Elvis Costello Album

Everyone agreed that she looked delightful
Except for her sister, who was hateful and spiteful
Blushing bright red from her head to her feet
But rushing into her bridal suite
The imperial bedroom, the regal boudoir
This casual acquaintance led to an intimate bonsoir

Life turns out like a TV serial
A head full of daydreams, his hands full of material
She says it's not fair, he's messing up her hair
And still he looks so neat
Stepping into the bridal suite

The imperial bedroom, the regal boudoir
This casual acquaintance led to an intimate bonsoir

So the best man will do his best again
Now they're getting dressed again
Blushing bright red from her head to her feet
Sneaking out of the bridal suite

The imperial bedroom, the regal boudoir
This casual acquaintance led to an intimate bonsoir
We know who you're with and where you are
In the imperial bedroom, the regal boudoir
This casual acquaintance led to an intimate bonsoir
Two names under the register
In the imperial bedroom, the regal boudoir
This casual acquaintance led to an intimate bonsoir
Au revoir

All through the night you telephoned
I saw the light blinking red
Beside the cradle
But you don't know how far I've gone
Now I must live with the lie
That I made
But if I call, I know I won't have to say it
You'll hear my voice - something is bound to betray it

But do people living in Toledo
Know that their name hasn't travelled very well?
And does anybody in Ohio
Dream of that Spanish citadel?
But it's no use saying that I love you
And how that girl really didn't mean a thing to me
For if anyone should look into your eyes
It's not forgiveness that they're gonna see

You hear her voice - "How could you do that?"
You hear her voice - "How could you do that?"

So I walked outside in the bright
Sunshine and lovers pass by
Smiling and joking
But they don't know the fool I was
Why should they care what was lost
What was broken?

But if I call, I know I won't have to say it
You'll hear my voice - something is bound to betray it

But do people living in Toledo
Know that their name hasn't travelled very well?
And does anybody in Ohio
Dream of that Spanish citadel?
But it's no use saying that I love you
And how that girl really didn't mean a thing to me
For if anyone should look into your eyes
It's not forgiveness that they're gonna see

But do people living in Toledo
Know that their name hasn't travelled very well?
And does anybody in Ohio
Dream of that Spanish citadel?
But we still have Florence, Alabama
We don't have Paris, and we don't have Rome

I have to say that we should finish it now
Before we weaken ’cause we already know this is wrong
I could give in, sometimes I think that I will
Despite the temptation I try to be very strong
In my reluctance seems a surprise
It's not ’cause I don't want you

But I just
Know I must... hesitate

Because I still have that other girl
In my head
I still have that other girl in my head

There may be ugly rumors that
I have been lying
There may be angry tears, but
They're never worth the crying

That is why
Sometimes I... hesitate

Because I still have that other girl
In my head
I still have that other girl in my head
I still have that other girl in my head

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?

Think back now when we were young
There were always tears at the birthday party
You know how children can be
So cruel
That's how it starts, but
What if we never learn how to behave?
I did something, and you never forgave me
I never thought that it could be like this

But now I see
I see you share your cake with him
Unwrapping presents that I should have sent
What can I do?
Must I watch you?

Close the door, dim the lights, blow out the candles
So Happy Birthday again

And it's the same every year
Seems that I remember it as something more, but
You know how children can grow
So strange
I still adore you

What if we never learn from our mistakes?
But then, you'll never know how my heart aches

I never thought that it would be like this
But now I see
I see you share your cake with him
Unwrapping presents that I should have sent
What can I do?
Must I watch you?

Close the door, dim the lights, blow out the candles
So Happy Birthday again
Close the door, dim the lights, blow out the candles
So Happy Birthday again

One day I know he'll forget
To pay you the compliments you're after
You'll hang your sad, aching head
Behind a brittle smile or a shrill of laughter

What if we only get what we deserve?
Somehow I couldn't quite summon the nerve

Upon each anniversary
Then do you ever think of me?
Unwrapping presents that I should have sent
What can I do?
Must I watch you?

Close the door, dim the lights, blow out the candles
So Happy Birthday again
Close the door, dim the lights, blow out the candles
So Happy Birthday again
Close the door, dim the lights, blow out the candles
So Happy Birthday again
Close the door, dim the lights, blow out the candles
So Happy Birthday again

On a hot city day
When your white shirt turns to grey
That's when she'll arrive
When you look how you feel
Someone steps upon your heel
That's when she will come
Listen now
I'm not saying that there will be violins
But don't be surprised if they appear
Playing in some doorway
Still I can't believe that this is happening

We're such unlikely lovers
Though no one seems to notice as they hurry by
Ask me what I'm thinking, and I won't deny it
Can you believe it's happening?
Can you believe it's happening?

There were no magic spells
You can keep the flowers and bells
They just don't seem right
Can it actually be?
Me and you and you and me
Though we're like day and night

Listen now
I'm not saying that there will be violins
But don't be surprised if they appear
Playing in some doorway
Still I can't believe that this is happening

We're such unlikely lovers
Though no one seems to notice as they hurry by
Ask me what I'm feeling, and I won't deny it
Can you believe it's happening?
I am bewildered
Can you believe it's happening?
Somebody help me
Can you believe it's happening?

