King of America de Elvis Costello

Listado de Canciones

Disco 1

1. Brilliant Mistake3:45

   Letra

   He thought he was the King of America Where they pour Coca Cola just like vintage wine Now I try hard not to become hysterical But I'm not sure if I am laughing or crying I wish that I could push a button And talk in the past and not the present tense And watch this hurtin' feeling disappear Like it was common sense It was a fine idea at the time Now it's a brilliant mistake She said that she was working for the ABC News It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use Her perfume was unspeakable It lingered in the air Like her artificial laughter Her mementos of affairs "Oh" I said "I see you know him" "Isn't that very fortunate for you" And she showed me his calling card He came third or fourth and there were more than one or two He was a fine idea at the time Now he's a brilliant mistake He thought he was the King of America But it was just a boulevard of broken dreams A trick they do with mirrors and with chemicals The words of love in whispers And the axe of love in screams I wish that I could push a button And talk in the past and not the present tense And watch this lovin' feeling disappear Like it was common sense I was a fine idea at the time Now I'm a brilliant mistake
2. Lovable2:53

   Letra

   Chorus: It's going round the town It's going round the town It's going round the town You're so lovable My baby gave me notice to quit I just can't get used to it She broke my little heart in two Now somebody else is being the same old you Chorus My baby has Egyptian eyes And a wicked look beyond compare If you thought I was a fool for you Then I must be a bigger fool for her Chorus He'd turn the flowers of springtime into a wreath He says he'd love you eternally I say please please can't you keep it brief They say they're going to bury you Because you're so lovable Put your money where your mouth was You're so lovable Each tender mumble brings us closer to bedlam You're so lovable The toast of the town and the talk of the bedroom You're so lovable You're so sweet You're so honest You say `I'll be true to you boy' But I won't promise Then you say you love me Then you show me As you lie there so lifelike below me Chorus
3. Our Little Angel4:05

   Letra

   This is the place where I made my best mistakes This is the place even angels don't understand I've seen the disappointment in her face And the collection of engagement rings on her right hand She sits alone apart from the crowd In a white dress she wears like a question mark Friends speak of her fondly Enemies just think out loud You think you're man enough to please her And you're fool enough to start You're not going to do a thing to our little angel There's nothing you're thinking tonight that tomorrow won't change Now the cabaret is frozen and the laughter comes in cans And the lonely hearts club clientele don't know what to do with their hands You think that you'll be sweet to her but everybody knows That you're the marshmallow valentine that got stuck on her clothes But you're not going to do a thing to our little angel There's nothing you're thinking tonight that tomorrow won't change So you mix your drinks and words You make bad jokes you make bad time The floors are there to walk over The walls are there to climb You swear that you'll never go back again once you're inside You're never the bridegroom she's always the bride And you're not going to do a thing to our little angel There's nothing you're thinking tonight that tomorrow won't change You'll come in a sweetheart and you'll go out a stranger Well you try to love her but she's so contrary Like a chainsaw running through a dictionary So get your mind off the sweet behind of our little angel You're not going to do a thing You're not going to do a thing You're not going to do a thing to our little angel
4. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood3:21
5. Glitter Gulch3:17

   Letra

   Enter Madam X painted in a shocking pink spangled dress Her teeth are perfect but her mouth is loose Rubbing their hands together she persuades them that it's better to confess Which unpleasant fate they'd like to choose Chorus: Every step might be your last Money signs are in your eyes sucker You've been taken in this time You might just get out alive if you're lucky All the vultures tuning in to Glitter Gulch Are looking in on you And they're hungry He stood five feet tall in his elevator shoes and stovepipe hat He was known by several different names Prompted by Madam X he answered all their questions And then after that he said I'm sick and tired of stupid games Chorus We've got prizes if you can afford Some small humiliation before you get your reward And I'd rather be an outlaw than an inlaw to you And to live my life in miserable poverty Than to have to grovel to have some dream home hovel So watch me while I get away with prime time robbery As he enters Madam X he things of red raged faces and the sweet greenbacks He climbed upon his honey and he covered her with money As they do their victory dance He thinks I hope they choke upon their laughter tracks They can all go straight to hell while we howl down the whole hotel
6. Indoor Fireworks4:10

