Elvis Costello

[fox69]

"The Sweetest Punch"

"The Sweetest Punch"



You only saw red
After I said, "How can we continue?"
Hidden from your view
In the blue corner that I painted myself into
Then we started to fight
And it changed everything
Here's the ring

You dropped the band, I can't understand it
Not after all we've been through
Words start to fly, my glass jaw and I
Will find one to walk right into

You knocked me out
It was the sweetest punch
The bell goes...

I can hear it ringing, but I didn't see it coming
We all say things we don't mean
You can't take it back

Now the room is spinning, but was I the last to notice?
I can see I'll never win
So if you're going
Then you better go to him
Then you better go to him

I only saw stars
I dropped my guard, and that's how it ended
What was I to do
In the blue corner where I seemed to hang suspended?

Then with seconds to go
You delivered the blow
Here I go

You dropped the band, I can't understand it
Not after all we've been through
Words start to fly, my glass jaw and I
Will find one to walk right into

You knocked me out
It was the sweetest punch
The bell goes...

I can hear it ringing, but I didn't see it coming
We all say things we don't mean
You can't take it back

Now the room is spinning, but was I the last to notice?
I can see I'll never win
So if you're going
Then you better go to him
Then you better go to him

 

[fox69]

"The Unfailing Welcome To The Voice"

"The Unfailing Welcome To The Voice"


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

 

[fox69]

"The Very Thought Of You"

"The Very Thought Of You"



The very thought of you
And I forget to do
The little ordinary things
That everyone ought to do
I'm living in a kind of daydream
I'm happy as a king
And foolish though it may seem to me
That's everything

The mere idea of you
The longing year for you
You'll never know how slow the moments go
Till I'm near to you

I see your face in every flower
Your eye in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you
My love

The mere idea of you
The longing year for you
You'll never know how slow the moments go
Till I'm near to you

I see your face in every flower
Your eye in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you
My love

 

[fox69]

"The World And His Wife"

"The World And His Wife"



The family circle gather round from very far and near
To pass around the same remarks they passed away last year
The little girl you dangle on your knee without mishap
STIRS SOMETHING IN YOUR MEMORY
AND SOMETHING IN YOUR LAP
But it's a living
This is the life
For the world and his wife
The world and his wife

The kissing cousins slip outside to cuddle and confess
She says sweet nothing at all it's much more of a mess
The conversation melts like chocolate down their open jaws
As the juniper berry slips down just like last night's drawers

To tell the truth our Mum ran off with someone else's father
WENT FOR TWO WEEKS' HOLIDAY IN TARAMASALATA
Daddy went out with the rubbish and he kept on walking
Between Mum and the walls
God only knows who does the talking

But later on in the evening through the tears and fol de rol
Come the sentimental feelings for the lure of vitriol
Longing thoughts go hankering for the old home overseas
WITH A BLINDFOLD AND A NATIONAL ANTHEM
SUNG IN DIFFERENT KEYS

 

[fox69]

"There Won't Be Anymore"

"There Won't Be Anymore"



Don't wait for the telephone if you want a call from me
There won't be anymore, there won't be anymore
And don't wait for the mailman if you want a letter from me
There won't be anymore, there won't be anymore
All the love we had until you turn back
And it broke my lovin' heart in two

When you're heart is breakin' and you want some lovin' from me
There won't be anymore, it won't be like before
It won't be like before, there just won't be anymore

All the love we had until you turn back
And it broke my lovin' heart in two

When you're heart is breakin' and you want some lovin' from me
There won't be anymore, it won't be like before
It won't be like before, there just won't be anymore

 

[fox69]

"There's A Story In Your Voice"

"There's A Story In Your Voice"



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

 

[fox69]

"They'll Never Take Her Love From Me"

"They'll Never Take Her Love From Me"



If today the sun should set on all my hopes and cares
There is one who's smiling face the gods would see
For she'll walk along beside me up the golden stairs
Oh, they'll never, never take her love from me

What a fool I was to go and break the trust she gave
And see her love turn into sympathy
It's the one regret I carry with me to my grave
Oh, they'll never, never take her love from me

I'm so thankful for each golden hour of happiness
That we shared together in the used to be
Someone else's arms may hold her now in fond caress
But, they'll never, never take her love from me

I thought I would make her happy if I stepped aside
But I knew her love would never set me free
And even on the morning she became another's bride
I said, "They'll never, never take her love from me."

