Mr. Crescent

From The Elvis Costello Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

Mr. Crescent
Heard the song of both the lark and the linnet
Played them both upon a parlour spinnet
One with only nine strings in it
Clinging to the sounding board
For that was all he could afford

Mr Crescent made a wager
On a landing stage
"If my ship comes in and the Starboard light is blue not green
And the Port light should be yellow not red
You'll say the hold is full of false promises
When I know it's gold instead"

Sister Honey said to Mr. Crescent
"Haven't you prayed away your doubt or isn't there
Anything more that I can bless?"

As she buttoned her blue boot in a state of bliss
Stared at the ceiling above their bed
Thought of something her mother had said

"Crescent is like a man I knew
Left me standing there with nothing but you
Don't be fooled now by his bill and coo
You'll be abandoned too, he'll leave you with an I.O.U."

Mr. Crescent sleeps quite late, then rises
Tries to stay out of the local assizes
Not one bird sings now he recognizes
He says "I'm so long from the land that I came from
I wonder where my Honey has gone,
I wonder where my Honey has gone"

Mr. Crescent
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
Length3:39

First known performance:
May 29, 2022, Leeds, England
Last known performance:
2024
     (17 known performances)


The Boy Named IfThe Boy Named If album cover.jpg


Internal links