She Handed Me A Mirror

Lyrics

She handed me a mirror

That she had gazed upon

The glass still held an image

The glass still held an image

But it was of a man

I turned from the reflection

To see who it might be

Is that poor vanity quite how she pictures me?

She handed me a mirror

Rather than tell me “no”

She let slip her handkerchief

Gentle laughter flowed

Just as her lips bestowed

A dashing word like “brother”

The crushing word like “friend”

If there was no beginning

How could this be the end?

She handed me mirror

So I could recognise

The distance from my heart to hers

The distance from my heart to hers

The pity in her eyes

She like my pretty story

I thanked her for her song

And then I wrote a tale not very long to tell

"You are much more than pretty. You are beautiful."

She handed me mirror and I saw her instead

She handed me a mirror

She handed me a mirror

And that is all she did…

Credits

• Written by: Elvis Costello

Discography

This unreleased song is intended for Elvis' chamber opera The Secret Songs Of Hans Christian Andersen.

Covers

• none

Bootlegs

• none
• This section may be incomplete.