The Other Side of Summer - Elvis Costello

The sun struggles up another beautiful day

And I felt glad in my own suspicious way

Despite the contradiction and confusion

Felt tragic without reason

There’s malice and there’s magic in every season

From the foaming breakers of the poisonous surf

The other side of Summer

To the burning forests in the hills of Astroturf

The other side of Summer

The automatic gates close up between the shanties and the palace

The blowtorch amusements, the voodoo chalice

The pale pathetic promises that everybody swallows

A teenage girl is crying 'cos she don’t look like a million dollars

So help her if you can

'Cos she don’t seem to have the attention span

Was it a millionaire who said «imagine no possessions»?

A poor little schoolboy who said «we don’t need no lessons»?

The rabid rebel dogs ransack the shampoo shop

The pop princess is downtown shooting up

And if that goddess if fit for burning

The sun will struggle up the world will still keep turning

Madman standing by the side of the road saying

«Look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes»

Now you can’t afford to fake all the drugs your parents used to take

Because of their mistakes you’d better be wide awake

The mightiest rose

The absence of perfume

The casual killers

The military curfew

The cardboard city

An unwanted birthday

The other side of summer

The dancing was desperate, the music was worse

They bury your dreams and dig up the worthless

Goodnight

God bless

And kiss «goodbye"to the earth

The other side of summer