The Other Side Of Summer

The sun struggles up another beautiful day And I felt glad in my own suspicious way Despite the contradiction and confusion Felt tragic without reason There's malice and there's magic in every season (chorus): From the foaming breakers of the poisonous surf The other side of summer To the burning forests in the hills of Astroturf The other side of summer The automatic gates close up between the shanties and the palace The blowtorch amusements, the voodoo chalice The pale pathetic promises that everybody swallows A teenage girl is crying 'cos she don't look like a million dollars So help her if you can 'Cos she don't seem to have the attention span (chorus) Was it a millionaire who said "imagine no possessions"? A poor little schoolboy who said "we don't need no lessons"? The rabid rebel dogs ransack the shampoo shop The pop princess is downtown shooting up And if that goddess is fit for burning The sun will struggle up, the world will still keep turning Madman standing by the side of the road saying "Look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes" Now you can't afford to fake all the drugs your parents used to take Because of their mistakes, you'd better be wide awake (chorus) The mightiest rose The absence of perfume The casual killers The military curfew The cardboard city An unwanted birthday The other side of summer The dancing was desperate, the music was worse They bury your dreams and dig up the worthless Goodnight God bless And kiss "goodbye" to the earth The other side of summer

The Other Side Of Summer Written by D.P.A. MacManus Performed by Elvis Costello Produced by Mitchell Froom, Kevin Killen & D.P.A. MacManus Musicians Elvis Costello - vocals, intro bass, acoustic 12-string guitar Larry Knechtel - grand piano Pete Thomas - drums, tambourine, sleigh bells, side drum, castanets T-Bone Wolk - bass Jerry Scheff - fuzz 6-string bass James Burton - acoustic guitar Benmont Tench - tack piano Mitchell Froom, Larry Knechtel - toy piano, tack piano, Vox Continental calliope, Cox organ, Stereophonic Optigon Elvis Costello, Richard Page, Steven Soles, Steve George - vocal group Recorded late 1990-early 1991, Ocean Way, Hollywood, and Westside Studios, London Released April 1991 Albums Mighty Like A Rose, 1991 Singles The Other Side Of Summer, 1991 So Like Candy (Germany/Australia) Collections Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. Years, 1997 The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, 1999 Various Artists collections It's A Warnerful World, 1995 Promos Follow Our Trax Volume Six: Fluid Formations, 1991 Top Selection 1991 June, 1991 Promo Nr. 11, 1991 Malice And Magic, 1994 Videos The Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello - The Videos, 2005 Length 3:53 First known performance:  May 18, 1991, Saturday Night Live Last known performance:  July 9, 2003, Philadelphia, PA      (87 known performances) Alternate versions The Other Side Of Summer (Unplugged Version) Performed by Elvis Costello (& The Rude 5) Produced by Biff Dawes Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal, acoustic guitar Marc Ribot - guitar Jerry Scheff - bass Larry Knechtel - keyboards Pete Thomas - drums Recorded June 3, 1991, MTV Unplugged, Warner Hollywood Studios Released November 18, 2002 Albums Mighty Like A Rose (Rhino reissue), 2002 Length 4:06

Chords

Bass Intro:

4/4                3/4
  , . , . , . , .   , . , . , .
|-----------------|-------------|
|-0-----0---0-----|-------------|
|---------------2-|---0---------|
|-----------------|-------3-----|


     G
The sun struggles up another beautiful day
             Em       Am      D
And I felt glad in my own suspicious way
G             C/G         G           Cm/G
 Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)
    G              Em             Am
Despite the contradiction and confusion
       D             C
Felt tragic without reason
                            D
There's malice and there's magic in every season

Chorus
 
G                   G/F            Am7/E     Cm/Eb
 From the foaming breakers of the poisonous surf
    G      Em      Am D
The other side of Summer
G               G/F            Am7/E   Cm/Eb
To the burning forests in the hills of Astroturf
    G     D       Am/G G
The other side of Summer

G Bm Am G

               Dm                          Bb              A7
The automatic gates close up between the shanties and the palace
      Dm                       Gm      A7
The blowtorch amusements, the voodoo chalice
     Dm             Dm/C        Bb          A7
The pale pathetic promises that everybody swallows
  D                      A7               D            (B C  B    A  D)   D
A teenage girl is crying 'cos she don't look like a million dollars
   (B    C  B   A   D)  D
So help her if you can
(B   C   B     A    D) D
'Cos she don't seem to have the attention span
 
Chorus

                Dm               Bb           A7
Was it a millionaire who said "imagine no possessions"?
  Dm                              Gm                A7
A poor little schoolboy who said "we don't need no lessons"?
     Dm          Dm/c    Bb                A7
The rabid rebel dogs ransack the shampoo shop
     D               A7               D
The pop princess is downtown shooting up
(B  C  B     A  D)
And if that goddess
 D (B C   B   A  D)  
    is fit for burning
 D    (B   C   B    A    D) 
  The sun will struggle up the world will still keep turning

 G
Madman standing by the side of the road saying
                   Em               Am               D      
"Look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes"
G             C/G         G           Cm/G
 Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)
 G               Em          Am                  D               C
Now you can't afford to fake all the drugs your parents used to take
                     D
Because of their mistakes you'd better be wide awake

Chorus

     G         G/F
The mightiest rose
    Am7/E       Cm/Eb
The absence of perfume
     G      Em
The casual killers
     Am       D
The military curfew
     G         G/F
The cardboard city
       Am7/E     Cm/Eb
And an unwanted birthday
    G      D/G     Am/G G
The other side of summer
     G           G/F               Am7/E     Cm/Eb
The dancing was desperate and the music was worse
      G         Em         Am         D
They bury your dreams and dig up the worthless
     G           G/F
Goodnight, God bless
           Am7/E          Cm/Eb
And kiss "goodbye" to the earth
    G      D/G     Am/G G
The other side of summer

(repeat last line)

Internal links

• Elvis Costello Home Page: Mighty Like A Rose | lyrics | chords | MLAR info page 1
• Lyrics

External links

• Elvis Costello Reissues: Mighty Like A Rose