Costello, Elvis - Watch Your Step Lyrics

The perfect song to sing when you're bored with boozaholics whose main entertainment is to get pissed and stoned. Hot damn, wish I'd written this myself. Love you, EC.

and "carnal desires"

I believe the lyric is "when you're kicking in the car chrome"

I'm not even listening

Too bad Elvis Costello is personally such a huge egotistical asshole. I will never pay to hear his music simply because I do not want to have to listen to his punk political views.

Elvis Costello, a Vegetarian since the early 1980s. Also Diana Krall, his wife, is intelligent, beautiful and very talented.

Bought a cassette tape, discounted to, I dunno, probably 99 pence, in the record shop in West Wickham, just before I went off for my second year at university.   And so I got to know the greatest song lyric writer, well, you know...  ever

This song got me through much teen angst. My routy friends, my drunk dad, my probation officer the pretty little girls couldnt understand.

I hope you're doing all right now, Blaise. There's a story in how music got you through the worst of things.

Bruce Thomas.

Wish I have 4 or 6 ears to hear better. And that band !!!

better than bobby z

bits of kids - its slang but it fits - its also punning on grapes and costello loves a pun

The simpsons

"They PICKED two bitter kids from a bunch of sour grapes."

one of my all time favorites... great song, base line, organ... i send you all my regards

Best song writer

Aww, I love the bassline

absolutely brilliant!

These lyrics!! This song rules!

Fantastic. Quite possibly his best album...and that's saying a lot.

I could just listen to the bass line.

There are some issues with the lyrics.

Don't say a word
 Don't say anything
 Don't say a word
 I'm not even listening
 I read in the paper about their escape
 They're just two bits of kids from a bunch of sour grapes
 You better watch your step

 Watch who's knocking on your front door
 Now you know that they're watching
 What are you waiting for?
 Think you're young and original
 Get out before
 They get to watch your step

 Every day is full of fun
 And family spies
 They're making heroes out of fall guys
 They say it's good for business
 From Singapore to Widnes
 You better watch your step

 Broken noses hung up on the wall
 Back-slapping drinkers cheer the heavyweight brawl
 So punch drunk they don't understand at all
 You better watch your step

 Every night
 Go out full of carnival desires
 End up in the closing time choirs
 When you're kicking in the car chrome
 And you're drinking down the Eau de Cologne
 And you're spitting out the Kodachrome
 You better watch your step

 Bye
 I send you all my regards
 You're so tough
 You're so hard
 Listen to the hammers falling in the breaker's yard
 You better watch your step
 You better watch your step
 Ooh, watch your step

+Steve Heck
sounds right..."car chrome". but i think it IS "two bitter kids". it makes sense.

If you watch some of his live videos of this song, you'd probably agree with "two bits of kids" ....

I wonder what the overall references mean in this song? Sounds like a song about criminals, basically.

It's not "car chrome" it's "clock room"

The Simpsons brought me here.

A mí también.

@syteanric what episode

Same! I remember it was in an episode where Bart was being phone track by marge and homer lmao

@syteanric totally!!

Like most EC&TA songs, Bruce Thomas's bass provides the hook.

secondary modern sounding

Reminds me of William Workman High School in the City of Industry CA. I graduated in 1981. My friends and I listened to EC all the time. Great lyrics for a 18 year to hear. Nice to see that the music still stands up.

+MauiJeff
i was just a couple of years older, but i thought the same thing. i always felt that i'd think this would be great music years down the road. it is.

MauiJeff this was one of my first purchases on vinyl.i was all of 14 years old.

When artists like these catch you at an early age you grow up intelligent, erudite and aware of the world. You might even turn out to be a decent person.

Musicians musician