   Letra

   We play these parlour games We play at make believe When we get to the part where I say that I'm going to leave Everybody loves a happy ending but we don't even try We go straight past pretending To the part where everybody loves to cry (refrão) Indoor fireworks Can still burn your fingers Indoor fireworks We swore we were safe as houses They're not so spectacular They don't burn up in the sky But they can dazzle or delight Or bring a tear When the smoke gets in your eyes You were the spice of life The gin in my vermouth And though the sparks would fly I thought our love was fireproof Sometimes we'd fight in public darling With very little cause But different kinds of sparks would fly When we got on our own behind closed doors (refrão) It's time to tell the truth These things have to be faced My fuse is burning out And all that powder's gone to waste Don't think for a moment dear that we'll ever be through I'll build a bonfire of my dreams And burn a broken effigy of me and you (refrão)
7. Little Palaces3:49

   Letra

   In Chocolate Town all the trains are painted brown On the silver paper of the wrapper There's a dapper little man And he wears a wax moustache That he twists with nicotine fingers As he drops his cigarette ash And someone comes and sweeps it up And then he doffs his cap And there's a rat in someone's bedroom And they're shutting someone's trap And they'll soon be pulling down the little palaces And the doors swing back and forward, from the past into the present And the bedside crucifixion turns from wood to phosphorescent. And they're moving problem families from the South up to the North, Mother's crying over some soft soap opera divorce, And you say you didn't do it, but you know you did of course, And they'll soon be pulling down the little palaces. It's like shouting in a matchbox, filled with plasterboard and hope, Like a picture of Prince William in the arms of John the Pope. There's a world of good intentions, and pity in their eyes, The sedated homes of England, are theirs to vandalize. So you knock the kids about a bit, because they've got your name, And you knock the kids about a bit, until they feel the same. And they feel like knocking down the little palaces. You're the twinkle in your daddy's eye, a name you spray and scribble, You made the girls all turn their heads, and in turn they made you miserable. To be the heir apparent, to the kingdom of the invisible. So you knock the kids about a bit, because they've got your name, And you knock the kids about a bit, until they feel the same. And they feel like knocking down the little palaces.
8. I'll Wear It Proudly4:24
9. American Without Tears4:34

   Letra

   Outside in new orleans the heat was almost frightening But my hotel room as usual was freezing and unkind On tv they prosecute anyone who's exciting So i put on my overcoat and went down to find In revlon and crimpelene they captured my heart To the strain of a piano and a cocktail murderess She was singing that "it's too late", i agreed with that part For two english girls who had changed their address Chorus Now it seems we've been crying for years and for years Now i don't speak any english, just american without tears Just american without tears One had been a beauty queen and the other was her friend They had known rogues and rascals and showbiz impresarios While the boys were licking hitler they had something to defend From men armed with chewing gum and fine nylon hose By a bicycle factory as they sounded the siren And returned into the dancehall she knew he was the one Though he wasn't tall or handsome she laughed when he told her "i'm the sheriff of nottingham and this is little john" Chorus At a dock in southampton full of tearful goodbyes Newsreel commentators said "cheerio, g.i. brides" Soon they'll be finding the cold facts and lies New words for suspenders and young girls backsides Now i'm in america and running from you Like my grandfather before me walked the streets of new york And i think of all the women i pretend mean more than you When i open my mouth and i can't seem to talk Now it seems we've been crying for years and for years Now i don't speak any english just american without tears Just american without tears
10. Eisenhower Blues3:46

