Veronica

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Is it all in that pretty little head of yours?
What goes on in that place in the dark?
Well, I used to know a girl and I would have sworn that her name was Veronica
Well, she used to have a carefree mind of her own and a delicate look in her eye
These days I'm afraid she's not even sure if her name is Veronica

(Chorus:)
Do you suppose that waiting hands on eyes, Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica
Veronica

Did the days drag by? Did the favours wane?
Did he roam down the town all the time?
Will you wake from your dream with a wolf at the door, reaching out for Veronica?
Well it was all of sixty-five years ago
When the world was the street where she lived
And a young man sailed on a ship in the sea with a picture of Veronica

On the "Empress of India"
And as she closed her eyes upon the world
And picked upon the bones of last week's news
She spoke his name out loud again

(Repeat Chorus)

Veronica sits in her favourite chair, she sits very quiet and still
And they call her a name that they never get right
And if they don't, then nobody else will
But she used to have a carefree mind of her own, with a devilish look in her eye
Saying "You can call me anything you like, but my name is Veronica"

(Repeat Chorus)



Alternate lyrics

Final verse from the demo version of Veronica:

Veronica sits in her favourite chair as they come with the regular pill
And they call her a name that they never get right
While telling her that she must sit still
But she always had a carefree mind of her own, with a devilish look in her eye
Saying "You can call me anything you like, but my name is Veronica"

Veronica
Written byPaul McCartney & Declan MacManus
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byElvis Costello, Kevin Killen & T Bone Burnett
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, electric guitars
Paul McCartney - Hofner bass
T Bone Burnett - acoustic guitar
Benmont Tench - piano, Baldwin spinet
Mitchell Froom - Wurlitzer electric piano, Chamberlain
Jerry Marotta - drums
Michael Blair - tympani, glockenspiel
Recorded1988, Ocean Way, Los Angeles & AIR Studios, London
ReleasedFebruary 6, 1989
AlbumsSpike, 1989
SinglesVeronica, 1989
CollectionsExtreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. Years, 1997
The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, 1999
Various Artists collectionsPink Pop 20th Anniversary, 1989
Hits Now '89 Volume Two, 1989
Werners Klopper Ausse 80ä, 1991
Girls, 1992
Rock Of The 80's Volume 10, 1994
Mo's Songs!, 1994 -
Britpop Vol. 1, 1996
Name That Tune, 1998
Was Het Nu 70 Of 80? Vol. 6, 1998
Classic Rock 1987-1989, 1998
Modern Rock: 1988-1989, 1999 -
On The Edge, 2000
Cheers! TV Favorite Hits, 2001
Oor - Het Album - 30 Jaar Popmuziek, 2001
Fan, The TV Hits, 2002
VH1 Classic: The Cuts, 2003
Alternative Pop Edition, 2004
In The Morning, 2004
Beach Breeze - Cassette Story, 2005
Alternative Eighties - Excellence In Guitar Pop, 2005
20 Years Of Rage, 2007
Totally Awesome: 80s Mix Tape, 2007
The Old Grey Whistle Test - Punk and New Wave, 2013
The Other Side Of The 80s, 2016
Power To The Pop, 2019
PromosThe Album Network: Tune Up 29, 1989
Spike Album Sampler, 1989
Timothy White's Rock Stars, 1989
Malice And Magic, 1995 (US)
CMJ 500, 1997
Selections From My Aim Is True, Spike, And All This Useless Beauty, 2001
VideosThe Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello - The Videos, 2005
Length3:07

First known performance:
November 16, 1987, Tokyo, Japan
Last known performance:
September 27, 2023, Brussels, Belgium
     (520 known performances)


Alternate versions

Veronica (Demo)
Performed byElvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, guitar, piano
RecordedMay 1987, Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin
ReleasedOctober 14, 1991
AlbumsSpike (Rhino reissue), 2001
SinglesSo Like Candy, 1991
CollectionsUnfaithful Music & Soundtrack Album, 2015
PromosMalice And Magic, 1994 (Japan)
Length2:58

