied.
I've only sad stories to tell to this town
My dreams have withered and died.
Once i was bending the tops of the trees,
Kind thoughts in my head, kind voices to hear.
Then i took up with a girl from the west.
They'd run and hide, they'd run and hide.
Count one to ten and she's gone like the rest.
My dreams have withered and died.
If i was a butterfly, lived for a day,
I could be free just blowing away.
Silver moon sailor and silver moonshine
On the water so wide, water so wide,
Slip from the bed of a good friend of mine
My dreams have withered and died.
Once i was bending the tops of the trees
Kind thoughts in my head, kind voices to hear.
This cruel country has driven me down, teased me and lied.
Teased me and lied.
I've only sad stories to tell to this town.
My dreams have withered and died. (x3)

She says what has her daddy done
That you want him to be punished
When she woke up one day to find
That he was starting to vanish
But _if you hope_ (?) to hear voices
You know you should not be listening
Push the vigilant lips
Make a slice of her face
Said the scandalous whispering

She's not on her own with the rest of her riches
As the kids paint him out of their refrigerator bitches
She picks up the bills and pays the babysitter
'cause everybody knows burnt sugar is so bitter

And once there was a time
Before you turned strange
She thought they'd be together
For more than a lifetime
Look at them now
My, how things have changed
He can tell his sweetheart
Out of any girl on just a whiff
And turn it from a candy to a caramel
And make her hate the silouette she used to feel
And say "i know nothing about you."

Now what's left of the birthday cake
Smeared and beautifully frosted
An absent father picks up the phone
To find the number's unlisted

While the kids are distracted
She'll 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 not on her own with the rest of her riches
As the kids tear down their refrigerator pictures
They already know how a woman may advance
From a pretty picture hat to a supermarket trance
Where it is unkind, she might as well forget it
'cause everybody knows burnt sugar is so bitter
Burnt sugar is so bitter
Burnt sugar
Burnt sugar
Burnt sugar

Here she comes with her almost ideal eyes
And her flawless skin and her petulant pout
The memory of such a long blond alibi
Still makes me want to shout out loud
You ************ when you clear your head my dear
You can't come out 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 rosey hue
So beautiful, trusting
You find liberal is an insult now and care is what you pay for
Be sure of what you're wishing for, be careful what you pray for
When you look into those almost ideal

Love is smiles, he will hypnotize you wild
He tries to analyze your dreams
Fill you up with all his big ideas while he really wants to make you
Scream out loud at the phony innocence
And 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 rosey hue
So beautiful, trusting
You find stupid is a compliment and thrill is what you play for
Be sure of what you're wishing for, be careful what you pray for
When you look into those almost ideal eyes

In the spirit(?) all your friends look 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 tranquilized
A feat that may fit to your new career
Whatever you invent you'll never be content with

Almost ideal eyes
Viewed through a rosey hue
So beautiful, trusting
Rebellion is just currency, the moon is what you pay for
Be sure of what you're looking for, be careful what you pray for
When you look into those almost ideal eyes

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