Green Shirt - Elvis Costello

Video for "Green Shirt" from the "Armed Forces" album. High quality sound.

This is off of a VHS tape from 1985 called "The Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions".

The 'video' is a montage of scenes pirated from other Elvis videos. The only original feature are the squiggly, 80's-style cartoons and captions in the frame. Which are lovely.




Enjoy!

There's a smart young woman
on a light blue screen
Who comes into my house
every night.

She takes all the red,
yellow, orange and green
And she turns them into
black and white.

But you tease,
and you flirt,
And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt.

You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Better cut off all identifying labels
Before they put you on the torture table

'Cause somewhere in the "Quisling Clinic"
There's a shorthand typist taking seconds over minutes.

She's listening in to the Venus line
She's picking out names
I hope none of them are mine.

But you tease, and you flirt...

Never said I was a stool pigeon
I never said I was a diplomat
Everybody is under suspicion
But you don't wanna hear about that

'Cause you tease, and you flirt...

Better send a begging letter
to the big investigation
Who put these fingerprints
on my imagination?

You tease, and you flirt...

You can please yourself
but somebody's gonna get it.
You can please yourself
but somebody's gonna get it.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• elviscostello
• attractions
• greenshirt
• armedforces
• newwave
• bestofelviscostello

[swanstep]

What can one say? Most song-writers would give their left whatever to have written this. Brilliantly tight playing by the Attractions on this album too.

[vinm300]

Exactly , what can you say ?

A young Costello brimming with talent.

Thanks NotoriousHEB for posting this.

[AscoliChaChaCha]

Working in the mall at the Proving Ground. You tease. You Flirt.

[711honved]

A rare gem, that will be played in a thousand years!

[mikealx68]

Ace! Always loved this track. I played "Armed Forces" half to death when I was about 10!

[beddy2112]

I have been a fan since My Aim Is true made here to the States. These days the deeper I delve into his entire catalog, the more it is evident that aside from Lennon and McCartney, songwriting does not get any better.

[ColdOasisU2]

Probably Prince took notice of Elvis song writing....this song reminds of some of Prince compositions

[milsp]

Brilliant song, insipid video. Ah, well, can't have everything.

[karnofsky]

Makes me think of Rebekah Brooks, for some reason.

[Lizzzeg]

There's a smart young woman on a light blue screen

That comes into my ass every night

[preluki]

Big song on Austin, TX radio

[MFizz01]

This isn't really a video, but a bunch clips of other videos thrown together. Cheap!