"Abel was able," so Vivian said
Her shoulders flung forward
Her lips in a purse
She talks like the beauty that she never was
Of the fabulous wild nights that she never has
In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he feels like Jesus
Everyone dreams of him just as they can
But he's only the humble Delivery Man
Geraldine blushes and brushes away
The cigarette ashes that Vivian scatters
Stares out of the window at the things that she says
While gossip within her competes the widow
Ever since he's gone, she feels like crying all the time
She knows for sure Vivian is lying
Now she has a daughter to raise as she can
And she just wouldn't trust that Delivery Man
Ivy puts down the ghost story she's reading
Looks up at that face on the wall
Thinking about how her father lay bleeding
Shot in the back 'cos orders were misleading
And how a flag and a medal don't have any meaning
On the 5th of July as they tore down the fair
And he'd seen all the local girls who were worth kissing
With the smell of the gunpowder still in air
They noticed that Abel and Ivy were missing
In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he seemed like Jesus
He said "Why can't you be kind to me like you were meant to be?
When they let me out, I had a brand new identity
Now everyone dreams of me just as they can
I want to be your Delivery Man"
In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he seemed like Jesus
In a certain light he looked like Elvis
In a certain way he felt like Jesus
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The Delivery Man |
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Written by | Elvis Costello |
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Performed by | Elvis Costello & The Imposters |
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Produced by | Dennis Herring & Elvis Costello |
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Musicians | Elvis Costello - vocals, Gretsch Tenor guitar Steve Nieve - upright piano, Wurlitzer organ, omnichord Davey Faragher - Hofner bass Pete Thomas - drums |
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Recorded | April 2004, Sweet Tea, Oxford, MS |
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Released | September 20, 2004 |
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Albums | The Delivery Man, 2004 |
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Various Artists collections | Music Guide Vol. 3, 2004 (extract) Word Magazine 21 - Word Of Mouth, 2004 |
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Length | 4:39 |
Alternate versions
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