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)
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Pay It Back |
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Written by | Elvis Costello |
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Performed by | Elvis Costello |
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Produced by | Nick Lowe |
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Musicians | Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar John McFee - guitar Sean Hopper - keyboards, backing vocals Johnny Ciambotti - bass, backing vocals Mickey Shine - drums Nick Lowe - backing vocals |
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Recorded | late 1976-early 1977, Pathway Studios, London |
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Released | July 22, 1977 |
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Albums | My Aim Is True, 1977 Viva England, 1982 (Spain) |
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Singles | Mystery Dance, 1977 (Belgium/France) |
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Collections | 2½ Years, 1993 |
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Length | 2:33 |
Alternate versions
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Covers
Chords
Intro | G | G | C | C |
G
Stop thief; you're gonna come to grief
C
if you don't take a little more care.
G Em7 C G
You're gonna get more than the family plan
C G
from this one shoestring affair.
Em A C G
I may be crazy but I can't contemplate
F C Bm
being trapped between the doctor and the magistrate.
G
One of these days I'm gonna pay it back, pay it back,
C
one of these days.
G
One of these days I'm gonna pay it back, pay it back,
C
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.
Until the lights went out, I didn't know what to do.
If I could fool myself, then maybe I'd fool you too.
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, repeat to fade
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