Lyrics to
Living In Paradise

This version of Living In Paradise was released by Elvis Costello in 1978.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Elvis Costello or about the 1970s in general.

I don’t like those other guys looking at your curves
I don’t like you walking round with physical jerks
Everything they say and do is getting on my nerves
Soon they will be lucky to be picking up the perks

‘Cause when they pull the shutters down
and throw up in the dark,
they’ll find that all the dogs outside
bite much worse than they bark.

Here we are living in paradise,
living in luxury.
Oh, the thrill is here but it won’t last long
You better have your fun before it moves along
And you’re already looking for another,
fool like me.

I call you Betty Felon ’cause you are a pretty villain
And I think that I should tell them that you’d
make a pretty killing
‘Cause meanwhile up in heaven they are waiting at the gate
saying ‘We’d always knew you’d make it,
didn’t think you’d come this late’.

And now it’s much too dangerous to stop what you’ve begun
When everyone in paradise carries a gun

Later in the evening when arrangements are made,
I’ll be at the keyhole outside your bedroom door.
‘Cause I’m the first to know whenever the plans are laid
that never go further than floor to floor.

You think that I don’t know the boy that you’re touching,
but I’ll be at the video and I will be watching

---

Elvis Costello has released many songs over the years besides Living In Paradise. Elvis Costello released songs from 1977 to 2004 spanning across albums like My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces, Get Happy!!, Trust, Almost Blue, Imperial Bedroom, Punch The Clock, Goodbye Cruel World, Blood And Chocolate, King Of America, Spike, Mighty Like A Rose, The Juliet Letters, Brutal Youth, Kojak Variety, Deep Dead Blue, All This Useless Beauty, Painted From Memory, For The Stars, When I Was Cruel, North, and The Delivery Man. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Elvis Costello.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1978 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

The lyrics to Living In Paradise are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Elvis Costello in 1978. Elements of the lyrics to Living In Paradise are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Elvis Costello and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for Living In Paradise back when it was created.

Some people have an interest in the etymology behind words and phrases. You can take apart the lyrics to Living In Paradise by Elvis Costello in a number of ways. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Living In Paradise" means the words set to the music of Living In Paradise, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Elvis Costello. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Living In Paradise and the lyrics to Living In Paradise are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Elvis Costello who came here looking just for the lyrics to Living In Paradise, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Elvis Costello

Visit our Elvis Costello profile for more Elvis Costello songs, lyrics & info!

)