Veronica / The Ways Of Love (Live)
Performed byElvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal, guitar
RecordedOctober 26, 1990, Mountain View, CA
ReleasedDecember 19, 2006
DownloadsThe Bridge School Collection, Vol. 2, 2006 (iTunes)
Length4:38
Veronica (Saturday Night Live)
Performed byElvis Costello
RecordedTV 1989-03-25 Saturday Night Live
ReleasedSep 2003
VideosSaturday Night Live: 25 Years Of Music, 2003
Length3:58
Spike1989 Spike Album.jpg

Single: VeronicaVeronica UK 7" single front sleeve.jpg

Single: So Like CandySo Like Candy UK CD single front insert.jpg

Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. YearsEH album cover 500.jpg

The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, 1999The Very Best Of Elvis Costello (2CD) album cover.jpg

The Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello - The VideosTRS dvd cover.jpg

The Bridge School Collection, Vol. 2The Bridge Collection.jpg

Unfaithful Music & Soundtrack AlbumUnfaithful Music & Soundtrack Album album cover.jpg

Covers

Kim Bingham Les InvinciblesSoundtrack / Various artists 2007 infoAllMusicAmazon
Chris Corn and God's Comics performed live, 2012-03-16, Jeugdhuis Lodejo, Belgium 2012 reviewYouTube
Britt Daniel karaoke performance, Veronica Mars, episode 2.12 2006 TV.comYouTubeYouTube
Stuart Davis Davis Does Elvis - internet-only release 2004 website
Deano & The Distractions performed live, 2003-11-21, Tonic Ball 2, Indianapolis, Indiana 2003 info needed
Dust Poets Four Legs Good 2003 websiteAllMusicAmazon
Michael Falzon and Luke Kennedy performed live, 2015-06-12,13, Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide, Australia 2015 AdelaideNow.com.au
Kisswhistle I Made It Out Of Clay: A Hanukkah Pop CompilationVarious artists 1999 AllMusicinfoinfo
Lash Out Breaking Hearts... & Some Rules 2000 websiteinfoinfo
Marks Brothers performed live, 2007, Manchester, Connecticut 2007 archive.org
Sarah Masen Kissing Tree(single) 1996 sarahmasen.comDiscogs
Sarah Masen performed live 1997 linklink
Rico Monaco & Sol Sons performed live, 2001-08-25, Skippers Smokehouse, Tampa, Florida 2001 archive.org
David Myhr performed live, 2012-12-27, Madrid 2012 YouTube
David Myhr studio version 2015 YouTube
Nathan Nesje & Muggsy Lauer performed live, 2017-01-14, Pioneer Place Theatre, St. Cloud, Minnesota 2017 YouTubeppfive.com
Steve Nieve & AJUQ instrumental, performed live, 2020-04-01, The Daily Improvisation, France 2020 Facebook - 9:35
Nothing Cool info needed
Oliver's Army (Dallas) performed live, Dallas-area Costello tribute band 2003 - OliversArmyBand
Mark Paradis Band performed live, 2010-06-29, Springfield, Massachusetts 2010 archive.org
John Andrew Parks John Andrew Parks 1990 therecordroom.comAllMusic
Jedediah Parish The Loser's Lounge Tribute to Elvis CostelloVarious artists 2002 LosersLounge
Riguelle & Hautekiet A Minor Thing 1998 Discogsinfo
Erich Sellheim home studio production, sung in German 2019 YouTube
Starch Martins performed live, 2002, Cincinnati, Ohio and Oxford, Ohio 2002 archive.orgarchive.org
Strand & Pauline En La Playa Aberraciones Telescópicas Vol. 2Various artists 2004 DiscogsWikipedia
The Unwieldies Let's Grow Old And Strange Together 2013 AmazonAmazon.uk
The Verbas 2009 YouTube

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