    Letra

    Hey everybody I'm a talking to you I ain't telling you jealous It's just the natural truth Oh oh oh I got the Eisenhower Blues Thinking about me and you and what on earth are we gonna do? My money's gone, the fun is gone The way things look I can't be here long Oh oh oh I got the Eisenhower Blues Thinking about me and you and what on earth are we gonna do? Taking all my money to pay the tax I'm telling you people the natural facts I'm telling you people, in my belief I am headed straight on relief Oh I got the Eisenhower Blues Thinking about me and you and what on earth are we gonna do? I ain't got a dime, ain't got a cent Ain't got no money to pay my rent She wants some clothes, she wants some shoes I'm telling you people I don't know what to do Oh I got the Eisenhower Blues Talking about me and you and what on earth are we gonna do? Taking all my money to pay the tax I'm telling you people the natural facts I'm telling you people, in my belief I am headed straight on relief Oh I got the Eisenhower Blues Thinking about me and you and what on earth are we gonna do? Oh I got the Eisenhower Blues Talking about me and you and what the hell are we gonna do?
11. Poisoned Rose4:06

    Letra

    The poisoned rose That you gave to me It left me half alive And half in ecstasy But if half of your love Is all I can win Give me just a fraction But no more medicine The poisoned rose On a Valentine card That you take straight to the heart That you call my junkyard But if all I can do is save pieces of you The piece of your mind The piece of your heart Didn't tear me apart Like the poisoned rose I received from you I don't know How we came to grow Into this very sad affair Everytime we do the decent thing Somebody spikes the drink And a single becomes a pair The poisoned rose That you wear at your best That I keep pressed between the white sheets Where you lie half undressed I threw away my shirt and shoes You looked and I dived in It's just you and me now 'Cause I threw away the gin I threw away your alibis And all your worn-out clothes I threw myself upon the floor But I couldn't throw away This poisoned rose This poisoned rose This poisoned rose
12. Big Light
13. Jack of All Parades5:17

    Letra

    When we first met I didn't know what to do My old love lines were all worn out on you And the world walked round at my mouth They lit me up and they snuffed me out Chorus: And I was everybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades You won't know who to thank You won't know who to blame It's just a part of the Murdering Game 'Cos down in the fleshpots Where they pay you in pounds They're laughing like drains And baying like bloodhounds For the Jack of all parades The Jack of all parades Once I knew a girl That looked so much like Judy Garland That people would stop and give her money And everybody was Frankie, Jimmy or Bobby Not the Jack, the Jack of all Parades, Oh the Jack, the Jack of all Parades, Oh the Jack, of all Parades. Now the way that I feel is no longer news You know my love and how to refuse it Cause you know where the door is And how to use it Oh you know you do But from my chequered past To this shattered terrace Where you can't keep your mind off the Crimes of Paris And you can't keep your peace And try to forget it And I can't forgive you For things you haven't done yet Oh I was anybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades When we first met I didn't know what to do My old love lines were all worn out on you And the world walked 'round my mouth I didn't mean to say it I just blurted it out As you pretended not to notice Or be taken aback And I loved you there and then It's as simple as that Oh I was everybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades Oh the Jack of all parades
14. Suit of Lights4:05

    Letra

    While Nat King Cole sings "Welcome To My World" You request some song you hate you sentimental fool And it's the force of habit If it moves then you fuck it If it doesn't move you stab it And I thought I heard "The Working Man's Blues" He went out to work that night and wasted his breath Outside there was a public execution Inside he died a thousand deaths Chorus: And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they pulled him out of the cold cold ground And they put him in a suit of lights In the perforated first editions Where they advocate the hangman's noose Then tell the sorry tale of the spent Princess Her uncouth escort looking down her dress Anyway they say that she wears the trousers And learnt everything that she does And doesn't know if she should tell him yes Or let him go Chorus Well it's a dog's life in a rope leash or a diamond collar It's enough to make you think right now But you don't bother For goodness sake as you cry and shake Let's keep you face down in the dirt where you belong And think of all the pleasure that it brings Though you know that it's wrong And there's still life in your body But most of it's leaving Can't you give us all a break Can't you stop breathing And I thought I heard "The Working Man's Blues" I went to work that night and wasted my breath Outside they're painting tar on somebody It's the closest to a work of art that they will ever be Chorus And they put him in a suit of lights

