I saw a newspaper picture from the political campaign
A woman was kissing a child, who was obviously in pain
She spills with compassion, as that young child's
face in her hands she grips
Can you imagine all that greed and avarice
coming down on that child's lips
Well I hope I don't die too soon
I pray the Lord my soul to save
Oh I'll be a good boy, I'm trying so hard to behave
Because there's one thing I know, I'd like to live
long enough to savour
That's when they finally put you in the ground
I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down
When England was the whore of the world
Margaret was her madam
And the future looked as bright and as clear as
the black tarmacadam
Well I hope that she sleeps well at night, isn't
haunted by every tiny detail
'Cos when she held that lovely face in her hands
all she thought of was betrayal
And now the cynical ones say that it all ends the same in the long run
Try telling that to the desperate father who just squeezed the life from his
only son
And how it's only voices in your head and dreams you never dreamt
Try telling him the subtle difference between justice and contempt
Try telling me she isn't angry with this pitiful discontent
When they flaunt it in your face as you line up for punishment
And then expect you to say "Thank you" straighten up, look proud and pleased
Because you've only got the symptoms, you haven't got the whole disease
Just like a schoolboy, whose head's like a tin-can
filled up with dreams then poured down the drain
Try telling that to the boys on both sides, being blown to bits or beaten and
maimed
Who takes all the glory and none of the shame
Well I hope you live long now, I pray the Lord your soul to keep
I think I'll be going before we fold our arms and start to weep
I never thought for a moment that human life could be so cheap
'Cos when they finally put you in the ground
They'll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down
If you find some error in Tramp The Dirt Down Lyrics, would you please submit your corrections to me? Thank You.
Thanks to DavidP@jazzfree.com for submitting the lyrics.
Review about Tramp The Dirt Down Where was Minorkle in the 80s? | Reviewer: Anonymous | 7/18/2008
Not in a run down city. Not in a mining community. not listening to the "There's no such thing as society" rhetoric. Not watching the credit deregulation that led us to a Crunch. Not in manufacturing. not watching council houses sold and not replaced, to people who couldn't afford the mortgage, leading to repossesion. not learning about how the foreign office led Argentina to believe she would let the islands go. not using policy to rebuild manufacturing. Thatcher did some good stuff, and some bad stuff. The Poll Tax led to devolution, which has increased the cost of administration and is feeding nationalism. It will break up the UK eventually. From 79 to 97 they let education and health slowly corrode. No party is all right. No leeader should stay so long. Washington was right
This is not Elvis at his best. His hatred of Margaret Thatcher inspired this vicious wish for her demise and then cruel gloating. We all have bad days but this is absurd. Why God would give Elvis have so much talent and then allow him to defame a great woman is a mystery.
So Brilliant and so wrong | Reviewer: Minorkle | 4/18/2008
"Tramp The Dirt Down" is not a rational protest song, nor is it a well thought-out political manifesto. Its message is simple and direct-- the Margaret Thatcher is evil, and Elvis would take pleasure in her ultimate demise. Isn't it odd that so brilliant a musician such as Elvis could misunderstand the brilliance of Thatcher. It was as bitter and savage as anything Costello had ever written, because Costello took the unusual step of actually naming names. When Costello released his anti-Tory diatribe "Pills And Soap" in 1983, he told a concerned BBC censor that the song was about cruelty to animals. There could be no clever parsing of words with this song, which included the memorable line, "When England was the whore of the world, Margaret was her Madam." This song was not Elvis at his finest. Unfortunately he let his misguided political leanings defame a great Woman. She was kind enough to not respond to him in kind.
Clearly a cathardic lambasting of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her policies. Costello has long been a vocal critic of hers and once even remarked that "She doesn't have a soul. She will burn in hell." Unfortunately Elvis hate can lead him to hell but no other.
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