The Town Where Time Stood Still

I made my selection from the lonely hit parade In the town where time stood still I was feeling very little pain Until some joker played "Almost Persuaded" Now every girl I see Looks so much prettier to me My faithfulness has faded And their looks are sharp as daggers And the conversation heated Since the boys have all been laid off And are walking round defeated In the town where time stood still Somebody in charge must have pretended The future's been suspended And I say I don't want trouble But I find myself back in it In the town where time stood still I am the man of the minute Teach me to say "I love you" I'll teach you to say "You will do" In the town where time stood still Or maybe I can find a little girl To wind me up with all the usual skills There's nothing else to do but rearrange somebody's features And trap your fingers in the till The bar is full of girls just like the creature with the curse And the food is just like cabaret and vice versa In the town where time stood still Just as my heart went down sinking I found the town was shrinking And suddenly I saw her through the smoke and empty beers In the town where time stood still She might have well have waited years Now I suppose we did some things we used to do But no amount of darkness could ever turn her into you And so I woke up in the town where time stood still With a headache and a heartache And a handful of pills A welcome mat, a scandal rag and unpaid bills With her hand inside her handbag The sign says "please wait to be seated" I only want a cup of coffee I know you can't have your cake and eat it In the town where time stood still Did you hear the news today? It's all bad, did I tell you how I left her so sad? With a headache and a heartache And an hour or two to kill I only wish we were together In the town where time stood still In the town where time stood still In the town where time stood still In the town where time stood still In the town where time stood still

The Town Where Time Stood Still Written by Elvis Costello Performed by Elvis Costello Produced by Elvis Costello Musicians Elvis Costello - vocals, all instruments except drum loop Pete Thomas - drum loop Recorded 1982, Eden Studios, London Released February 28, 1995 Albums Punch The Clock (Rykodisc/Demon reissue), 1995 Punch The Clock (Rhino/Edsel reissue), 2003 Length 3:30 Only known performance:  August 29, 1981, Gateshead, England      (11 known performance) Alternate versions The Town Where Time Stood Still (Alternate Version) Performed by Elvis Costello & The Attractions Produced by Geoff Emerick from an original idea by Elvis Costello Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal, guitar Steve Nieve - keyboards Bruce Thomas - bass Pete Thomas - drums Recorded November 1981, AIR Studios, London Released October 28, 2002 Albums Imperial Bedroom (Rhino/Edsel reissue), 2002 Length 2:56 The Town Where Time Stood Still (Demo) Performed by Elvis Costello Musicians Elvis Costello - vocal, guitar Recorded 1983, unknown location Released July 26, 2004 Albums Goodbye Cruel World (Rhino/Edsel reissue), 2004 Length 2:15

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• Elvis Costello Reissues: Imperial Bedroom