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Sometimes I don't like what you say
Sometimes I don't like what you wear
Sometimes we don't agree when we are going out
But I love you when you sleep
Sometimes you talk on endlessly
Without ever listening to me
But I could almost forgive anything at all
'Cos I love you when you sleep
I love you when you sleep
It's a moment I can keep
Like an old bus ticket or a photograph
You don't wink or whistle or pout
Or any other thing that I've left out
Looks can kill, talk is cheap
But I love you when you sleep
Even a hard man or a creep
Can look okay when he's asleep
Some people have a lot to prove
With the way they dress and undress
And the way they move
If you should wake up and you're like that
Soon you'll never know
What you've been sleeping through
I love you when you sleep
It's a moment I can keep
Like an old bus ticket or a photograph
You don't wink or whistle or pout
Or any other thing that I've left out
Looks can kill, talk is cheap
But I love you when you sleep
Even a hard man or a creep
Can look pretty good when he's asleep
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Tracie Young version
“I met Elvis on a plane on the way back from doing The Tube in Newcastle. We just got chatting. He was talking about other artists he'd written songs for and said that he'd really like to give me a song. It was a reworking of his song "Joe Porterhouse." He changed the lyrics and the tempo but we did struggle with it while rehearsing at Nomis Studios. I loved the lyrics but it was very slow and I found it hard to sing. We had a chat with him and he said, try using a bossa nova rhythm, so that was the starting point, although it became less rhythmic the more we worked on it. I was always very proud of it. ” — 2010 reissue liner notes
“What a beautiful job you did on this song. Some really tricky lines to negotiate. I’d probably use less words now. Belated thanks. E.C.” — Twitter, June 30, 2023
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Covers
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Tracie
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performed live, 1984-09-22, The Ritz, New York
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1984
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Beruneiru
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performed live, 2010-07-17, Niigata, Japan
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2010
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YouTube
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Internal links
External links