The Misfit
From ElvisCostello
LyricsI have received a letter that is requesting my consent To give my voice to one poor man’s confession If only he would repent The date of my departure is coming very near You ask I sing in private, my dear friend Some songs composed in secret with a tender hand
For you know words once written down Fade from the page or are misunderstood And so the eye may search in vain For their meaning Or something more that is worth the keeping He fell to uncontrollable weeping Over terrors that come to you while sleeping
“Once there was a boy, came dancing to my door He wore a threadbare beggar’s suit Flinging all his limbs in each direction Reciting verse with perfect diction Such wretched grammar Such melodrama
Next year he returned, his lessons not quite learned Flashing eyes for my affection Reciting verse out loud Declaiming to the gathering A voice that some called ‘immature’ Though it was plain to see That like a child spoke honestly”
And yet his grasp was frail So deathly pale and bound to fail Loving someone unattainable
Now the chill of night is warmed The fever on his brow is calmed His neck stretched like a proud young swan Transfigured and transformed
And this poor unfortunate His hopes were crushed or slim At another’s whim Seeking someone Someone similar
Still less a duckling than a gull Believing every word that falls From each promise and each spell Fearing all the fires of hell
And it was I, who recognized his calamity How promiscuity lives next door to poverty
So through that holy vow and our manners prim My beating heart became contained in him My beating heart became contained within him
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Credits
DiscographyThis unreleased song is intended for Elvis' chamber opera The Secret Songs Of Hans Christian Andersen. Covers
Bootlegs
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