Disco 2

1. Having It All
2. Suffering Face

   Letra

   Well, there's an old man's fantasy Put in a young girl's mouth Like cheap pink lipstick Smeared on her wedding dress Will you look what you've done to her Will you look at this disgrace Well, it's all over Your suffering face If we were chrome, we would be rusty If we were thirst, we would be quenched You don't need the same old rivet gun You need a brand new wrench Someone to pull you down on the ground And cover you with kisses Once I was the jewel of your heart Now I'm only semi-precious But if I seem so preoccupied It's just my alibi--I'm all broken up inside Even the words of love seem cruel and crass When you're tough and transparent as armored glass I prepared a bed for you Then I sprayed perfume Upon the wilted roses That I'd scattered 'round the room You came in gentle as a lamb And turned into a terror And you left your love and other threats In the steam fading on my bathroom mirror Well, it's an old man's fantasy Put in a young girl's mouth Like cheap pink lipstick Smeared on her wedding dress Will you look what you've done to me Now you've put me in my place Oh, it's all over It's all over It's all over Your suffering face
3. Deportee

   Letra

   In the Arrivederci Roma nightclub, bar and grill Standing in the fiberglass ruins watching time stand still All your troubles you confess to another faceless, backless dress Schnapps, chianti, porter and ouzo Pernod, vodka, sambuca--I love you so Deportee There's a tatty beauty talking in riddles Rome burns down and everybody fiddles Deportee But a thousand dollars won't buy you a Yank, you wife, alas There's a thousand years of history ground in this chaser glass And how I wish that she was mine I could have been the King in Six Eight Time Deportee Oh, it's a brittle charm, but she's had enough Still she wrote her name upon his paper cuff And you don't where to start or where to stop All this pillow talk is nothing more than finally talking shop When I came here tonight my pockets were overflowing They took my return ticket without me even knowing Well, I pray to the saints and all the martyrs For the secret life of Frank Sinatra But none of these things have come to pass In America the law is a piece of ass Deportee So it's Schnapps, chianti, porter and ouzo Pernod, vodka, sambuca--I love you so Deportee Deportee Poor Deportee
4. Indoor Fireworks4:10

   Letra

   We play these parlour games We play at make believe When we get to the part where I say that I'm going to leave Everybody loves a happy ending but we don't even try We go straight past pretending To the part where everybody loves to cry (refrão) Indoor fireworks Can still burn your fingers Indoor fireworks We swore we were safe as houses They're not so spectacular They don't burn up in the sky But they can dazzle or delight Or bring a tear When the smoke gets in your eyes You were the spice of life The gin in my vermouth And though the sparks would fly I thought our love was fireproof Sometimes we'd fight in public darling With very little cause But different kinds of sparks would fly When we got on our own behind closed doors (refrão) It's time to tell the truth These things have to be faced My fuse is burning out And all that powder's gone to waste Don't think for a moment dear that we'll ever be through I'll build a bonfire of my dreams And burn a broken effigy of me and you (refrão)
5. I Hope You're Happy Now
6. Poisoned Rose4:06

   Letra

   The poisoned rose That you gave to me It left me half alive And half in ecstasy But if half of your love Is all I can win Give me just a fraction But no more medicine The poisoned rose On a Valentine card That you take straight to the heart That you call my junkyard But if all I can do is save pieces of you The piece of your mind The piece of your heart Didn't tear me apart Like the poisoned rose I received from you I don't know How we came to grow Into this very sad affair Everytime we do the decent thing Somebody spikes the drink And a single becomes a pair The poisoned rose That you wear at your best That I keep pressed between the white sheets Where you lie half undressed I threw away my shirt and shoes You looked and I dived in It's just you and me now 'Cause I threw away the gin I threw away your alibis And all your worn-out clothes I threw myself upon the floor But I couldn't throw away This poisoned rose This poisoned rose This poisoned rose
7. I'll Wear It Proudly4:24
8. Jack of All Parades5:17

