Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Everybody's got new orders
Be a nice girl and kiss the warders
Now the teacher is away
All the kids begin to play
Men come screaming, dressed in white coats
Shake you very gently by the throat
One's named Gus, one's named Alfie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Everybody's got new orders
Be a nice girl and kiss the warders
Now the teacher is away
All the kids begin to play
Men come screaming, dressed in white coats
Shake you very gently by the throat
One's named Gus, one's named Alfie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
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The pun 'capital' in capital punishment suggests the song is more about London as a capital city, as well as affluence as ThunderCow pointed out; Chelsea notably being a well-to-do area of West London.
Whilst all the theories above (knowing EC's knack for lyrical intricacy) probably hit the nail on the head, it should also noted that the punk scene was centered around Chelsea (Malcolm McClaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX boutique was situated on the King's Road) so that aspect shouldn't be ignored. Could Elvis be distancing himself from the punk bracket he found himself forced into with this tirade?
"I used to have this girlfriend known as Elsie
With whom I shared four sordid rooms in Chelsea
She wasn't what you'd call a blushing flower
As a matter of fact she rented by the hour
The day she died the neighbors came to snicker
'Well, that's what comes from too much pills and liquor'
But when I saw her laid out like a Queen
She was the happiest corpse, I'd ever seen"
Musical clip:
youtu.be/…
Fancy tricks = models, last year's model = last season's "it girl", chelsea hotel reference = slap at the famous and fabulous exemplified by Warhol's gang, etc.
The line that gets misunderstood, I think, is "they call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie." Elsie is a typical rural, girl-next-door, wholesome beauty's name (think the publican's daughter) -- the American equivalent might be Becky Sue (or Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island). So the rural natural beauty can't cut it in the fashion world, which has to make her into an "exotic" manufactured product -- "Natasha" -- to make its money.
To me 'Chelsea is two stories in one. One is about the decadent lifestyle of the typical London, Chelsea rich upper class population, as lived by the likes of Max Mosley, witnessed thirty years later. Older men with younger girls, turning "fancy tricks." Girls who do not matter as individuals "you call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie" and this clearly is a life that repels the storyteller, as it's emotionally dead and degrading. In parallel there's the story about ending up at the Chelsea asylum and it's similarily repelling. The comparison between the rich, emotionally dead Chelsea life style and asylum life metaphorically connects the two worlds.
Why are there so few commentaries on the songs of one of the most gifted lyricists in rock music?
Yes it does. Jamaican Rock-Steady on steroids !
Could it be that the men in white coats are at an institution dealing with eating disorders (reportedly common in fashion models) on an in-patient basis? Be anexoric or be discarded like Natasha! But don't let anyone SEE your disorder (finger down your throat privately, please).
Could the he, at sixty-six, be a photographer (like EC on the cover) or a fashion designer? Is EC saying such men use models like prostitutes?