Oh it's not easy to resist temptation
Walking around looking like a figment of somebody else's imagination
Taking ev'ry word she says just like an open invitation
But the power of persuasion is no match for anticipation
Like a finger running down a seam
From a whisper to a scream
So I whisper and I scream
But don't get me wrong
Please don't leave me waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Hey
Oh oh oh oh oh
Oh if the customers like it then they'll keep on paying
If they keep on drinking then they'll end up staying
I heard someone say where have we met before
But the one over the eight seem less like one or more like four
Like a finger running down a seam
From a whisper to a scream
So I whisper and I scream
But don't get me wrong
Please don't leave me waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Hey
Walking around looking like a figment of somebody else's imagination
Taking ev'ry word she says just like an open invitation
But the power of persuasion is no match for anticipation
Like a finger running down a seam
From a whisper to a scream
So I whisper and I scream
But don't get me wrong
Please don't leave me waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Hey
Oh oh oh oh oh
Oh if the customers like it then they'll keep on paying
If they keep on drinking then they'll end up staying
I heard someone say where have we met before
But the one over the eight seem less like one or more like four
Like a finger running down a seam
From a whisper to a scream
So I whisper and I scream
But don't get me wrong
Please don't leave me waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Waitin' too long
Hey
Lyrics submitted by planetearth
From a Whisper to a Scream Lyrics as written by Elvis Costello
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"The one over the eight" is British slang for one too many beers. The idea is that eight beers is enough to get you sufficiently soused. The "one over the eight" is the one that turns you into a falling-down, blackout drunk.
So Elvis (or in this case, Glenn Tilbrook, who sings the line) is saying that it doesn't feel like he's had just one over the eight, he's so drunk it feels like it's been four too many.