Episode Of Blonde

I spy for the "Spirit of Curiosity" All the scandals of each vain monstrosity I gossip and I pry and I insinuate If the failure is great Then it tends to fascinate A tornado dropped a funnel cloud with twenty tons of rain Though she had the attention span of warm cellophane Her lovers fell like Skittles in a 10-pin bowling lane But nothing could compare with the explosion of fame So you jumped back with alarm Every Elvis has his army Every rattlesnake its charm Can you still hear me? Am I coming through just fine? Your memory was buried in simple box of pine (chorus): Did her green eyes seduce you and make you get so weak? Was there fire engine red that she left upon your cheek? It's such a shame you had to break the heart you could have counted on But the last thing you need is another episode of blonde Revolving like a jeweller's figure on a music box Spangled curtain parted and night-club scene unlocks Pinned and fixed and fastened in a follow spot Arms thrown out to everyone, she's giving all she's got To the last gasp of a wounded bandeon A tiny man imploring to the ceiling fan this stolen feeling Amplified up through a busted speaker Blaring, blasting, advertising, distorted beyond reason Into the street where petty crime-coats shadow panic drunkards Half out of the taxi-cab the barker seized my elbow He thought I was another lonely, likely pilgrim looking for St. Telmo (chorus) I tried to keep a straight face but you know it never pays He would stare into those eyes and then vacation in her gaze She was a cute little ruin that he pulled out of the rubble Now they're both living in a soft soap bubble The film producer's contemplating, entertaining suicide The picture crumpled in his fist, his runaway child bride The timepiece stretched across his wrist She couldn't care less cast aside The scent that so repelled him that he swore: "insecticide" And there's farewell note to mother That will conclude "Your loving Son" "Oh, tell your other children not to do as I have done" Did her green eyes seduce you and make you get so weak? Or was there fire engine red that she left upon your cheek? It's such a shame It's such a shame, shame, shame A shame you had to break the heart you could have counted on But the last thing you need It's the last thing you want Is another episode of blonde It's another episode of blonde, oh oh oh It's another episode of blonde So an artist drags a toothbrush across the first thing that he sees And names the painting "Christ's Last Exit into Purgatory" Receiving secret messages from an alien intelligence Paying off his stalker it's a legitimate expense So paste up pictures of those shrill and hollow girls with puckered lips She's a trophy on your arm, a magnet for your money clip The moral of this story is a sorry tale to say They're pieced with links of chains so they can never run away Differences on My Flame Burns Blue version: I spy for the "Spirit of Curiosity" On every vain, mediocre monstrosity Half out of the taxi-cab the barker seized my elbow He said I was another lonely, likely victim looking for St. Telmo That will conclude "Your loving Son" "Oh, Mother tell your children not to do what I have done"

Episode Of Blonde Written by Elvis Costello Performed by Elvis Costello (& The Imposters) Produced by The Imposter: Elvis Costello, Ciaran Cahill, Leo Pearson & Kieran Lynch Horn arrangement Elvis Costello Musicians Elvis Costello - vocals, DR-202, Magnatone Typhoon & Silvertone guitars Steve Nieve - grand piano, Hammond organ Davey Faragher - bass Pete Thomas - drums Ku-umba Frank Lacy - flugelhorn Curtis Fowlkes - trombone Jay Rodriguez - tenor saxophone Roy Nathanson - alto saxophone Recorded 2001, Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin Horns recorded September 24, 2001, Avatar Studios, New York Released April 15, 2002 Albums When I Was Cruel, 2002 Length 5:00 First known performance:  April 15, 2002, Amsterdam, Netherlands Last known performance:  August 7, 2013, Monte Carlo, Monaco      (87 known performances, 1 as a snippet) Alternate versions Peroxide Side (Blunt Cut) Performed by Elvis Costello Produced by The Imposter: Ciaran Cahill, Leo Pearson & Kieran Lynch Released September 16, 2002 Albums Cruel Smile, 2002 Singles 45, 2002 Length 3:48 Note Remix of Episode Of Blonde. Episode Of Blonde (Live 2004) Performed by Elvis Costello with The Metropole Orkest Produced by Gert-Jan van den Dolder Arranged by Vince Mendoza Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal Steve Nieve - piano The Metropole Orkest Vince Mendoza - conductor Ruud Breuls - trumpet solo Peter Tiehuis - guitar solo Recorded July 9, 2004, The Hague, Netherlands Released January 13, 2006 Albums My Flame Burns Blue, 2006 Length 6:09 Episode Of Blonde (Live 2006) Performed by Elvis Costello featuring The Imposters, Anthony "AB" Brown & The Crescent City Horns Horn arrangement Elvis Costello & Vince Mendoza (four-part reduction by Chris Walden) Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal, guitar Steve Nieve - piano 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

Covers

Erich Sellheim

home studio production, sung in German

2021

YouTube

Internal links

• Elvis Costello Home Page: When I Was Cruel  •  lyrics  •  chords  •  Info page
• Lyrics  •  Covers

External links

• Elvis Costello Reissues: When I Was Cruel