Tag Archives: Elvis Costello

Voice In The Dark

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Chords and lyrics for Voice In The Dark by Elvis Costello

G 
Ba ba ba ba ba
 
D7 
Listen 
 
for
 
D7 
I’m not here to try to jump your borders
G 
Just ask your nieces and daughters
D7 
But have no fear
G 
If your rent-money is in arrears
 
Dm 
I’ll be your servant

Veronica

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Chords and lyrics for Veronica by Elvis Costello

C 
 
F 
 
C/E 
 
G/D 
 
C 
 
F 
 
C 
 
G 
 
Is it al
C 
l in that pretty  
F 
little head o
C/E 
f 
 
yours?
G/D 
G 
 
What goes on in tha
C 
t place in the dar
F 
k?
C 
G 
 
Well I used t
C 
o know a girl and I woul
F 
d have  
C/E 
sworn
G/D 
G 
 
That her name was  
F 
Veronica
G 
Csus4 
C 
 
Well she used to h
C 
ave a carefree mind of her  
F 
own
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
And a delicate l
C 
ook in he
F 
r 
 
eye
C 
G 
 
Th
C 
ese days I’m afra
F 
id she’s not ev
C/E 
en 
 
shure
G/D 
G 
 
If her name is
F 
Veroni
G 
ca
Csus4 
C 
 
C 
Do you suppose,
Dm 
that waiting hands on eyes
 
Veronica has gone to
G 
hide?
 
And all
Dm 
the time she laughs at those
 
Who shout her name and steal her clothes
G 
 
Veronic
F 
a – Veronica –  
 
Veronica
 
Did the days dr
C 
ag by? Did the
F 
favour 
 
wane?
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
Did he roam do
C 
wn the town all the time
F 
?
C 
G 
 
Will you wake fro
C 
m a dream, with the w
F 
olf at the door
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
Reaching out for Ve
F 
ronica?
G 
Csus4 
C 
 
Well it  
C 
was all sixty-fiv
F 
e years ago
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
When the world was t
C 
he street where she li
F 
ved
C 
G 
 
And a young ma
C 
n sailed on a ship  
F 
in the sea
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
With a picture o
F 
f 
 
Veronica
G 
Csus4 
C 
 
On the “Empress of
Am 
India”
Fm 
 
And as s
Bb 
he closed her eyes upon the world
C 
 
And picked
Am 
upon the bones of last week’s news
Fm 
 
She spoke  
Bb 
his name out loud again
 
C 
Do you suppose,
Dm 
that waiting hands on eyes
 
Veronica has gone to
G 
hide?
 
And all
Dm 
the time she laughs at those
 
Who shout her name and steal her clothes
G 
 
Veronic
F 
a – Veronica –  
 
Veronica
 
Veroni
C 
ca sits in
F 
her favourite ch
C/E 
air
G/D 
G 
 
And she sits ver
C 
y quiet and st
F 
ill
C 
G 
 
And they call her
C 
name that the
F 
y never get right
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
And if they d
F 
on’t then nobody else will
G 
Csus4 
C 
 
But she used to h
C 
ave a carefree mind of her
F 
own
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
With devilish
C 
look in  
F 
her 
 
eye
C 
G 
 
Saying “You can  
C 
call me anyt
F 
hing you like
C/E 
G/D 
G 
 
But my name is  
F 
Veronica”
G 
Csus4 
C 
 
C 
Do you suppose,
Dm 
that waiting hands on eyes
 
Veronica has gone to
G 
hide?
 
And all
Dm 
the time she laughs at those
 
Who shout her name and steal her clothes
G 
 
Veronic
F 
a – Veronica –  
 
Veronica
 
G 
 
F 
 
Em 
 
G/D 
 
Veroni
C 
ca

Uncomplicated

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Chords and lyrics for Uncomplicated by Elvis Costello

DaddE, no 3rd E 
x 
 
2
 
E 
blood and chocolate I hope you’re satisfied with what you have done
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
E 
I want to buy you a big blue Diamel
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
D 
this is only this
C# 
is only the  
C 
be- ginning
E 
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
D 
this is only this
C# 
is only the  
C 
be- ginning
E 
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
A 
it’s in your eyes it
G 
‘s in your eyes
E 
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed
 
