Elvis Costello New Amsterdam song lyrics

You're sending me tulips mistaken for lilies

You give me your lip after punching me silly

You turn my head till it roll down the brain-drain

If I had any sense now I wouldn't want it back again

New Amsterdam it's become much too much

'Til I have the possession of everything she touches

'Til I step on the brake to get out of her clutches

'Til I speak double dutch to a real double duchess

Down on the main spring listen to the tick-tock

Collect all the faces that move in your lot

Twice-shy and dog-tied because you've been bitten

Everything you say now sounds like it was ghost-written

New Amsterdam it's become much too much

'Til I have the possession of everything she touches

'Til I step on the brake to get out of her clutches

'Til I speak double dutch to a real double duchess

Back in london they'll take you to heart after a little while

Though I look right at home I still feel like an exile

Somehow I found myself down at the dockside

Thinking about the old days of Liverpool and Rotherhide

Transparent people who live on the other side

Living a life that is almost like suicide

New Amsterdam it's become much too much

'Til I have the possession of everything she touches

'Til I step on the brake to get out of her clutches

'Til I speak double dutch to a real double duchess