One day you're going to have to face a deep dark truthful mirror
And it's going to tell you things that I still love you too much to say
The sky was just a purple bruise, the ground was iron
And you fell all around the town until you looked the same
(Chorus:)
The same eyes, the same lips
The same lie from your tongue trips
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror
Now the flagstone streets where the newspaper shouts
Ring to the boots of roustabouts
And you're never in any doubt, there's something happening somewhere
You chase down the road 'til your fingers bleed on a fiberglass tumbleweed
You can blow around the town, but it all shuts down the same
(Repeat Chorus)
So you bay for the boy in the tiger-skin trunks
They set him up, set him up on the stool
He falls down, he falls down like a drunk
And you drink till you drool
Well, it's his story you'll flatter
You'll stretch him out like a saint
But the canvas that he splattered
Will be the picture that you never paint
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror
A stripping puppet on a liquid stick gets into it pretty thick
A butterfly drinks a turtle's tears, but how do you know he really needs it?
'Cos a butterfly feeds on a dead monkey's hand
Jesus wept, he felt abandoned
You're spellbound baby, there's no doubting that
Did you ever see a stare like a Persian cat?
(Repeat Chorus)
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror
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Deep Dark Truthful Mirror |
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Written by | Declan MacManus |
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Performed by | Elvis Costello featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band |
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Produced by | Elvis Costello, Kevin Killen & T Bone Burnett |
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Musicians | Elvis Costello - vocal Gregory Davis - trumpet Efrem Towns - trumpet Kevin Harris - tenor saxophone Roger Lewis - baritone saxophone Kirk Joseph - sousaphone Allen Toussaint - piano Jim Keltner - snare drum, Chinese cymbal Michael Blair - parade drum, tambourines |
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Recorded | 1988, Southlake Studios, New Orleans & Ocean Way, Los Angeles |
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Released | February 6, 1989 |
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Albums | Spike, 1989 |
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Singles | Deep Dark Truthful Mirror, 1989 |
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Collections | Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. Years, 1997 Unfaithful Music & Soundtrack Album, 2015 |
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Various Artists collections | The Piano Songs 3, 2005 Under The Influence Of Alice, 2010 |
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Promos | Spike Album Sampler, 1989 Timothy White's Rock Stars, 1989 Malice And Magic, 1995 (US) Selections From My Aim Is True, Spike And All This Useless Beauty, 2001 |
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Length | 4:03 |
Alternate versions
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