Elvis Costello

"She Was No Good"

"She Was No Good"



She could be no good, I'm telling you
Gather 'round boys for a tale that is tragic and true
On the Mississippi riverboat, "Magnolia"
No one onboard was smelling too sweet
That precious one must have been stamping her feet

Dictating demands all well and fine
A few rods west of the Bridgeport line
But the veil was drawn and the halo slipped
Tippling tinctures and reciting scripture

Faces where slapped just as kid gloves were suffered
Vile threats were uttered and challenges were offered
On the Cumberland riverboat, "E. W. Stephens"
Daggers were drawn on pistols pulled
Staggering 'til dawn filled up with whiskey and rum

And several drunken players ran amok
Rampaging with the crew around the deck
And I received a blow that was unkind
It turned my cheek to the colour of gentian violet
I wouldn't say that this journey had quite been the highlight
Of the All-American Tour
Teetering on the edge of war
Out of the genteel Northern prosceniums
Filled up with imitation Europeans
Down along the river of rough damnations
By the blood-stained cotton and the slave plantations

She could be no good, I'm telling you
Gather round boys for a tale that is tragic and true
And I received a blow that was unkind
It turned my cheek to the colour of gentian violet
I wouldn't say that this journey had quite been the highlight
Of the All-American Tour
Teetering on the edge of war
Out of the genteel Northern prosceniums
Filled up with imitation Europeans
Down along the river of rough damnations
By the blood-stained cotton and the slave plantations

"She's Pulling Out The Pin"

"She's Pulling Out The Pin"



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

"Shipbuilding"

"Shipbuilding"



Is it worth it
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife
And a bicycle on the boy's birthday
It's just a rumour that was spread around town
By the women and children
Soon we'll be shipbuilding
Well I ask you
The boy said 'DAD THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE ME TO TASK
BUT I'LL BE BACK BY CHRISTMAS'
It's just a rumour that was spread around town
Somebody said that someone got filled in
For saying that people get killed in
The result of this shipbuilding
With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls
It's just a rumour that was spread around town
A telegram or a picture postcard
Within weeks they'll be re-opening the shipyards
And notifying the next of kin
Once again
It's all we're skilled in
We will be shipbuilding
WITH ALL THE WILL IN THE WORLD
DIVING FOR DEAR LIFE
WHEN WE COULD BE DIVING FOR PEARLS

"Shoes Without Heels"

"Shoes Without Heels"



This love of mine is packed with stepping stone
These shoes are made for walking in reverse
In the dead of night, you tiptoe out and leave me all alone
Putting on your satin slip-ons and your sultry French cologne.
She's wearing shoes without heels.
She's walking over the floor.
She's walking all over me
Weirder therein, you know how it feels
When she walks right out of the door.

Well, I thought that I was bigger than this town
I thought I'd spend a pace and go the distance
But she picked me out, she used me up, and then she put me down
Now I'm driven til I'm crying, or I'm dreaming till I drown.

She's wearing shoes without heels.
She's walking over the floor.
She's walking all over me
Weirder therein, you know how it feels
When she walks right out of the door.

While you're busy packing underwear and other worthless trinkets,
Spare a thought for worthless men who drag on women like they're
cigarettes, 'cause you watch him walk away from you
While he gets down and deals
Oh, he'll watch you walk away without heels

Oh, you think that he's a fool to tolerate
All the liberty you cherish and you roughly take
But to watch your love turn slowly from indifference to hate
Would hurt him more than any heart that you might care to break.

She's wearing shoes without heels.
She's walking over the floor.
She's walking all over you
But when she's finished, I know (?)
When she walks right back through the door.

"Shot With His Own Gun"

"Shot With His Own Gun"


How does it feel now you've been undressed
by a man with a mind like the gutter press
So disappointed to find it's no big sin
Lying skin to skin

[Chorus:]
Shot with his own gun
Now dad is keeping mum
Shot with his own gun

Now somebody has to pay for the one who got away

What's on his mind now is anyone's guess
Losing his touch with each caress
Spending ev'ry evening looking so appealing
He comes without warning
Leaves without feeling

[Chorus]

On your marks, man, ready, set
Let's get loaded and forget

The little corporal got in the way
And he got hit by an emotional ricochet
It's a bit more now than dressing up dolly
Playing house seems so melancholy

[Chorus]

Oh it's too sad to be true
Your blue murder's killing you

"Sittin' And Thinkin'"

"Sittin' And Thinkin'"



I got loaded last night on a bottle of gin
And I had a fight with my best girlfriend
When I'm drinkin' I am nobody's friend
So please baby wait for me until they let me out again
I know the same thing has happened before
And each time it happens, I hate it more & more
When I'm drinkin' I am nobody's friend
So please baby wait for me until they let me out again

I spent a whole lotta time sittin' & thinkin'
Sittin' & just thinkin' 'bout you
If I didn't spend so much time sittin' & drinkin'
We'd still have the love I thought we knew

I won't promise the same thing won't happen again
But I can promise, it'll be a long, long time till then
'Cause when I'm drinkin' I am nobody's friend
So please baby wait for me until they let me out again

"Six-Fingered Man"

"Six-Fingered Man"



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?

"Sleep Of The Just"

"Sleep Of The Just"


The soldier asked my name and did I come here very often
Well I thought that he was asking me to dance
In my holy coat and hat and him in his red bonnet
We'd have made a lovely couple but we never had the chance

[Chorus:]
And now you say that you've got to go
Well if you must you must
I suppose that you need the sleep of the just

Well it was a powerful day and there were black crows in the road
And I kept my strong opinions to my chest
I suppose I should have told them that I was on fire for you
When the bus burst into flames outside some place, 'The Poet's Rest'

[Chorus]

A girl woke up in a naked light and said "Oh no not again"
He even looked like her brother in the army but she never mentions him
He'll be tucked up in his bed tonight with his dirty-pictures girl
Saying, 'You're some mother's daughter you know or is it
immaterial girl?'

Now she's pinned up upon the barracks wall in her home town
All the soldiers taking turns with their attentions
And as they speculate what she'd look like beneath that thin nightgown
His family pride was rising up as he cast his eyes down

"Sleepless Nights"

"Sleepless Nights"



Through the sleepless nights
I cry for you
And wonder who
Is kissing you
Oh, these sleepless nights
Will break my heart in two

Somehow, through the day
I don't give in
I hide the tears
That wait within
Oh, these sleepless nights
Will break my heart again

Why did you go?
Oh, why did you go?
Don't you know, don't you know
I need you?

Through the sleepless nights
I cry for you
And wonder who
Is kissing you
Oh, these sleepless nights
Will break my heart in two
Oh, oh, oh, oh, these sleepless nights
Will break my heart in two
Oh, oh, oh, oh, these sleepless nights
Will break my heart in two