When I go to sleep, you become my thief
Why don't you steal what you can keep?
But you won't let me be
You break into my dreams
And every day seems different
Sometimes I pretend you'll come back again
And you'll console the heart you stole
Have pity on the man
Who knows that you have gone
And has begun to break down

I feel almost possessed
So long as I don't lose this glorious distress then
You can take all I have left
I know it's over
If you can't be my lover
Be my thief

I'm so drowsy now, I'll unlock the door
What fades in time will hurt much more
So here's that happy scene
Where you come back to me
It's only found in fiction

I feel almost possessed
So long as I don't lose this glorious distress then
You can take all I have left
I know it's over
If you can't be my lover
Be my thief

"I didn't lead you on,
But there will always be
A little larceny in everyone

So hush and don't you cry
I'm trying to be kind
Because I have a perfect alibi"

Did somebody try to catch your eye
And almost change your sad expression?
Did somebody's hand linger too long?
Must I now make my confession?
But you'll never know
What suspicion is
Until you lie awake

And every night you ask yourself
"What am I to do?"
Can it be so hard to calculate?
When three goes into two
There's nothing left over

How's it gonna feel? This time it's real
It's not a temporary fracture
This is what you get, the stage is set
For you and your attempted rapture

Is he gonna smile
That indulgent smile
When you come running home?

And every night you ask yourself,
"What am I to do?"
Can it be so hard to calculate?
When three goes into two
There's nothing left over

What am I gonna say? You turn away
And you leave me here despairing
What am I going to do? I look at you
You seem to be so long past caring

Did somebody say,
"Can we still be friends?"
Only to find out now that it's a joke

So ask yourself,
"What am I to do?"
Can it be so hard to calculate?
When three goes into two
There's nothing left over

Did somebody say,
"Can we still be friends?"
Did somebody say,
"Can we still be friends?"

Did somebody say,
"Can we still be friends?"
Did somebody say,
"Can we still be friends?"

Did somebody say,
"Can we still be friends?"
Did somebody say,
"Can we still be friends?"

Such a picture of loveliness
Didn't you notice the resemblance?
Doesn't it look like she could speak?
Those eyes I tried to capture
They are lost to me now forever
They smile for someone else

Funny, how looks can be deceiving
But she's not easily
Painted from memory

You'd think that I would know by now
Those eyes I tried to capture
They are lost to me now forever
They smile for someone else

And so this had to be
Painted from memory

She is gone, and I must accept it
She is lost to me now
But I can't look away just yet though
She smiles for someone else

And so this had to be
Painted from memory

Funny, now I can see
How looks can be deceiving

And so this had to be
Painted from memory

Funny, now I can see
How looks can be deceiving

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

What's her name today?
What's her name today?
She could be anyone
I might have known you'd leave her crying
What's her name again?
You should be ashamed
How could you treat her so unspeakably?
Or did you think she was a different girl?

For as the radio played in the bedroom wall
What was that name you called her?
Was she the one who took away your pride
And your reason?
Oh, why did you decide that
You'd punish any girl you meet
To try and make that feeling go away?

What's her name today?
What's her name today?
Is her hair hanging down?
Or maybe it's fixed with a ribbon

Are her eyes still blue?
Should she trust in you?
Because it's a lonely world
She wants to believe for a while in all the things you say

But as the radio played in the bedroom wall
What was that name you called her?
Isn't her smile reminiscent of someone else?
Well, is it or isn't it?
Oh, why did you decide that
You'd punish any girl you meet
To try and make that feeling go away?

What's her name today?
Is she going to stay
So you can ruin her?
And soon she'll be twisted in chiffon

Dress her like a doll
String her like a pearl
She hears peals of bells, but it's hard to tell
Now that she's hung up like a chandelier

What's her name?
What's her name?
What's her name today?

Now I have nothing
So God give me strength
'Cos I'm weak in her wake
And if I'm strong I might still break
And I don't have anything to share
That I won't throw away into the air
That song is sung out
This bell is rung out
She was the light that I'd bless
She took my last chance of happiness
So God give me strength
God give me strength

I can't hold on to
God give me strength
When the phone doesn't ring
And I'm lost in imagining
Everything that kind of love is worth
As I tumble back down to the earth

That song is sung out
This bell is rung out
She was the light that I'd bless
She took my last chance of happiness
So God give me strength

God if she'd grant me her indulgence and decline
I might as well
Wipe her from my memory
Fracture the spell
As she becomes my enemy

Maybe I was washed out
Like a lip-print on his shirt
See, I'm only human
I want him to hurt
I want him
I want him to hurt

Since I lost the power to pretend
That there could ever be a happy ending
That song is sung out
This bell is rung out
She was the light that I'd bless
She took my last chance of happiness
So God give me strength
God give me strength