Pay It Back

Lyrics

Stop thief; you're gonna come to grief

If you don't take a little more care

You're gonna get more than the family plan

From this one shoestring affair

I may be crazy but I can't contemplate

Being trapped between the doctor and the magistrate

Chorus:

One of these days I'm gonna pay it back, pay it back,

one of these days

One of these days I'm gonna pay it back, pay it back,

one of these days

And then they told me I could be somebody

If I didn't let too much get in my way

And I tried so hard just to be myself

But I keep on fading away

And then the lights went out, I didn't know what to do

If I could fool myself, then maybe I'd fool you

(chorus)

I wouldn't say that I was raised on romance

Let's not get stuck in the past

I love you more than everything in the world

I don't expect that will last

They told me everything was guaranteed

Somebody somewhere must've lied to me

(chorus)

Credits

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

Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar

The Shamrocks (a.k.a. Clover):

John McFee - guitar, pedal steel

Sean Hopper - piano, organ, backing vocals

Johnny Ciambotti - bass, backing vocals

Mickey Shine - drums

Nick Lowe - backing vocals

Discography

Albums:

• My Aim Is True, 1977
• Viva England, 1982 (Spain)
• My Aim Is True (reissue), Rykodisc/Demon, 1993
• My Aim Is True (Deluxe Edition), Rhino, 2001
• This section may be incomplete.

Singles:

• Mystery Dance, 1977 (Belgium)

Collections:

• 2½ Years, 1993
• This section may be incomplete.

Alternate Versions:

• This section may be incomplete.

Soundtracks:

• none

Various Artists collections:

• none

Covers

Recorded by:

• none
• This section may be incomplete.

Performed by:

• none
• This section may be incomplete.

Bootlegs

• This section is incomplete.