Deep Dark Truthful Mirror

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

Deep Dark Truthful Mirror Written by Declan MacManus Performed by Elvis Costello featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band Produced by Elvis Costello, Kevin Killen & T Bone Burnett Musicians Elvis Costello - vocals 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 Recorded 1988, Southlake Studios, New Orleans & Ocean Way, Los Angeles Released February 6, 1989 Albums Spike, 1989 Singles Deep Dark Truthful Mirror, 1989 Collections Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. Years, 1997 Various Artists collections The Piano Songs 3, 2005 Promos Spike Album Sampler, 1989 Malice And Magic, 1995 (US) Selections From My Aim Is True, Spike And All This Useless Beauty, 2001 Length 4:03 First known performance:  April 5, 1989, Pittsburgh, PA      (498 known performances, 2 as a snippet) Alternate versions Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (Demo) Performed by Elvis Costello Musicians Elvis Costello - vocals, all instruments Recorded February 16, 1988, Eden Studios, London Released August 21, 2001 Albums Spike (Rhino reissue), 2001 Length 4:04 Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (Unplugged Version) Performed by Elvis Costello (& The Rude 5) Produced by Biff Dawes Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal, guitar Marc Ribot - guitar Jerry Scheff - bass Larry Knechtel - keyboards Pete Thomas - drums Recorded June 3, 1991, MTV Unplugged, Warner Hollywood Studios Released December 6, 1994 Albums Mighty Like A Rose (Rhino reissue), 2002 Various Artists collections The Unplugged Collection Volume One, 1994 Length 4:43 Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (Live 2006) Performed by Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint featuring The Imposters, Anthony "AB" Brown & The Crescent City Horns Horn arrangement Allen Toussaint Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal, guitar Allen Toussaint - piano Steve Nieve - keyboards Davey Faragher - bass Pete Thomas - drums Anthony "AB" Brown - guitar Amadee Castenell - saxophone Brian "Breeze" Cayolle - saxophone Joe "Foxx" Smith - trumpet Sam "Big Sam" Williams - trombone Recorded July 3, 2006, Montreal, QC, Canada Released December 5, 2006 Videos Hot As A Pistol, Keen As A Blade, 2006

Chords

G                     Bm   
One day you're gonna have to face  
   Am                 G     G/C G  
A deep dark truthful mirror   
D   
 And it's gonna tell you things that I still   
 C                    D  
Love you too much to say   
G                    Bm   
 The sky was just a purple bruise  
Am              G    G/C G   
 The ground was iron   
D   
 And you fell all around the town   
   C                  G    
Until you looked the same  
 
[Chorus:]  
C C G              B  
     The same eyes, the same lips 
Em                  C   
 The same lie from your tongue trips    
Horns:  
e||-------------||   
B||-----------1-||   
G||-------0-2---|| 
D||---0-2-------||   
A||-3-----------||   
E||-------------|| 
   
C    Am    C    C/B  Am   D/F# G    [Horns]  
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror   
C    Am    C    C/B  Am   D/F# G 
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror  
  
C C          G                          Bm   
   Now the flagstone streets where the newspaper shouts  
Am                      G         G/C G   
 Ring to the boots of roustabouts  
D 
 And you're never in any doubt   
         C                        D  
There's something happening somewhere  
      G                            Bm 
You chase down the road 'til your fingers bleed 
Am                G         G/C G   
 On a fiberglass tumbleweed  
D  
 You can blow around the town  
    C                      G    
But it all shuts down the same  
  
[Chorus]  
   
        Bm                     Em   
So you bay for the boy in the tigerskin trunks 
C C  G             C C      G   
   They set him up, set him up on a stool  
Bm                       Em    
He falls down, he falls down like a drunk 
C C          G                  C C G  
   And you drink till you drool   
C         Bm                G   
And it's his story you'll flatter   
C         Bm                   G   
You'll stretch him out like a saint   
C        Bm               Em  
But the canvas that he splattered 
 C                       D          C#dim    
Will be the picture that you never paint  
  
Em C G [Horns]   
   
C    Am    C    C/B  Am   D/F# G    [Horns]    
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror  
C    Am    C    C/B  Am   D/F# G    
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror 
   
G                         Bm   
 A stripping puppet on a liquid stick   
Am              G   
 Gets into it pretty thick   
   D   
A butterfly drinks a turtle's tears  
     C                         D  
But how do you know he really needs it   
  G                          Bm   
'Cos a butterfly feeds on a dead monkey's hand   
Am               G   
 Jesus wept, he felt abandoned  
         D    
You're spellbound, baby, there's no doubting that
                         (that's where it's at)   
        C                      D         G  
Did you ever see a stare like a Persian cat   
 
[Chorus]

Internal links

• Elvis Costello Home Page: Spike  •  lyrics  •  chords  •  Spike info page 1  •  Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (MTV Unplugged version) info page
• Lyrics  •  Covers

External links

• Elvis Costello Reissues: Spike