D 
un- co
A 
mpli- cat
E7 
ed

Two Little Hitlers

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Chords and lyrics for Two Little Hitlers by Elvis Costello

A 
Why are we racing  
E 
to be so old?
A 
I’m up late pacing the floor I
E 
won’t be told
A 
You have your reservations  
E 
I’m bought and
D 
sold
D 
I’ll face the music I’ll face the facts
E 
Even when we walk in polka dots and chequer slacks
A 
Bowing and squawking  
E 
Running after titbits
A 
Bobbing and squinting  
E7 
Just like a nitwit
 
D 
Two little Hitlers will fight it out until
E 
One little Hitler does the other one’s  
A 
will
 
I  
D 
will  
E 
return I  
D 
will not  
E 
burn
 
A 
I need my head examined  
E 
I need my eyes excited
A 
I’d like to join the party  
E7 
But I was not invited
A 
You make a member of me  
E7 
I’ll be delighted
D 
I wouldn’t cry for lost souls, you might drown
E 
Dirty words for dirty minds Written in a toilet town
A 
Dial me a Valentine  
E7 
She’s a smooth operator
A 
It’s all so calculated  
E7 
She’s got a calculator
A 
She’s my soft touch typewriter  
E7 
And I’m the great dictator
 
A simple game of self-
A 
respect
E 
You flick a switch and the  
A 
world goes off
E 
Nobody jumps as you ex
A 
pect
E 
I would have thought you would have  
F#m 
had enough b
E 
y 
 
now
A 
You call selective dating  
E7 
For some effective mating
A 
I thought I’d let you down, dear  
E7 
But you were just deflating
A 
I knew right from the start  
E7 
We’d end up hating
D 
Pictures of the merchandise Plastered on the wall
E 
We can look so long as we don’t have to talk at all
A 
You say you’ll never know him  
E7 
He’s an unnatural man
A 
He doesn’t want your pleasure  
A 
He wants as no one can
A 
He wants to know the names of  
E7 
All those he’s better than
 
I  
D 
will 
 
re
E 
turn
 
I  
D 
will not  
E 
burn . . . . .

Too Far Gone

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Chords and lyrics for Too Far Gone by Elvis Costello

D 
I know that somewhere there’s someone
 
You  
B7 
love more than
E 
me
G 
Someone you l
A 
ove more than m
D 
e
A 
D 
And I hate to say it
 
But you have a  
B7 
right to be
E 
free
G 
I know that’s the  
A 
way it should  
D 
be.
 
G 
But 
 
 
B7 
I’m
E 
too far gone
A 
Too 
 
 
G 
far 
 
 
D 
gone.
B7 
I’ve loved you so much for so
E 
long
 
And I’m  
G 
too 
 
 
A 
far 
 
 
D 
gone
A 
 
D 
If ever your new love
 
Should hurt you or  
B7 
make you feel
E 
blue
G 
Hurt you or  
A 
make you feel  
D 
blue
A 
 
Just  
D 
remember your old love
 
Will still be  
B7 
around 
 
loving
E 
you
 
G 
I’ll be  
A 
around loving y
D 
ou
 
‘Cause I’m  
G 
too 
 
 
B7 
far
E 
gone
A 
Too 
 
 
G 
far 
 
 
D 
gone
B7 
I’ve loved you so much
E 
for so long
 
And I’m  
G 
too 
 
 
A 
far 
 
 
D 
gone

This Years Girl

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Chords and lyrics for This Years Girl by Elvis Costello

E 
x 
 
 
A 
2 
 
 
D 
4 
 
 
G 
4 
 
 
B 
5 
 
 
E 
2
 
D 
See her picture in a th
Bm 
ousand places ’cause she’s t
A 
his year’s girl.
D 
You think you all own l
Bm 
ittle pieces of  
F#m 
this year’s girl.
G 
Forget your f
A 
ancy 
 
manners,
G 
forget your  
A 
English 
 
grammar,
G 
’cause you don’t really g
A 
ive a damn about  
Dsus4 
this year’s  
D 
girl
Dsus2 
.
D 
 
Bm 
Time’s running out. She’s not
G 
happy with the
D 
cost.
 
