Charm School Lyrics

Lyric discussion by FLY2venus 

Cover art for Charm School lyrics by Elvis Costello

She went to charm school -- and now she's trying to make a living out of her "downfalling" IE being "loose". She's turning tricks (a girl with a trick) and he's a minister or priest (a man with a calling) or maybe just a career man. It's nothing too serious (Just one shameful act or sometimes two, We make believe we're making do" but still he laments that she's cruel to him, so he does care. "They say it's hell to finance too (I think it is supposed to be TWO), And I just want to romance you." So he can't afford to finance the both of them, so she turns tricks -- and still he wants to romance her. Sorta sad. They both are just trying to make a living --- "at anything at all."

My Interpretation

@FLY2venus It just occurred to me that the lyric, "Just one shameful act or sometimes two, We make believe we're making do" is her plying her trade --- it's 'just one shameful act or sometimes two' and that's the number of sexual acts she performs, and the two of them pretend they're just doing it to make do --- to make a living. But I think the man with the calling -- that's Elvis and his determination to make music. It's not just a whim, he's dead serious about it. When he says, "take your dreams...