Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Twenty-Five To Twelve lyrics

You say you don't desire me You only tire me Now you'll hire me Expensive care is meaningless Feeling nothing and caring less Cut off at the pa** She knows where you're headed She wants double time Or a temporary wedding And the lucky girl leads a life of leisure With 45 years for seconds of pleasure The hands on the clock move so precisely And I only kiss but once or twice I can't help you now I can't help myself 'cause the time's running out And it's twenty-five to twelve Crowds surround loudspeakers On the lampposts Listening to the murder mystery Meanwhile someone's in the cla**room Busy forging books on history Wouldn't give that man my hand He'd steal my fingers So the sleuth ends up in stitches And your urges turn to itches And the lucky girl leads a life of leisure With 45 years for seconds of pleasure The hands on the clock move so precisely And I only kiss but once or twice I can't help you now I can't help myself 'cause the time's running out And it's twenty-five to twelve I was committed to life And then commuted to the outskirts I was living with thirty minutes at a time With a break in the middle for adverts See the human furniture But it's only for show Now you can look all that you like But they only let you touch and go And the lucky girl leads a life of leisure With 45 years for seconds of pleasure The hands on the clock move so precisely And I only kiss but once or twice I can't help you now I can't help myself 'cause the time's running out And it's twenty-five to twelve