...This Town...

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That Charlie Sedarka was a-playing the piano like he was pawing a dirty book
He bit a hole in his big bottom lip and gave his very best little boy look
It was a song with a topical verse which I'm afraid he then proceeded to sing
Something about the moody doomed love of the Fish-Finger King

(Chorus:)
You're nobody in this town
You're nobody in this crowd
You're nobody till everybody in this town knows you're poison
Got your number, knows it must be avoided
You're nobody till everybody in this town thinks you're a bastard

Mr. Getgood moved up to Self-Made Man Row
Though he swears that he's the salt of the earth
He's so proud of the "kick-me-hard" sign that they hung on his back at birth
He said "I appreciate beauty, if I have one, then it's my fault"
"Beauty is on my pillow, beauty is there in my vault"

(Repeat Chorus)

The girl with the eternity rock went down on her bookie to buy some stock
Now all the signs in the shopping arcades
Say "The corporation thief is the new Jesse James"
Her clothes and her attention were scant
Her eyes were everywhere, her eyes were like absinthe
The little green figures that dance on your screen
Say everything you want to hear and nothing they mean
They made love while she was changing her dress
She wiped him off, she wiped him out and then she made him confess
A little amused by the belief in her power
You must remember this it was the fetish of the hour

(Repeat Chorus)

You're nobody in this town...

...This Town...
Written byDeclan MacManus
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byElvis Costello, Kevin Killen & T Bone Burnett
MusiciansD.P.A. MacManus - vocals; Rickenbacker 6-string, Gretch, spider & acoustic guitars; organ, piano, melodica, tambourine
Roger McGuinn - Rickenbacker 12-string guitar
Paul McCartney - Rickenbacker bass
T Bone Burnett - acoustic guitar
Ralph Forbes - electric drums
Jim Keltner - extra snare drum
Michael Blair - glockenspiel, bells
Cait O'Riordan - lunge maracas
Recorded1988, Ocean Way, Los Angeles & AIR Studios, London
ReleasedFebruary 6, 1989
AlbumsSpike, 1989
Singles...This Town..., 1989 (Germany)
PromosSpike Album Sampler, 1989
Timothy White's Rock Stars, 1989
Follow Our Tracks - Music From 9 Road Bound Bands, 1989
VideosThe Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello - The Videos, 2005
Length4:25

First known performance:
May 4, 1988, Aberdeen, Scotland
Last known performance:
September 15, 1989, Berkeley, CA
     (33 known performances)


Alternate versions

...This Town... (Demo)
Performed byElvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, guitars, piano, percussion
RecordedFebruary 16, 1988, Eden Studios, London
ReleasedAugust 21, 2001
AlbumsSpike (Rhino reissue), 2001
Length3:45

...This Town... (The Bastard Mix)
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byElvis Costello, Kevin Killen & T Bone Burnett
Released1989 (promo only)
PromosThe Elvis Costello Hour, 1989
Length4:25
NoteOtherwise identical to the album version, this has Elvis singing the word "sweetheart" over the word "bastard" in the chorus.
Spike1989 Spike Album.jpg

Single: ...This Town...This Town Germany 7" single front sleeve.jpg

The Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello - The VideosTRS dvd cover.jpg

Covers

Erich Sellheim home studio production, sung in German 2019 YouTube

Chords

G            C             G           C    G            C        G     F    A
That Charlie Sedarka was a-playing the piano like he was pawing a dirty book
Dm                                                                    G 
He bit a hole in his big bottom lip and gave his very best little boy look
         C           G       C    G           C                G         F   A           
It was a song with a topical verse which I'm afraid he then proceeded to sing
Dm                                                          G
Something about the moody doomed love of the Fish-Finger King

(Chorus:)
       Em Bm     Em       Bm   
You're nobody in this town
       Em Bm     D 
You're nobody in this crowd
       Em Bm       Em   Bm      Em                     D 
You're nobody till everybody in this town knows you're poison
         C                         Am
Got your number, knows it must be avoided
G                Am             Cm                        G
You're nobody till everybody in this town thinks you're a bastard

(...)

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