 

[fox69]

"This House Is Empty Now"

"This House Is Empty Now"



These rooms play tricks upon you
Remember when they were always filled with laughter?
But now they're quite deserted
They seem to just echo voices raised in anger
Maybe you will see my face
Reflected there on the pane
In the window of our poor
Forlorn and broken home

Still this house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?

These walls were lined with pictures
Remember the glass we charged in celebration?
But now I fill my life up
With all that I can to deaden this sensation

Do you recognize the face
Fixed in that fine silver frame
Were you really so unhappy then?
You never said

So this house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?

Oh, if I could just become forgetful
When night seems endless
Does the extinguished candle care
About the darkness?

It's funny how my mem'ry
Will bring you so close then make you disappear

Meanwhile all our friends must choose
Who they will favour, who they will lose
Hang the garland high or close the door
And throw away the key

This house is empty now
There's no one living here
You have to care about
This house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?

This house is empty now
There's no one living here
You have to care about
This house is empty now
There's nothing I can do
To make you want to stay
So tell me how
Am I supposed to live without you?

 

[fox69]

"This Is Hell"

"This Is Hell"


[Chorus:]
This is hell, this is hell
I am sorry to tell you
It never gets better or worse
But you get used to it after a spell
For heaven is hell in reverse

The bruiser spun a hula hoop
As all the barmen preen and pout
The neon "i" of nightclub flickers on and off
And finally blew out
The irritating jingle
Of the belly-dancing phoney Turkish girls
The eerie glare of ultra violet
Perfect dental work

[Chorus]

The failed Don Juan in the big bow-tie
Is very sorry that he spoke
For he's mislaid his punchline
More than halfway through a very tasteless joke
The fraulein caught him peeking down her gown
He's yelling in her ear
And all at once the music stopped
As he was intimately bellowing "My dear . . ."

[Chorus]

The shirt you wore with courage
And the violent nylon suit
Reappear upon your back
And undermine the polished line you try to shoot
It's not the torment of the flames
That finally see your flesh corrupted
It's the small humiliations that your memory piles up

This is hell, this is hell, this is hell.

"My Favourite Things" are playing
Again and again
But it's by Julie Andrews
And not by John Coltrane
Endless balmy breezes and perfect sunsets framed
Vintage wine for breakfast
And naked starlets floating in Champagne
All the passions of your youth
Are tranquillised and tamed
You may think it looks familiar
Though you may know it by another name

[Chorus]

This is hell, this is hell.

 

[fox69]

"This Offer Is Unrepeatable"

"This Offer Is Unrepeatable"



DON'T SEND ANY MONEY!
Fate has no price
Ignore at your peril this splendid advice
An invaluable link in an infinite chain
An offer like this will just not come again
You wish you had women to charm and bewitch
Power of life and death over the rich young girls will
be swooning
Because you're exciting them
And not only fall at your feet but be biting them

Guaranteed, guaranteed to capture your breath
Or just possibly scare you to death

Sign it and seal it and send it to friends
But don't mention my name
Don't make any long term plans

In thirty-six hours your fortunes will change
Your best friends won't know you
And neither will strangers
Do not keep this letter
It must leave your hand
You have been selected from over five thousand

A twister or dupe will bamboozle or hoodwink you
I can't say more it would only confuse you
The wine that they offer will go to your head
And you'll start to see double in fishes and bread

Guaranteed, guaranteed for a lifetime or more
Guaranteed, for this world and the next
Guaranteed, guaranteed for the world and its mother
Cherish this life as you don't get another one

UNLESS you should take up this fabulous offer
Don't leave it too late or you'll be bound to suffer
And woebetide anyone so woebegone
You won't know you're born or about to pass on

You'll never get tired
You'll never get bored
By the way I just hope you're insured

And if you're not satisfied
If you want more
We can always provide an improved overture
Guaranteed at a price that is almost unbeatable
This offer is unrepeatable

Your trouble will vanish
Your tears will dry
Your blessing will just multiply
Guaranteed at a price that is almost unbeatable
This offer is unrepeatable

Guaranteed, guaranteed to bring fortune and favor
In a riot of colours, (a variety of) and flavours
Guaranteed at a price that is almost unbeatable
This offer is unrepeatable

Would I lie to you? Would I sell you a dud?
Just sign on the line. Could you possibly write it in
blood?