Elvis Costello - Heathen Town lyrics

We used to call it Sin City

now it's gone way past that.

Painting the town

and then burning it down.

And even that's old hat.

Now there' a choir of angles

and the fall of Rome

singing "Ave Maria"

or "Home Sweet Home"

Chorus:

It's just a heathen town

I hear only evil

as my tongue is tightened.

I used to be god-fearing

now I'm so frightened

'cause the devil will drag you under

by the sharp tailfin

of your checquered cab (?)

Now I can't sit down,

I'm going overboard

in this heathen town.

Starts as an a flirtation

and ends up as an expensive habit.

With one eye on her place in debtor's

And the other on a girl

dressed as a rabbit.

Now you can live forever

in your fits and starts

The only stake you cannot raise

Is the one driven through your heart.

Chorus

The people all said sit down,

sit down you're rocking the boat.

The people all said sit down,

sit down you're rocking the boat.

'cause the devil will drag you under

by the sharp lapels of your checkered coat.

Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down,

sit down you're rocking the boat.