Declan Patrick MacManus was born August 25, 1954, in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, England, moving to Birkenhead (the birthplace of his father, musician Ronald "Russ" MacManus) with his widowed mother at age 16. He is better known by his stage name, Elvis Costello, a popular British musician, singer, and songwriter of Irish ancestry. Some sources list his full given name as Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus, however Aloysius was not one of his names at birth, being added years later. Costello was an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and alongside Nick Loweand Ian Durymade his first releases on the independant label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the punkand new wavescenes. From 1980's Armed Forcesonwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 60s pop and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice.
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Back On My Feet Lyrics
Elvis Costello
(mccartney/macmanus)
How many days does the wet weather lack?
I wanna go where the clouds when they roll back
Reveal a man in an old mack
Living on a park bench
Sitting on his own
Cut to the rain as it rolls down the glass
But then she leaves through the lightning and thunder
You see a man going under
This is how it happens
This is what he said
I dont need love
Temptation is sweet
Give me your hand
Till Im back on my feet
Youre always telling me
About my misery
Ill see things youll never see
Dont pity me
Focus in on the breath of a man
Takes a brown paper bag from his knapsack
Between his whispers and wisecracks
Hes looking for the wishing
Screaming at the sky
I dont need love
Temptation is sweet
Give me your hand
Till Im back on my feet
Youre always telling me
About my misery
Ill see things youll never see
Dont pity me
Ill be fine again,
Be all right without you
Ill stand up again
Kick off the puzzlement, too
Cut back again to a girl walking by
To the beat of her old shoes and rolled socks
Climb on an invisible soapbox
Laughing at the traffic
Shouting at the word
I dont need love
Temptation is sweet
Give me your hand
Till Im back on my feet
Youre always telling me
About my misery
Ill see things youll never see
Dont pity me
Ill be fine again,
Be all right without you
Ill stand up again
Kick off the puzzlement, too
Seeing life through the eyes of a man
As he lives and he dies by a simple titan
Well there you go, though you trying hard to know
When hes there on his legs
Sees the kinks where the people all go
Things start to fade as he pulls down the shade
And the picture made is in glorious cinemascope