Page type: lyric reference
Artist: Elvis Costello
Canonical path: /elvis-costello/national-ransom
Related lyric paths: 6
Video embedded: yes
Lyric guide
National Ransom
Read National Ransom lyrics by Elvis Costello on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.
person
Curated by Ethan Walker
LyroVerse team
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Lyrics
National Ransom
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Running pell-mell and harum-scarum
Running as hot as they do or dare
Stick out your tongue
And drink down all the venom
From cut-throat cuthbert
And millicent st. cyr
From the real old macau
To the new false americas
In the liberated territories
Unusual suspects shake down, shake down, shake down various dubious characters
Mother's in the kitchen picking bones for breakfast
Boiling them down by the bushel and the score
Pull out your thumb and count what's left of your fist
There's a wolf at the window with ravening maw
Did you find how to lie?
Did you find out just how to cheat?
The elite bleat, their obsolete
But are your prospects?
Exact, perfect object
Now, if you'd only genuflect
They're running wild
Just like some childish tantrum
Meanwhile we're working every day
Paying off the national ransom
Woe betide all this hocus-pocus
They're running us ragged at their first attempt
Around the time the killing stopped on wall st.
You couldn't hold me, baby with anything but contempt
Letters peal slowly from our speech
The claxton attempts to preach
Stretching for stars still out of reach
Drowning
Flailing
Outside someone's wailing
They're running wild
Just like some childish tantrum
Meanwhile we're working every day
Paying off the national ransom
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Who performs "National Ransom"?
Elvis Costello performs "National Ransom", and this lyric page sits inside the Elvis Costello catalog on LyroVerse.
Are there related songs to explore after "National Ransom"?
Yes. The related section below points to All This Useless Beauty and Beautiful with a short reason for opening each page next.
Where can I find more songs by Elvis Costello?
Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Elvis Costello's lyric pages.
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