The Only Flame In Town

Lyrics - Credits - Discography - Covers - Bootlegs - Chords

Lyrics I know a girl got my mind in a mess I never heard her say goodnight and God bless She's not the only flame in town And when we're alone, we never quarrel I'm miles away, now here's the moral She's not the only flame in town She's not the only flame in town She's got to stop thinking that I'm carrying this torch around He struck a match and it lit up her face We should have struck a match, girl To burn down the whole place Now you're not the only flame in town But you blew hot and cold Turned my heart to a cinder And with each passing day You're less tender and more tinder Now you're not the only flame in town She's not the only flame in town She's got to stop thinking that I'm carrying this torch around You're not the only flame You're not the only flame Thought I saw your face in the fire But it's so hard to remember Even an inferno can cool down to an ember Now you're not the only flame You're not the only flame You're not the only flame in town Alternate Lyrics Alternate verses one and two from demo version on All This Useless Beauty (Deluxe Edition) (2001) I know a girl got my mind in a mess I'll never hear her say goodnight and God bless She's not the only flame in town It's a love that I lost that I'll always regret It's so easy to fall and so hard to forget That she's not the only flame in town

Credits Written by: Elvis Costello Produced by: Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley Musicians: Elvis Costello - vocals and guitar Steve Nieve - keyboards Bruce Thomas - bass Pete Thomas - drums Gary Barnacle - saxophone Jim Paterson - trombone Luis Jardim - percussion Daryl Hall - vocals Discography Albums: Goodbye Cruel World, 1984 Goodbye Cruel World (reissue), Rykodisc/Demon, 1995 Goodbye Cruel World (Deluxe Edition), Rhino, 2004 This section may be incomplete. Singles: This section may be incomplete. Collections: Album Name, Year This section may be incomplete. Alternate Versions: The Only Flame In Town (demo) All This Useless Beauty (Deluxe Edition), Rhino, 2001 Soundtracks: none Various Artists collections: none Covers Recorded by: none This section may be incomplete. Performed by: none This section may be incomplete. Bootlegs This section is incomplete.

Chords

C#m G#m F#m (4 times)

E              F#m     
 I know a girl, got my mind in a mess
G#m                   A             G#m    F#m
 I never heard her say goodnight and God bless
B                    E
She's not the only flame in town

E F#m G#m A G#m F#m E

And when we're alone, we never quarrel
I'm miles away, now here's the moral
                                E
She's not the only flame in town

*E G#m F#m A G#m B A
 
Chorus:
A      B            G#m          C#m
She's not the only flame in town
D         E            
 She's got to stop thinking that I'm
A    G#m       F#m        B                        
Carrying this torch around

He struck a match and it lit up her face
We should have struck a match, girl 
To burn down the whole place
Now you're not the only flame in town

But you blew hot and cold
Turn my heart to a cinder
And with each passing day
You're less tender and more tinder
Now you're not the only flame in the town

Chorus

C#m G#m F#m (4 times)

Thought I saw your face in the fire
But it's so hard to remember
Even an inferno can cool down to an ember
B                    G#m
 Now you're not the only flame
       C#m
You're not the only flame
C               B        
 You're not the only flame
C#m G#m F#m
   ... in town

C#m G#m F#m (repeat and fade)


*The keyboard, the only instrument actually making chords,
cuts out here and the bass and saxophone play the root notes
of these chords. The easier, and possibly better sounding, 
alternative for playing on guitar is an E F#m G#m A walkup, 
as is used on the alternate versions on the Goodbye Cruel World
reissues.

Internal links

• Elvis Costello Home Page: Goodbye Cruel World | lyrics | chords | GCW info page 1
• Template:The Only Flame In Town

External links

• Elvis Costello on Rhino Goodbye Cruel World reissue page