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You're sending me tulips mistaken for lilies
You give me your lip after punching me silly
You turned my head till it rolled down the brain drain
If I had any sense now I wouldn't want it back again
(chorus):
New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double Dutch to a real double duchess
Down on the mainspring, listen to the tick tock
Clock all the faces that move in on your block
Twice shy and dog tired because you've been bitten
Everything you say now sounds like it was ghost-written
(chorus)
Back in London they'll take you to heart after a little while
Though I look right at home I still feel like an exile
Somehow I found myself down at the dockside
Thinking of the old days of Liverpool and Rotherhithe
The transparent people who live on the other side
Living a life that is almost like suicide
(chorus)
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| New Amsterdam |
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| Written by | Elvis Costello |
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| Performed by | Elvis Costello |
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| Produced by | Elvis Costello |
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| Musicians | Elvis Costello - vocals, all instruments |
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| Recorded | 1979, Archipelago Studios, London |
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| Released | February 1980 |
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| Albums | Get Happy!!, 1980 |
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| Singles | New Amsterdam, 1980
London's Brilliant Parade, 1994 |
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| Collections | The Man (The Best Of Elvis Costello), 1985
Girls Girls Girls, 1989
The Very Best Of Elvis Costello & The Attractions, 1994
The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, 1999
Singles, Volume 2, 2003 |
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| Various Artists collections | Was Het Nu 70 Of 80? Vol. 3, 1996
Good Vibes, 2003
Timeless, 2004
Alternative Acoustic, 2006
Senses Working Overtime, 2006
Soft Rock Ballads, 2006 |
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| Promos | Get Happy!! (Promo Album), 1980
Spectrum USA - New Horizons In Music (Vol. 12, Programs 1-13), 1980
UK Elvis Costello (2006), 2006
Visa Sampler, 2007 |
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| Videos | The Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello - The Videos, 2005 |
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| Length | 2:10 |
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“Recorded in a fifteen quid-an-hour demo studio (backwhenfifteenpoundswasalotofmoneyIcantellyou). As you might guess I didn't use a metronome but I did employ the owner's exotic equipment; vibes! a fretless bass! a very nasty synth! even, God forbid, DRUMS!!! The first in an occasional series: A bewildered lad, alone in New York, except for his rhyming dictionary.” — Girls Girls Girls liner notes, 1989.
Alternate versions
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