Tramp The Dirt Down Lyrics by Elvis Costello

Tramp The Dirt Down Lyrics

    I saw a newspaper picture from the political campaign
    A woman was kissing a child, who was obviously in pain
    She spills with compassion, as that young child's
    Face in her hands she grips
    Can you imagine all that greed and avarice
    Coming down on that child's lips

    Well i hope i don't die too soon
    I pray the lord my soul to save
    Oh i'll be a good boy, i'm trying so hard to behave
    Because there's one thing i know, i'd like to live
    Long enough to savour
    That's when they finally put you in the ground
    I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down

    When england was the whore of the world
    Margeret was her madam
    And the future looked as bright and as clear as
    The black tarmacadam
    Well i hope that she sleeps well at night, isn't
    Haunted by every tiny detail
    'cos when she held that lovely face in her hands
    All she thought of was betrayal

    And now the cynical ones say that it all ends the same in the long run
    Try telling that to the desperate father who just squeezed the life from his only son
    And how it's only voices in your head and dreams you never dreamt
    Try telling him the subtle difference between justice and contempt
    Try telling me she isn't angry with this pitiful discontent
    When they flaunt it in your face as you line up for punishment
    And then expect you to say "thank you" straighten up, look proud and pleased
    Because you've only got the symptoms, you haven't got the whole disease
    Just like a schoolboy, whose head's like a tin-can
    Filled up with dreams then poured down the drain
    Try telling that to the boys on both sides, being blown to bits or beaten and maimed
    Who takes all the glory and none of the shame

    Well i hope you live long now, i pray the lord your soul to keep
    I think i'll be going before we fold our arms and start to weep
    I never thought for a moment that human life could be so cheap
    'cos when they finally put you in the ground
    They'll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down

SEARCH LYRICS