Do You Know What I'm Saying?

Lyrics

The past prima donna in buttons and bells

Is speaking what’s left of her mind as the audience rebels

Do you know what I’m saying?

Those intimate melodramatic farewells

At about twenty thousand or so decibels

Do you know what I’m saying?

The lights they were dimmed, the music by Strauss

She entered on roller-skates, fetchingly tousled

She danced like an ambulance, talked like a cartoon mouse

She took off her clothes and it brought down the house

Do you know what I’m saying?

Do you know what I’m saying?

Why don’t you come when I call?

Do you know what I’m saying?

Can you still hear me at all?

The male counterpart: stupid, brutal and rich

Lies under the arm of the world like an itch

Do you know what I’m saying?

Because he is such an attractive young lout

Putting words in his mouth and then trying them out

It doesn’t much matter what they are about

As long as he has something nasty to spout

Do you know what I’m saying?

Boys will be boys, blood must be spilt

And nothing like show-business was ever built

For letting your critical function wilt

Under the weight of your liberal guilt

Do you know what I’m saying?

Do you know what I’m saying?

Why don’t you come when I call?

Do you know what I’m saying?

Why can’t you hear me at all?

He’s the genuine voice of his unlovely state

And the first to complain when they start to investigate

Under his criminal past and his polythene skin

He’s blowing his lines with his cheeks sucked in

Do you know what I’m saying?

Hush, now he has something special to say

“Can you put your hands together this way?”

Do you know what I’m saying?

Do you know what I’m saying?

Why don’t you come when I call?

Do you know what I’m saying?

Can you still hear me at all?

Credits

• Written by: Elvis Costello
• Produced by: Elvis Costello
• Musicians:

Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar, bass, piano

Pete Thomas - drums

Discography

Albums:

• none

Singles:

• 13 Steps Lead Down, 1994 (U.K. 7" and cassette singles)
• Sulky Girl, 1994 (Australian cassette single)
• Clown Strike, 1994 (U.S. promo)

Collections:

• none

Alternate Versions:

• none

Soundtracks:

• none

Various Artists collections:

• none

Covers

Recorded by:

• Wendy James, on Now Ain't The Time For Your Tears, 1993
• This section may be incomplete.

Performed by:

• none
• This section may be incomplete.

Bootlegs

• This section is incomplete.