Pills And Soap

They talked to the sister, the father and the mother With a microphone in one hand and a chequebook in the other And the camera noses in to the tears on her face The tears on her face The tears on her face You can put them back together with your paper and paste But you can't put them back together You can't put them back together Chorus: What would you say? What would you do? Children and animals two by two Give me the needle Give me the rope We're going to melt them down for pills and soap Four and twenty crowbars jemmy your desire Out of the frying pan, into the fire The king is in the counting house Some folk have all the luck And all we get is pictures of Lord and Lady Muck They come from lovely people with a hard line in hypocrisy There are ashtrays of emotion for the fag ends of the aristocracy (Chorus) Give me the needle Give me the rope The sugar-coated pill is getting bitterer still You think your country needs you, but you know it never will So pack up your troubles in a stolen handbag Don't dilly-dally boys, rally 'round the flag Give us our daily bread in individual slices And something in the daily rag to cancel any crisis (Chorus) Give me the needle, give me the rope We're going to melt them down for pills and soap

Pills And Soap Written by Elvis Costello Performed by The Imposter Produced by Fairley/Imposter, re-modeled by Clanger/Winstanley Musicians Elvis Costello - vocals, drum machine Steve Nieve - piano Recorded January-April 1983, AIR Studios, London Released May 27, 1983 Albums Punch The Clock, 1983 Singles Pills And Soap, 1983 Pills And Soap, 1994 (bonus single with The Very Best Of Elvis Costello & The Attractions vinyl) Collections The Man (The Best Of Elvis Costello), 1985 Girls Girls Girls, 1989 The Very Best Of Elvis Costello, 1999 Singles, Volume 2, 2003 Various Artists collections Now Yearbook '83, 2021 Promos Punch The Clock, Trust & Get Happy!! Sampler, 2003 UK Elvis Costello (2006), 2006 Length 3:42 First known performance:  June 6, 1983, "Loose Talk" TV appearance Last known performance:  2024      (135 known performances) Alternate versions Pills And Soap (Extended version) Performed by The Imposter Released May 27, 1983 Singles Pills And Soap, 1983 Collections Singles, Volume 2, 2003 Length 4:12 Pills And Soap (Live 1995) Performed by Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet Arranged by Paul Cassidy Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal Michael Thomas - violin Ian Belton - violin Paul Cassidy - viola Jacqueline Thomas - violoncello Recorded June 28, 1995, London, England Released March 21, 2006 Albums The Juliet Letters (Rhino reissue), 2006 Length 4:37

Covers

Lou Dalgleish

performed live

info needed

Erich Sellheim

home studio production, sung in German

2018

YouTube

Internal links

• Elvis Costello Home Page: Punch The Clock  •  lyrics  •  chords  •  Info page
• Lyrics  •  Covers

External links

• Elvis Costello Reissues: Punch The Clock