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Elton John lyrics
Album: Too Low for Zero [1983]
| Cold as Christmas (In the Middle of the Year) | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
We still sit at separate tables
And we sleep at different times
And the warm wind in the palm trees
Hasn't helped to change our minds
It was the lure of the tropics
That I thought might heal the scars
Of a love burned out by silence
In a marriage minus heart
And I call the kids on the telephone
Say there's something wrong out here
It's july but it's cold as christmas
In the middle of the year
The temperature's up to ninety five
But there's a winter look in your mother's eyes
And to melt the tears there's a heat wave here
So how come it's cold as christmas in the middle of the year
I dreamed of love in a better climate
And for what it's really worth
I put faith in the star we followed
To this caribbean surf
But there's an icy fringe on everything
And I cannot find the lines
Where's the beauty in the beast we made
Why the frost in the summertime
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| I'm Still Standing | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
You could never know what it's like
Your blood like winter freezes just like ice
And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you
You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use
And did you think this fool could never win
Well look at me, I'm coming back again
I got a taste of love in a simple way
And if you need to know while I'm still standing you just fade away
Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah
I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah
Once I never could hope to win
You starting down the road leaving me again
The threats you made were meant to cut me down
And if our love was just a circus you'd be a clown by now
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| Too Low for Zero | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
Six o'clock alarm
I get the wake up call
Let that sucker jingle-jangle
Ring right off the wall
I'm too low for zero
I'm too tired to work
Tied one on with a friend last night
And wound up losing my shirt
I'm too low for zero
I'm on a losing streak
I got myself in a bad patch lately
I can't seem to get much sleep
I'm too low for zero
I wind up counting sheep
Nothing seems to make much sense
It's all just greek to me
You know I'm too low, too low, too low for zero
You know I'm too low, too low, too low for zero
Cutting out cups of coffee
Switching off the late night news
Putting the cat out two hours early
It isn't any use
I'm too low for zero
Insomnia attacks
Watching flies with my eyes till sunrise
It's daylight when I hit the sack
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| Religion | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
Well he could almost taste the money
But he was sitting in a den of thieves
Looking for the great awakening
Trying to find a way to leave
But that's when he got religion
And the light went on inside
He said somebody up there likes me
Now he's working for the holy guide
He got drunk but he don't remember
That he'd been drinking in a bar downtown
When he thought he heard a choir of angels
Singing in the tiki lounge
And that's when he got religion
From no salesman on tv
Just a tap on the shoulder in the parking lot
He still drinks but he does believe
Religion, you do the best you can
We all make the same mistakes
We're gonna wind up with the man
Religion, oh you do the best you can
We all make the same mistakes
We're gonna wind up with the man
She was silent as he paid her
But the thanks she got was next to none
And as her car pulled out of the motel
She felt the presence of someone
And that's when she got religion
In the front of a compact ford
Just a gentle voice on the stereo
Now she's a working girl who loves the lord
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| I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues | |
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Music by elton john and davey johnstone
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
Don't wish it away
Don't look at it like it's forever
Between you and me I could honestly say
That things can only get better
And while I'm away
Dust out the demons inside
And it won't be long before you and me run
To the place in our hearts where we hide
And I guess that's why they call it the blues
Time on my hands could be time spent with you
Laughing like children, living like lovers
Rolling like thunder under the covers
And I guess that's why they call it the blues
Just stare into space
Picture my face in your hands
Live for each second without hesitation
And never forget I'm your man
Wait on me girl
Cry in the night if it helps
But more than ever I simply love you
More than I love life itself
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| Crystal | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
We're caught up in a web, you and i
Since crystal came between us
The knots of friendship seem to be untied
And it hurts me most to cheat and that's no lie
She can swing us both forever
In the long run she's the one who must decide
And if she leaves me handle her with care
Don't hurt little crystal
And if she calls you long distance just be there
Oh crystal
The world is your oyster, you're a pearl
But he's a jewel and my friend
I'm sure that in the end, crystal you'll be his little girl
Oh crystal
You're stronger than me but I'm sure
That the fight would fall to no one
The cold hard truth is stronger than us all
And it breaks my heart to see us go this far
We're just captives in our separate cells
And without her there's no peace behind these bars
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| Kiss the Bride | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
Well she looked a peach in the dress she made
When she was still her mama's little girl
And when she walked down the aisle everybody smiled
At her innocence and curls
And when the preacher said is there anyone here
Got a reason why they shouldn't wed
I should have stuck up my hand
I should have got up to stand
And this is what I should have said
I wanna kiss the bride yeah!
I wanna kiss the bride yeah!
Long before she met him
She was mine, mine, mine
Don't say I do
Say bye, bye, bye
And let me kiss the bride yeah!
