The Delivery Man (song)

From The Elvis Costello Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

"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

The Delivery Man
Written byElvis Costello
Performed byElvis Costello & The Imposters
Produced byDennis Herring & Elvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, Gretsch Tenor guitar
Steve Nieve - upright piano, Wurlitzer organ, omnichord
Davey Faragher - Hofner bass
Pete Thomas - drums
RecordedApril 2004, Sweet Tea, Oxford, MS
ReleasedSeptember 20, 2004
AlbumsThe Delivery Man, 2004
Various Artists collectionsMusic Guide Vol. 3, 2004 (extract)
Word Magazine 21 - Word Of Mouth, 2004
Length4:39

First known performance:
March 7, 2004, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Last known performance:
February 11, 2023, New York, NY
     (183 known performances, 1 as a snippet)


Alternate versions

The Delivery Man (The Clarksdale Sessions version)
Performed byElvis Costello & The Imposters
Produced byDennis Herring & Elvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal, guitar
Steve Nieve - keyboards
Davey Faragher - bass
Pete Thomas - drums
RecordedApril 15, 2004, Delta Recording, Clarksdale, MS
ReleasedJanuary 25, 2005
AlbumsThe Clarksdale Sessions, 2005
The Delivery Man (Deluxe Edition), 2005
Length4:57

The Delivery Man (Live 2004)
Performed byElvis Costello & The Imposters
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal, guitar
Steve Nieve - keyboards
Davey Faragher - bass
Pete Thomas - drums
RecordedSeptember 17, 2004, Hi-Tone Cafe, Memphis, TN - either early or late show
ReleasedApril 19, 2005
VideosClub Date: Live In Memphis, 2005

The Delivery Man (Live for iTunes)
Performed byElvis Costello & The Imposters
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal, guitar
Steve Nieve - keyboards
Davey Faragher - bass
Pete Thomas - drums
RecordedSeptember 23, 2004, Avatar Studios, New York
ReleasedNovember 30, 2004
DownloadsFuturama Sessions, 2004
Length5:48
The Delivery ManTdm.jpg

The Delivery Man (Deluxe Edition)The Delivery Man Deluxe Edition album cover.jpg

The Clarksdale SessionsTCS.jpg

Club Date: Live In MemphisClub Date Live In Memphis dvd cover.jpg

Futurama SessionsFuturama sessions.jpg

Covers

Erich Sellheim home studio production, sung in German 2021 YouTube

Internal links

External links