All This Useless Beauty — текст песни (Elvis Costello)

Its at times such as this shed be tempted to spit

If she wasnt so ladylike

She imagines how she might have lived

Back when legends and history collide

So she looks to her prince finding hes so charmingly

Slumped at her side

Those days are recalled on the gallery wall

And shes waiting for passion or humour to strike



What shall we do, what shall we do with all this useless beauty?

All this useless beauty



Good friday arrived, the sky darkened on time

til he almost began to negotiate

She held his head like a baby and said "its okay if you cry"

Now he wants her to dress as if you couldnt guess

He desires to impress his associates

But hes part ugly beast and hellenic deceased

So she finds that the mixture is hard to deny



Chorus



She wont practice the looks from the great tragic books

That were later disgraced to face celluloid

It wont even make sense but you can bet

If she isnt a sweetheart or plaything or pet

The film turns her into an unveiled threat



Nonsense prevails, modesty fails

Grace and virtue turn into stupidity

While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise

And our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts

They still think theyre the gods of antiquity

If something you missed didnt even exist

It was just an ideal -- is it such a surprise?



Chorus [x2]