Th
E7 
ere’d be no doubt, only she’s forgotten much more than she’s
E 
lost.
 
D 
A bright spark might c
Bm 
orner the market in t
A 
his year’s girl.
D 
You see yourself rolling  
Bm 
on the carpet with  
F#m 
this year’s girl.
G 
Those disco s
A 
ynthezisers,
G 
those daily tr
A 
anquilizers,
G 
those body b
A 
uilding 
 
prizes,
G 
those bedroom  
A 
alibis;
G 
all this, but n
A 
o surprises for  
Dsus4 
this 
 
year
D 
‘s 
 
girl.
Bm 
G 
All this, but n
A 
o surprises for t
F#m 
his year’s girl.
Bm 
G 
All this, but n
A 
o surprises for  
Dsus4 
this 
 
year
D 
‘s 
 
girl.

This Is Hell

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Chords and lyrics for This Is Hell by Elvis Costello

D 
This is hell, th
A 
is is hell,
G 
I am sorry t
Em 
o tell you
 
It nev
D 
er gets better o
A 
r 
 
worse
A 
D 
But you get used to  
A 
it, after a
G 
spell
Em 
 
For heaven  
D 
is hell in  
A 
reverse
Cadd9 
 
The bruiser
G 
spun a hula hoop
 
As all the barmen  
D/A 
preen and pout
 
The neon “
G 
I” of “night club” flickers
D/A 
On an off and finally blew out
C 
 
The irritating jingle of the  
Am 
belly dancing phoney turkish girl
C 
 
The eerie glare of ultraviolet pe
Am 
rfect dental work
 
D 
This is hel
A 
l, I am sor
G 
ry to tell  
Em 
you
 
It nev
D 
er gets better o
A 
r 
 
worse
A 
D 
But you get used to  
A 
it, after a
G 
spell
Em 
 
For heaven  
D 
is hell in  
A 
reverse
Cadd9 
 
The failed
G 
Don Juan in the big bow-tie
 
Is very sorr
D/A 
y that he spoke
 
For he?s m
G 
islaid his punchline more than
D/A 
Halfway through a very tasteless joke
C 
 
The Fr?ulein caught him peeking down her gown
Am 
 
He?s yelling in her ear
C 
 
And all at once the music stopped
Am 
 
As he was intimately bellowing “My dear
A 
…”
 
This is hell
D 
, this is hell,  
A 
I am sorry  
G 
to tell you
Em 
 
It nev
D 
er gets better o
A 
r 
 
worse
A 
D 
But you get used to  
A 
it, after a
G 
spell
Em 
 
For heaven  
D 
is hell in  
A 
reverse
Cadd9 
 
The shi
Dm 
rt you wore with courage
G 
 
And the violent n
C 
ylon 
 
suit
F 
 
Reapp
Dm 
ear upon your back
G 
 
And undermine  
C 
the polished line
F 
 
You try to shoot,  
Dm 
it?s not the torment
G 
 
Of the flames t
C 
hat finally see your fl
F 
esh 
 
corrupted
D 
 
It?s the small humiliation that your memory piles up
G 
 
This is hell, this is hell
D 
 
“My favourit
G 
e thing” is playing again an again
D 
 
But it?
G 
s by Julie Andrews and not by John Colt
D 
rane
 
Endles
G 
s balmy breezes and perfect sunsets fram
D 
ed
 
Vinta
G 
ge wine for breakfast and naked starlets flo
D 
ating in Champagne
C 
 
All the passions of your youth
Am 
 
Are tranquilised and tamed
C 
 
You may think it looks familiar
Am 
 
Though you may know it by another name
A 
 
This is hell
D 
, this is hell,  
A 
I am sorry  
G 
to tell you
Em 
 
It nev
D 
er gets better o
A 
r 
 
worse
A 
D 
But you get used to  
A 
it, after a
G 
spell
Em 
 
For heaven  
D 
is hell in  
A 
reverse
Cadd9 
 
This is hell, this is hell.
D 
G 
G 

This House Is Empty Now

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Chords and lyrics for This House Is Empty Now by Elvis Costello

Dsus4 
Reme
D/C 
mber when they were always filled with laughter?
Dsus4 
They 
 
see
D/C 
m to just echo voices raised in anger
 
Reflected  
Cm9 
ther
Fsus4 
e 
 
on
F 
the 
 
pane
F 
In the  
E 
window 
 
 
Ebmaj7 
of our poor
 
Forlorn and broken  
Cm9 
home
 
Still this  
F 
house is empty now
 
To  
F 
make you want to  
D7 
stay
 
Cm9 
Oh, if I could just become forgetful
 
When  
D7 
night seems endless
G/A 
About the darkness?

