I thought I saw you in the Battleship
But it was only a look alike
She was nothing but a vision trick
Under the warning light
She was close
Close enough to be your ghost
But my chances turned to toast
When I asked her if I could call her your name

I thought I saw you in the Rusty Hook
Huddled up in wicker chair
I wandered up for a closer look
And kissed whoever was sitting there
She was close
And she held me very tightly
'Til I asked awfully politely
"Please, can I call you her name?"

And I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself

I thought I saw you in the Parrot's Beak
Messin' with the smoke alarm
It was too loud for me to hear her speak
And she had a broken arm
It was close
So close that the walls were wet
And she wrote it out in Letraset
"No, you can't call me her name"

Tell me, where's your hiding place?
I'm worried I'll forget your face
And I've asked everyone
I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along

I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself

I saw your sister in the Cornerstone
On the phone to the middle man
When I saw that she was on her own
I thought she might understand
That she was close
Well, you couldn't get much closer
She said, "I'm really not supposed to, but yes
You can call me anything you want"


Lyrics submitted by life_aint_chess

Cornerstone Lyrics as written by Alex Turner

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Cornerstone song meanings
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  • +3
    General Comment

    At first listen, this is the song that is my instant favourite on Humbug.

    In every verse, i think he is talking about different pubs. Battle Ship, Rusty Hook, Parrots Beak. Not sure why they are all to do with pirates or something but i'm sure there is a reason.

    I think anyone can relate to this, it is about never quite getting over "her". We all compare our new girl with the old one, its normal. I think the way Alex Turner is saying, "Can i call you her name?" is just a poetic way of describing this. Every girl he comes across, is just not the same as the previous.

    At the end I dont think he literally means her sister, i think this is another poetic way of saying someone who reminds him of her. A spitting image.

    I am a bit confused about the 3rd verse about the smoke alarm and why she has a broken arm? Anyone got any ideas?

    Killerofthechaseon August 21, 2009   Link

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