1
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues
I'm just the oily slick
On the windup world of the nervous tick
In a very fashionable hovel
I hang around dying to be tortured
You'll never be alone in the bone orchard
This battle with the bottle is nothing so novel
So in this almost empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass
You see your Alice
You know she has no sense
For all your jealousy
In a sense she still smiles very sweetly
Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous
And now you find you fit this identikit completely
You say you have no secrets
And then leave discreetly
I might make it California's fault
Be locked in Geneva's deepest vault
Just like the canals of Mars and the Great Barrier Reef
I come to you beyond belief
My hands were clammy and cunning
She's been suitably stunning
But I know there's not a hope in Hades
All the laddies cat call and wolf whistle
So called gentlemen and ladies
Dog fight like rose and thistle
I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief
I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief
I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief
The glib replies the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues
I'm just the oily slick
On the windup world of the nervous tick
In a very fashionable hovel
I hang around dying to be tortured
You'll never be alone in the bone orchard
This battle with the bottle is nothing so novel
So in this almost empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass
You see your Alice
You know she has no sense
For all your jealousy
In a sense she still smiles very sweetly
Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous
And now you find you fit this identikit completely
You say you have no secrets
And then leave discreetly
I might make it California's fault
Be locked in Geneva's deepest vault
Just like the canals of Mars and the Great Barrier Reef
I come to you beyond belief
My hands were clammy and cunning
She's been suitably stunning
But I know there's not a hope in Hades
All the laddies cat call and wolf whistle
So called gentlemen and ladies
Dog fight like rose and thistle
I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief
I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief
I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief
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Elvis (Declan MacManus) Costello is a wordsmith extraordinaire. I think the song is a statement, very simply, about the cycle of pursuit that men and women rotate in their whole life. The bar scene is just a piece of it. "My hands are clammy and cunning, she seems suitable stunning" to me, means the first realization of the attraction; while in that bar staring into the mirror ("two way looking glass"). The admission that struggling with alcohol, as though it were a "battle", is a personal comment by Elvis. He is a recovering alcoholic ("this battle with the bottle is nothing so novel"). Sexual tension is also prevalent here, "You say she has no sense for all your jealousy, In a sense she still smiles very sweetly". In the end of it all, it begins all over again: "I've got a feeling I'm gonna get a lot of grief, Once this seemed so appealing, Now I am beyond belief." What more needs to be said? Elvis is a genius and a wordsmith who has the skill and talent to weave complex human emotions and experience into a pictorial view of what is inside someone's (his) mind and heart as they (he) attempt to live on every day of their (his) life. And Every Day He Writes The Book....
@shobuz99 <br /> Another great example of his wordcraft is "New Amsterdam" <br /> <br /> Elvis has great word-play in his songs.<br />
@NomadMonad Yes. I have heard "New Amsterdam", and I like the lyrics and word play there as well. As a matter of fact, my fascination with Elvis Costello's 'word play' made me a collector of his albums, starting with "My Aim Is True" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Aim_Is_True in 1976. <br /> From that point on, I became an Elvis addict. The band I was singing for at the time, was covering "Red Shoes", "Alison", Mystery Dance" and "Watching The Detectives". I wanted to do "Less Than Zero", "Miracle Man" and "Waiting For The End Of The World". But the rest of the band was not keen on doing more than 4 covers from the same artist. <br /> We did a wide variety of music at that time; including Punk, New Wave, Southern Rock, Rock & Roll, and Blues. This made our set list "a song for everyone" in the audience. <br /> Nevertheless, I kept buying Elvis albums (vinyl) and stopped at "Punch The Clock"...I don't remember why. Because of my numerous friends in the music business; I was able to obtain cassette tapes from vinyls such as "King Of America", "Blood & Chocolate", and "Spike". I didn't get any more Elvis work until MomoFuku in 2008.<br /> All in all, I have been continuously fascinated with Elvis' "wordsmithing". <br /> I even added my own unauthorized lyrics to his song "Mystery Dance" as a 4th verse:<br /> "Well I was standing in the alley leanin' up against the breeze,<br /> when I got hit in the head with a bottle of DDT.<br /> She said 'Baby our love has come apart'.<br /> Well I was worried about my head instead of my broken heart<br /> [chorus]"<br /> My apologies to Elvis for attaching a "rider" to his genius. I guess I was so enamored with his work, that I felt I should make a tribute..or a conTRIBUTion, if you will. Sorry Elvis! <br /> Shobuz99