Watching The Detectives

Album: The Very Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1977)
Charted: 15
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  • Nice girls, not one with a defect
    Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
    Red dog's under her legal legs
    She looks so good that he gets down and begs
    She is watching the detectives
    ("Ooh, he's so cute")

    She is watching the detectives
    When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
    They beat him up until the teardrops start
    But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

    Long shot at that jumping sign
    Visible shivers running down my spine
    Cut to baby taking off her clothes
    Close-up of the sign that says "We Never Close"

    You snatch your chew and you match your cigarette
    She pulls their eyes out with a face like a magnet
    I don't know how much more of this I can take
    She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake

    She is watching the detectives
    ("Ooh, he's so cute")
    She is watching the detectives
    Oh, and they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
    They beat him up until the teardrops start
    But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

    You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
    Now fear is here to stay, love is here for a visit
    They call it "instant justice" when it's past the legal limit
    Someone's scratchin' at the window
    (I wonder who is it?)
    The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
    Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance
    Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
    It only took my little fingers to blow you away

    Just like watching the detectives
    ("Don't get cute!")
    Just like watching the detectives
    Oh I get so angry when the teardrops start
    But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

    Watching the detectives
    It's just like watching the detectives
    Watching the detectives
    Watching the detectives
    Watching the detectives
    Watching the detectives
    Watching the detectives
    Watching the detectives ... Writer/s: Elvis Costello
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 4

  • Lalah from Wasilla AkAn acoustic trio called "The New Standards" cover this song and it has become my favorite version, after Elvis Costello. The band consists of vibes, piano and upright Bass, along with vocals. They were up in Anchorage Alaska, performing back in the early 2000s. They were supposed to perform the weekend after our 11/30/18 7.1 earthquake but they canceled.

    They're worth checking out, even though they wimped out.
  • Exobscura from NycThis song created the entire mise-en-scene for REM's creation
  • Gabe from ChicagoIt's worth noting that the PBS program "The History Detectives" uses this as its theme song... Probably the only logical choice, as long as one doesn't think too hard about the lyrics.
  • Steve from Philadelphia, PaShe's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake never fails to evoke a clear image...
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