Elvis Costello - ...Dust lyrics

If dust could only talk What would we hear it say? Before it's brushed aside Just as it's swept away It's just the evidence It's of no consequence It's only flesh and bone Why don't we leave it alone? If dust could only gather into lines of chalk Around a silhouette detective fiction walks For it's the only witness that can testify Can I spit out the truth or would you rather just swallow a lie? Why did they dam the land? How did they flood the plain? Did they erase the name And wipe away the stain? You kept your mouth well shut Appeared to turn your coat Now there's a name for you but it's stuck in my throat If dust could only mutter Or in laughter trill If it could warn and whisper from the windowsill For it's the only witness that can testify Can I spit out the truth or would you rather just swallow a lie? Here comes the juggernaut Here come The Poisoners They choke the life and land And rob the joy from us Why do they taste of sugar When they are made of money? Here come the Lamb of God And the butcher's boy, Sonny If dust could only gather in a needle track Then it would skip a beat and it would jump right back If dust could only gather in a needle track Then it would skip a beat And all the sense I lack