Underneath her veil I could see a tear
Trickling down her pretty face
And when she slipped on the ring I knew everything
Would never be the same again
But if the groom would have known he'd have had a fit
About his wife and the things we did
And what I planned to say
Yeah on her wedding day
Well I thought it but I kept it hid
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| Whipping Boy | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
You're cruel, you do
You do, you do me wrong
You hurt me, you flirt with
Any old face that comes along
But I won't be your whipping boy
No I won't be your whipping boy
Break me like a little toy
Run me till my feet are sore
But I won't be your whipping boy
You're wild, you're sly
What you done to me
I was thirty, I look like fifty
But I feel like sixty three
It's this illegal kind of loving
That keeps my motor running
From the start to the finish line
It's a trashy kind of me that likes to believe
That I'm still trying, I'm still trying
I'm still trying, yes I'm trying
You're dirty, but you're worth it
But you're way, you're way too young
I could do time if they found out
Look out, san quentin here I come
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| Saint | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
You don't pass your time in limbo
Or hang out with the crowd
Sitting on the stoop like a little girl
Who took the wrong road into town
But you got that short cut way about you
And no one's gonna stare you down
You cook much better on a lower flame
You burn much better when the sun goes down
And heaven can wait
But you ought to be a saint
I got your very best intentions
Helping me along
And if I ever fail to mention
You were an overnight sensation
Well take it from me
My baby's a saint
My baby's a saint
I believe you were a new arrival
On the fast train passing through
And you traded in your luck for survival
To sweeten up the witch's brew
You had a better way of working magic
A little mystery in your eyes
Instead of rolling over you remained the same
You took the whole world by surprise
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| One More Arrow | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Available on the album too low for zero
He said I want to grow up
And look like robert mitchum
And I hope that when I'm gone
There'll be some say that I miss him
He must have been romantic
He must have sensed adventure
And I feel the steel of his strong will
In the frame around his picture
And he's one more arrow flying through the air
One more arrow landing in a shady spot somewhere
Where the days and nights blend into one
And he can always feel the sun
Through the soft brown earth that holds him
Forever always young
He could have been a boxer
But the fight game seemed so dirty
We argued once he knocked me down
And he cried when he thought he'd hurt me
Strictly from the old school
He was quiet about his pain
And if one in ten could be that brave
I would never hate again
One more arrow
One more arrow
One more arrow
Forever always young
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| Earn While You Learn | |
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Written by elton john
Released as a uk b-side in 1983
[instrumental]
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| Dreamboat | |
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Written by elton john, gary osborne and tim renwick
Released as a uk b-side in 1983
Steamboat waiting by the waterside
Sunlight shining on the morning tide
Got my ticket in my hand
Got some celebrating planned
Can't remember when I felt so fine
I've been waiting such a long long time
Just to hear those engines hum
Look out dreamboat here I come
And I say dream on dreamboat, let my love light ride
Steam on steamboat to the other side
All aboard, make it fast
Thank the lord, I'm coming home at last
If you love me like you did before
Be there waiting on the distant shore
When my steamboat comes inside
Then I know we'll be alright
And I say dream on dreamboat, let your love light ride
Stem on steamboat to the other side
Turn the crank, change the gear
Raise the flag and let's get out of here
Feels so good to know that soon I'll see
You've been saving all your love for me
For honey if there's any doubt
Just be sure I don't find out
And I say dream on dreamboat, let my love light ride
Steam on steamboat to the other side
Cast the line, check the fuse
Save some time, this ain't no pleasure cruise
Tell the captain not to take too long
Keep that big wheel turning fast and strong
Fires are burning down below
Come on steamboat don't be slow
And I say dream on dreamboat, let my love light ride
Steam on steamboat to the other side
Wind the springs, set the course
Pull some strings before I turn to force
Dream on dreamboat, let my love light ride
Steam on steamboat to the other side
Ring the bell, sound the horn
Move like hell, I'm heading back where I was born
And I say dream on dreamboat, let my love light ride
Steam on steamboat to the other side
All aboard and make it fast
Thank the lord, I'm coming home at last
And I say dream on dreamboat, let your love light ride
Stem on steamboat to the other side
Turn the crank, change the gear
Raise the flag and let's get out of here
Dream on dreamboat, let my love light ride
Steam on steamboat to the other side
Cast the line, check the fuse
Save some time, this ain't no pleasure cruise
You're me dreamboat, yes you are
And I say dream on dreamboat, let my love light ride
Steam on steamboat to the other side
Ring the bell, sound the horn
Move like hell, I'm heading back where I was born
You're my dreamboat, yes you are
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| The Retreat | |
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Music by elton john
Lyrics by bernie taupin
Released as a uk b-side in september, 1982
They laid beneath the pine trees with their caps over their eyes
They were drunk with home and mama as they brushed away the flies
In an instant before the sunrise they had gunned the rebels down
As their flags were torn at half mast in the ruins of the town
There were white sails on the water for the crippled on the beach
There was a lack of ammunition so the cause was incomplete
When the bugle blew at breakfast and they knew their ships were in
Signs of grand assurance were carried on the wind
Take it home, take it low, take responsibilities
Came the message from the front
For the captains, captains quarters must retreat
Pack the compass, pack the tents, take the bunks
They just chalked it down in history but they kept their uniforms
They put their medals on the sideboards and they went back to their farms
For it was just a mere reminder that they stood beside the best
That God had saved the chosen few and the devil took the rest
On the planes above the rock face where the sculptured eagles swoop
There's a haunted yell for action among the spectres of his troops
It was silent on the coastline as the crazy angels danced
With the sound of retreating footfall from his military camp
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