Mistook Me For A Friend

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You took me in the stairwell light
Mistook me for a friend
A sign said, "Follow me into the night"
Mistook me for a friend

I had a pocket full of Presidents
A suitcase full of elements
The double-cross of spectacles
A mogul for mechanicals

Rainy streets were gleaming
Maybe I was dreaming
She thought that she heard wedding bells
A hundred thousand decibels

That crush and her confectioner said…
"Yeah, yeah, yeah"
Mistook you for a friend
She took my temperature
"Yeah yeah yeah"
Mistook me for a friend

You took your clothes off after you sent him away
Why now, baby, would you ask for me to stay
I knew it wasn't right
If I could just pretend
Mistook you for a friend

I was working miracles
For petty cash and chemicals
Dealt in the invisible
Something close to criminal
Don't act so mysterious
Pretend you're not curious
Started out peculiar
Ended up notorious

Milady and her jockey said…
"Yeah, yeah, yeah"
Mistook you for a friend
"This wine is going to my head
Yeah, yeah, yeah"
Mistook me for a friend

I saw you slumming last night out on Poverty Row
Why you lacked the nerve to leave him, I will never know
You took my glass and my ball of twine
While the words would blur and the windward whine
When I had no place to go
I said, "That I want you"

I count my money out to pay for contraband
I carry velvet gloves because the blood gets on your hands
It's easy to comprehend
Mistook me for a friend
Mistook me for a friend

I had a pocket full of Presidents
A suitcase full of elements
Double-cross of spectacles
A tycoon made of tentacles

Went to the carnival for candy and confusion
From a House of Silence
On a street of disillusion

That crush and her confectioner said…
"Yeah, yeah, yeah"
Mistook you for a friend
She took my temperature
"Yeah yeah yeah"
Mistook you for a friend

Try being free as you think you are
"Yeah, yeah, yeah"
Mistook you for a friend
See where it gets you and quite how far
"Yeah, yeah, yeah"
Mistook me for a friend

Mistook Me For A Friend
Written byElvis Costello
Performed byElvis Costello & The Imposters
Produced bySebastian Krys & Elvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, Fender Jazzmaster, Gibson Kalamazoo
Steve Nieve - Vox Continental, electronic keyboards, piano
Pete Thomas - drums, percussion
Davey Faragher - bass, vocals
ReleasedJanuary 14, 2022
AlbumsThe Boy Named If, 2022
Length4:13

First known performance:
October 13, 2021, Memphis, TN
Last known performance:
2024
     (26 known performances)


The Boy Named IfThe Boy Named If album cover.jpg


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