Elvis Costello – Veronica

Is it all in that pretty little head of yours?
What goes on in that place in the dark?
Well I used to know a girl and I could have sworn
That her name was Veronica

Well she used to have a carefree mind of her own
And a delicate look in her eye
These days I'm afraid she's not even sure
If her name is Veronica

Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout
Her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica

Did the days drag by? Did the favors wane?
Did he roam down the town all the while?
Will you wake from your dream, with a wolf at the door,
Reaching out for Veronica

Well it was all of sixty-five years ago
When the world was the street where she lived
And a young man sailed on a ship in the sea
With a picture of Veronica

On the "Empress of India"
And as she closed her eyes upon the world
And picked upon the bones of last week's news
She spoke his name out loud again

Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout
Her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica

Veronica sits in her favorite chair
And she sits very quiet and still
And they call her a name that they never get right
And if they don't then nobody else will

But she used to have a carefree mind of her own
With devilish look in her eye
Saying "You can call me anything you like,
But my name is Veronica"

Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout
Her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica
Oh Veronica


Lyrics submitted by numb

"Veronica" as written by Mark Hennessy Grant Fitch

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Veronica song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • +4
    General CommentMost compelling "biography" song ever written, IMO. I remember when my grandmother died, I kept myself together like a good man and read a touching eulogy. On the drive from the church to the cemetery this song came on the radio... somewhat ironically. No one else in my family noticed it and the mood had gone from somber to light-hearted anyway. But when it got to the bridge where he mentions the Empress of India I completely a totally lost it a sobbed like a baby.
    Matty Dubson December 19, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General CommentFor me, "And they call her a name that they never get right *and if they don't then nobody else will*" is the absolute heartbreaker. Nobody else will get her name right because nobody else ever comes. She turned her back on the world after she lost her sailor - and has ended up forgotten and alone. "And as she closed her eyes upon the world and picked up the bones of last week's news She spoke his name out loud again" Now, at last, she has even mostly forgotten herself. That's the wolf at the door. All of us exist in a dream of youth and beauty, but there's a wolf waiting at the door, reaching out to snatch us away.
    Telethaon January 13, 2012   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +2
    General CommentTalk about contrast! A wonderfully light tune with a heartbreakingly sad lyric. Not to mention the irony of creating an unforgettable hook for a song about someone with Alzheimer's disease.
    rgforeston March 18, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Commentgrandmother's senility
    zolotoon January 30, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General CommentMy real name is Veronica. This song came out when I was a teenager, so you can imagine (in addition to hearing "how's Archie and the Gang") EVERYONE sang it to me! But I was just so happy that a song actually had my unique name! Parts of this song remind me of me. I'm not a grandma and I don't have alzheimer's (which unfortunately runs in my family), but there are some lines that are so me. "Devilish look in her eye", totally me. "They call her a name they never get right"...I can't tell you how many times someone can't pronounce my name, or called me Victoria, Vivian, Valerie, etc. In fact, my screen name, "brunicas" is actually a nickname I earned when I was a baby because someone misheard my name and thought my parents had named me brunicas! LOL. The line "you can call me anything you like, but my name is Veronica" is another line that reminds me of me. I have about 44 (at last count) nicknames. Everyone loves to make up some sort of nickname out of my real name. "She used to have a carefree mind of her own"...well, I have a pretty carefree mind (odd for a Taurus).
    Brunicason November 17, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General CommentPaul McCartney co-authored this song, and I can't
    help but compare it to "Eleanor Rigby" - both tunes
    sort of make up a character and in 4 minutes or less,
    give you a complete picture - Elvis is pretty awesome
    as well, and I'm sure that the collaboration was in
    equal parts -
    rockboy52on January 21, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Commentgood song
    Emanual200on June 09, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Commentnice song
    Darekaon June 20, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Commentgreat song. my favorite that i havent heard in like 8 years
    Sweetangelon June 29, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThis is a great song. I really like the video too, nice touch having him give a background/meaning to the song, and how he sang over the track at some points.
    amyshon February 07, 2006   Link

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