Elvis Costello

Clubland

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Clubland Lyrics

	


With a handful of backhanders and a bevy of beauty 
You’re going off limits 
Going off duty 
Going off the rails 
Going off with booty 
They tell tales of fiction found on all the criminal types 
Lead to a higher ranking man or a face with thin red stripes 

The boys next door 
The mums and dads 
New weds and nearly-deads 
Have you ever been had in club land

There’s a piece in someone’s pocket to do the dirty work 
You’ve come to shoot the pony 
They’ve come to do the jerk 
They leave him half way to paradise 
They leave you half way to bliss 
The ladies’ invitation never seemed like this 

The boys next door 
The mums and dads 
New weds and nearly-deads 
Have you ever been had in club land

The long arm of the law slides up the outskirts of town 
Meanwhile in club land they are ready to pull them down 
Hey 

The right to work is traded in for the right to refuse admission 
Don’t pass out now, there’s no refund 
(when) did you find out what you were missing 
The crowd is taking forty winks minus ten percent 
You barely get required sleep to go lingering with contemptment 
Thursday to Saturday 
Money’s gone already 
Some things come in common these days 
Your hands and work aren’t steady 

The boys next door 
The mums and dads 
New weds and nearly-deads 
Have you ever been had in club land

	

Submitted by

planetearth On Jan 23, 2005

Watching the Detectives

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by pumkinhed

20y ago

it's official. steve nieve is my favorite keyboarderist.

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by hangwire13

18y ago

Reminds me all too vividly of wasted nights spent "on the town" partying for no reason except it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

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by jewelsofpaste

15y ago

The long arm of the law slides up the outskirts of town Meanwhile in club land they are ready to pull them down

Wow- for wordplay Elvis pretty much without peer. Hard to beat. The extended metaphors in this song remind me of Shakespeare. Only Dylan or Waits in his class.

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by ddirks 8y ago

@jewelsofpaste Hadn't noticed that one before. Indeed, his wordplay is amazing & often quite witty.

by Atman

4y ago

An amazing song. Lyrically, it's scenes from a night club painted with EC's characteristic word play.

Musically, it's based on the looping chord progression in "Message in a Bottle" by the Police. Doesn't sound anything like the Police though. The flourishes and accents are evocative of Tango Jalousie.

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by tomauto

19y ago

your spelling of "keyboardists" is off, but your taste in "keyboardists" is not. Some great piano accents in this tune

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