   Letra

   When we first met I didn't know what to do My old love lines were all worn out on you And the world walked round at my mouth They lit me up and they snuffed me out Chorus: And I was everybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades You won't know who to thank You won't know who to blame It's just a part of the Murdering Game 'Cos down in the fleshpots Where they pay you in pounds They're laughing like drains And baying like bloodhounds For the Jack of all parades The Jack of all parades Once I knew a girl That looked so much like Judy Garland That people would stop and give her money And everybody was Frankie, Jimmy or Bobby Not the Jack, the Jack of all Parades, Oh the Jack, the Jack of all Parades, Oh the Jack, of all Parades. Now the way that I feel is no longer news You know my love and how to refuse it Cause you know where the door is And how to use it Oh you know you do But from my chequered past To this shattered terrace Where you can't keep your mind off the Crimes of Paris And you can't keep your peace And try to forget it And I can't forgive you For things you haven't done yet Oh I was anybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades When we first met I didn't know what to do My old love lines were all worn out on you And the world walked 'round my mouth I didn't mean to say it I just blurted it out As you pretended not to notice Or be taken aback And I loved you there and then It's as simple as that Oh I was everybody's boy But soon that thrill just fades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades To be the love of one true heart Or the Jack of all parades Oh the Jack of all parades
9. People's Limousine
10. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me
11. King of Confidence

    Letra

    She had her mind made up just like her face She painted in the lines and shadows She shaded color in that would express The lonely mood that follows Love, short and painful and tidy lies in self-defense She just told a thing or two to the King of Confidence You said that he could tell her anything She even held him when he was crying And made her feel she was the only one You knew that he was lying when he said he was lying Love is short and painful, that she finally made sense Of the love he had for the one and only King of Confidence It's hard enough to be your lover and alone your confidant You say you know what I need but you don't know who I want It's just another tawdry morning now another tarnished farewell Your body's tired and complaining now But you're too tore down to tell Love is short and painful, all you kind ladies and gents I spent years and a couple of days as the King of Confidence It's hard enough to be your lover and alone your confidant You say you know what I need but you don't know who I want It's just another tawdry morning now another tarnished farewell Your body's tired and complaining now But you're too tore down to tell Love is short and painful, all you kind ladies and gents I spent years and a couple of days as the King of Confidence I spent years and a couple of days as the King of Confidence
12. Shoes Without Heels

    Letra

    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 'til 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.
13. End of the Rainbow
14. Betrayal
15. That's How You Got Killed Before
16. Big Light
17. It Tears Me Up

    Letra

    I see you walk with him I see you talk to him It tears me up, oh, it tears me up And I can't stop crying Oh, baby, I can't stop crying I see you kiss his lips And squeeze his fingertips It tears me up, oh, baby, it tears me up And there's nothing I can do about it Oh, baby, baby, can't you see I'm still in love with you It's a faithless world we're livin' in When I turn around and there you are with my best friend Sometimes when you pass me on the street You look at me as if to say I'm sorry my sweet And being sorry might be enough Then you look back at him and [ ? ] a smile And that makes me feel kinda rough Oh, darlin, it tears me up I see you smile at him You never tire of him It tears me up Oh, baby, it tears me up There's nothing I can do about it Baby, can't you see I'm still in love with you Still hungry for something I can't have Oh, it tears me up so bad Still hungry for something I can't have Tears me up so bad Can't you see I'm still in love with you Still hungry for something I can't have Baby, please, please, please I'm still hungry for something I can't have It tears me up so bad Oh, oh, it tears me up so bad Tears me up so bad
18. Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
19. Your Mind Is On Vacation

    Letra

    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
20. Your Funeral My Trial
21. That's How You Got Killed Before
22. True Love Ways