The Bridge I Burned

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I'm walking in Times Square in the Electric Daylight
The sailors on shore leave stand out in their perfect white
I'm up here with my spying glass at the window up above
For better or for worse - it's a perverse universe, my love

Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned
Now I know, somehow I don't feel so alone

"And remember to flee far away from the unbridled,
and the impudent, the malicious, and the unlucky.
For these being full of bad demons or rays are maleficent,
and like lepers and people stricken with plague,
they harm not only by touch but even by proximity and by sight." (Dig it!)
(Quote from Marsilio Ficino, Italian philosopher [1433-1499])

You mutter underneath your breath - IT ECHOES ROUND THE WORLD
Everybody comes from nowhere
There is hope, it loops up in the air

Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned
Now I know, somehow I don't feel so alone

You said I used to be handsome if you screwed up your eyes
Professors and vampires drank up all the tears I cried
Now there's a bird at my window, he feeds upon the pane
And sometimes he sings to me - a mocking bird in the twilight of infamy

Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned
Now I know, somehow I don't feel so alone
Now I know, I should have never walked over the bridge I burned
Now I know, they've burned one sinner and the others are selling firewood

Now I know
Now I know
Now I know

The Bridge I Burned
Written byElvis Costello
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byMacManus Père et Fils
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, Hofner bass, keyboards, guitar
Matt MacManus - Fender bass, drum loop
Danny Goffey - drums
Ned Douglas - sample control
Recorded1997, unknown studio
ReleasedOctober 21, 1997
AlbumsAll This Useless Beauty (Rhino reissue), 2001
CollectionsExtreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. Years, 1997
Various Artists collectionsCoded, 2000
PromosThe Bridge I Burned, 1997
A Taste Of Extreme Honey, 1997
Totally Adult, 1997
Length5:19 (album version)
4:16 (edit on promo single)


Alternate versions

The Bridge I Burned (Pop Lie Mix)
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byMacManus Père et Fils
ReleasedOctober 1997
PromosThe Bridge I Burned, 1997
Length5:19

The Bridge I Burned (Facino Mix)
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byMacManus Père et Fils
ReleasedOctober 1997
PromosThe Bridge I Burned, 1997
Length4:21
Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. YearsEH album cover 500.jpg

The Bridge I Burned promo singleThe Bridge I Burned cover 400.jpg

All This Useless BeautyATUB album cover large.jpg

Covers

no known covers

Internal links

External links