Elvis Costello

You tripped at every step



Take your tiny feet out of your mother's shoes Or there is going to be a terrible scene It's not just the lipstick drawn on crooked When they find how wicked we are How wicked we have been How I've been tempted CHORUS: How you tripped at every step You tripped at every step, you tripped at every step How you tripped at every step There's a merry tune that starts in "I" And ends in "You," like many famous pop songs do You would sing along with little tell-tale staggers While balancing on daggers Though they were killing you You looked so deadly CHORUS And I would try to catch you Anytime you call Only you drank that potion And went out of control There's nothing to stop you So how can you fall? Let me take your hand Put down that frying pan Darkness would become me underneath the table As the fury raged around the house Your despairing tread was angry and unstable You never suspected Just as that cartoon mouse Went undetected So you tripped at every step In another world of gin and cigarettes Those cocktail cabinets put mud in your eye Maybe that is why you find it hard to see me And if you don't believe me Before you start to cry "Don't ever leave me" As you start to lose your grip (Once you start losing your grip) You will stumble as you slip (And you will stumble and slip) As you tripped at every step You tripped at every step, you tripped at every step As you tripped at every step