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Cheap cut satin and bad perfume
Showtime is almost here
Teased up by a strip cartoon
Laughing up your sleeve
Sniggering in your beer
He'd seen the bottom of a lot of glasses
But he'd never seen love so near
He'd seen love get so expensive
But he'd never seen love so dear
(chorus):
Now I know that you're all King Horse
Between tenderness and brute force
Now I know that you're all King Horse
Between tenderness and brute force
She can turn upon a sixpence in the mouth and trousers set
Hit the till, ring the bell, never spill a sip
And still she knows the kind of tip that she is gonna get
A lot of loose exchanges, precious little respect
When it's someone else's weekend
That's the best you can expect
(chorus)
So fond of the fabric
So fond of fabrication
From comic books to tragic
Through the heart of complications
Meanwhile back in some secluded spot
He says, "Will you please?" and she says, "Stop"
If I ever lose this good thing that I've got
I never want to hear the song you dedicated tonight
'Cause you see I knew that song so long before we met
That it means much more than it might
(chorus)
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King Horse |
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Written by | Elvis Costello |
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Performed by | Elvis Costello & The Attractions |
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Produced by | Nick Lowe |
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Musicians | Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar Steve Nieve - keyboards Bruce Thomas - bass Pete Thomas - drums |
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Recorded | October 1979, Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands and/or Eden Studios, London |
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Released | February 1980 |
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Albums | Get Happy!!, 1980 |
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Singles | I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down, 1980 |
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Collections | Girls Girls Girls, 1989 Rock And Roll Music, 2007 |
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Promos | Get Happy!! (Promo Album), 1980 Humo presents Torhout / Werchter 1977-1981, 1981 Punch The Clock, Trust & Get Happy!! Sampler, 2003 |
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Length | 2:59 |
“The armed forces are the only other line of work that encourages such unsuitable people to travel the world. Chaos reigns at 35,000 feet over the Pacific. In my notebook I'd stumbled on some lyrics about tawdry compromise and desperate fun, mostly the work of a very naive nineteen-year-old. Now I'm looking to hang it all on the best insult to the strutting male that I can find. The cult of the stallion with medallion is in full flower. I look at the silly schoolboys making the stewardess' life a misery. I look at myself in the toilet mirror... ‘King Horse’.” — Girls Girls Girls liner notes, 1989.
Alternate versions
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Covers
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Jason Martin
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performed live, 2002-08-10, Brilliant Mistakes tribute, Albany, NY
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2002
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review
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Thee Skiffle Kings
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home studio production
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2011
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YouTube
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Internal links
External links