Pills And Soap

From The Elvis Costello Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

They talked to the sister, the father and the mother
With a microphone in one hand and a chequebook in the other
And the camera noses in to the tears on her face
The tears on her face
The tears on her face
You can put them back together with your paper and paste
But you can't put them back together
You can't put them back together

Chorus:
What would you say?
What would you do?
Children and animals two by two
Give me the needle
Give me the rope
We're going to melt them down for pills and soap

Four and twenty crowbars jemmy your desire
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
The king is in the counting house
Some folk have all the luck
And all we get is pictures of Lord and Lady Muck
They come from lovely people with a hard line in hypocrisy
There are ashtrays of emotion for the fag ends of the aristocracy

(Chorus)

Give me the needle
Give me the rope

The sugar-coated pill is getting bitterer still
You think your country needs you, but you know it never will
So pack up your troubles in a stolen handbag
Don't dilly-dally boys, rally 'round the flag
Give us our daily bread in individual slices
And something in the daily rag to cancel any crisis

(Chorus)

Give me the needle, give me the rope
We're going to melt them down for pills and soap

Pills And Soap
Written byElvis Costello
Performed byThe Imposter
Produced byFairley/Imposter, re-modeled by Clanger/Winstanley
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, drum machine
Steve Nieve - piano
RecordedJanuary-April 1983, AIR Studios, London
ReleasedMay 27, 1983
AlbumsPunch The Clock, 1983
SinglesPills And Soap, 1983
Pills And Soap, 1994 (bonus single with The Very Best Of Elvis Costello & The Attractions vinyl)
CollectionsThe Man (The Best Of Elvis Costello), 1985
Girls Girls Girls, 1989
The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, 1999
Singles, Volume 2, 2003
Various Artists collectionsNow Yearbook '83, 2021
PromosPunch The Clock, Trust & Get Happy!! Sampler, 2003
UK Elvis Costello (2006), 2006
Length3:42

First known performance:
June 6, 1983, "Loose Talk" TV appearance
Last known performance:
2024
     (135 known performances)


Alternate versions

Pills And Soap (Extended version)
Performed byThe Imposter
ReleasedMay 27, 1983
SinglesPills And Soap, 1983
CollectionsSingles, Volume 2, 2003
Length4:12

Pills And Soap (Live 1995)
Performed byElvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet
Arranged byPaul Cassidy
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal
Michael Thomas - violin
Ian Belton - violin
Paul Cassidy - viola
Jacqueline Thomas - violoncello
RecordedJune 28, 1995, London, England
ReleasedMarch 21, 2006
AlbumsThe Juliet Letters (Rhino reissue), 2006
Length4:37
Punch The ClockPunch The Clock Rhino album cover.jpg

Pills And Soap UK 7" single front sleeve.jpg

The Man (The Best Of Elvis Costello)TMBOEC album cover 170.jpg

Girls Girls GirlsGGG album cover 300.jpg

The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, 1999The Very Best Of Elvis Costello (2CD) album cover.jpg

Singles, Volume 2Singles Volume 2 album cover.jpg

The Juliet LettersTJL album cover large.jpg

Covers

Lou Dalgleish performed live info needed
Erich Sellheim home studio production, sung in German 2018 YouTube

Internal links

External links