The World And His Wife

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Chords and lyrics for The World And His Wife by Elvis Costello

 
Intro  
G 
 
G/F# 
 
Em 
 
D 
 
C 
 
G 
 
G 
The family circle gathers round  
G/F# 
fro
Em 
m very far and near
 
To  
D 
pass around the  
C 
same remarks they  
G 
passed away last year
 
The  
G 
little girl you dangled on  
G/F# 
yo
Em 
ur knee without mishap
 
Stirs  
D 
something in your  
C 
memory and  
G 
something in your lap
 
The  
Am 
juniper berry has a
Em 
very deadly kiss
 
Bb 
I believe that something here is
D 
very much amiss
 
G 
But its a living  
G/F# 
an
Em 
d this is the life
 
For the  
D 
world 
 
 
C 
and his  
D 
wife
 
The world  
C# 
and 
 
his
F#m 
wife
 
The  
Am 
kissing cousins step outside to
Em 
cuddle and confess
 
Bb 
She says sweet nothing at all its
D 
much more of a mess
 
She says  
G 
our 
 
mother
G/F# 
a
Em 
nd someone elses father
 
D 
Went for two weeks  
C 
holiday in  
G 
Taramasalata
 
G 
Daddy went out with the  
G/F# 
rubbi
Em 
sh and he kept on talking
 
Be
D 
tween Mum and the  
C 
walls god only  
G 
knows who does the talking
 
D 
 
C 
 
G 
 
The family  
G 
circle gathers round from very far and near
Em 
 
To pass  
D 
around the same remarks th
C 
ey passed away last year
G 
 
The little
G 
girl you dangeled on your knee without mishap
Em 
 
Stirs something i
D 
n your memory and somethi
C 
ng in your lap
G 
 
The junipe
Am 
r berry has a very deadly  
Em 
kiss
Bb 
I would say that something here is very much in this
Dm 
D 
 
G 
But it?s a living and this is  
Em 
the 
 
life
 
For the world a
D 
nd his w
C 
ife
G 
 
The world  
D 
and 
 
hi
C#7 
s 
 
wife
F#m 
 
The kissing
Am 
cousins step outside to cuddle and confess
Em 
Bb 
She says sweet nothing at all it?s much more of a mes
Dm 
s
D 
 
She says our m
G 
other and someone else?s father
Em 
 
Wen
D 
t for two weeks holiday in Taramas
C 
alata
G 
 
Dadd
G 
y went out with the rubbish and he kept on walkin
Em 
g
 
Betwee
D 
n mum and the walls – god only k
C 
nows who does the takling
G 
 
The junipe
Am 
r berry has a very deadly  
Em 
kiss
Bb 
I would say that something here is very much in this
Dm 
D 
 
G 
But it?s a living and this is  
Em 
the 
 
life
 
For the world a
D 
nd his w
C 
ife
G 
 
The world  
D 
and 
 
hi
C#7 
s 
 
wife
F#m 
 
The conversat
Am 
ion melts like chocolate down our open jaws
Em 
 
Through the loud appea
Bb 
l of laughter and the counting of score draws
Dm 
D 
 
But late
G 
r on in the evening through the tears and fol de rol
Em 
 
Come the sentimental feelin
D 
gs for the lu
C 
re of vitriol
G 
 
Longi
G 
ng thoughts go hankering for the old home overseas
Em 
 
With a blindfold  
D 
and a national anthem s
C 
ung in diferent keys
G 
 
The junipe
Am 
r berry has a very deadly  
Em 
kiss
Bb 
I would say that something here is very much in this
Dm 
D 
 
G 
But it?s a living and this is th
Em 
e 
 
life
 
For the world a
D 
nd his w
C 
ife
G 
 
The world  
D 
and his  
C 
wife
G 
 
The world  
F 
and his  
C 
wife
G