Elvis Costello - The Deportees Club Lyrics






In the Arrivederci Roma nightclub, bar and grill
Standing in the fibreglass ruins watching time stand still
All your troubles you confess
to another faceless backless dress
Schnapps chianti porter and ouzo
Pernod vodka sambuca I love you so
Deportee
Tatty beauty talking in riddles
Rome burns down everybody's on the fiddle
Two thousand dollars for wife and some class
A thousand years drowned in a chaser glass
How I wish that she was mine
I could have been a King in Six Eight Time
Schnapps chianti porter and ouzo
Pernod vodka sambuca I love you so
Deportee

It's a brittle charm but she's had enough
Still she wrote her number on his paper cuff
You don't know where to start or where to stop
All this pillow talk is nothing more than talking shop

When I came here tonight my pockets were overflowing
They took my return ticket without me even knowing
I pray to the saints and all the martyrs
For the secret life of Frank Sinatra
But none of these things have come to pass
In America the law is a piece of ass
I'm a deportee





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Elvis Costello The Deportees Club Comments
  1. B.... C....

    Thanks Malcom Gladwell!

  2. M.... ....

    "It sounds like he's found the song."

  3. R.... A....

    Malcolm Gladwell, huh!

  4. T.... ....

    Sorry Malcolm Gladwell. You didn't convince me this is a great song

  5. C.... W....

    If you're coming from Revisionist History, be sure to listen to the original. It's necessary to fully appreciate this version.

  6. T.... L....

    Thanks Malcom Gladwell and all the Cézannes out there <3 I've never felt more understood by someone who doesn't know me at all.

  7. A.... H....

    Malcolm Gladwell - Podcast - guess am late though

  8. J.... J....

    Those moments when costello’s voice breaks in and out of a whisper... goddamn

  9. m.... ....

    Not for me,now that I've heard it for the first time;but thanks for posting the song.

  10. A.... T....

    Much to Gladwell's despair, iTunes hasn't got this song. They do, however have the infamous 'Deportee's Club'. We need to make Malcolm, famous enough for the Apple Music curators to do something about this!

    A.... T....

    Bad use of the comma

  11. L.... N....

    Ha ha - Hallelujah several months ago and then again today! And then this.
    I'm huge fans of both Leonard and Elvis but does anyone do Hallelujah better than KD Lang?

  12. M.... W....

    where can I buy this online??

  13. n.... ....

    "In america the law is a piece of ass" is hardly a good line :D
    Not a very catchy line felt throw in compared to the rest of it.
    Besides that I liked it.

    n.... ....

    Agreed.  That line cheapened the song.  But, discarding the obvious Bard paraphrase, what could've been a better lyric? "...But, none of these things have come to fruition.  In America, sexy times happen via intuition... poor clueless deportee".  So, on closer examination, the only way Elvis the C could have saved the song would've been to make the singer a blithering idiot.  I like the cluelessness,  and accept this song as a likeable long-forgotten, under-written tune.

  14. S.... J....

    first time I have heard this .  I have known the song for about twenty years, but the Christy Moore version.     I like both .  but I think the Christy Moore version sounds like he took this as a demo and finished it.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8GmKT3vfws

  15. A.... C....

    This was the first version I heard. Like it better than the others, including the original.

  16. J.... T....

    Straight here. Mr. Gladwell wins the best roll-out ever award. I'm incredibly thankful his friend turned this up, and he passed it on. Thank you Malcolm Gladwell, thank you Elvis Costello.

  17. H.... ....

    Reading the comments...  Who the @#$% is Malcolm Gladwell?

    H.... ....

    Holdenon3 check out his books and podcast. You'll be glad you did.

  18. 1.... ....

    Long live Malcolm Gladwell!

  19. D.... L....

    Malcolm Freakin Gladwell brought me here.

    D.... L....

    OMWORD ME TOO

    D.... L....

    Diego Leal Ambriz his latest podcast is the best!

    D.... L....

    Me too lol

  20. E.... S....

    I too discovered this beautiful song thanks to Revisionist History. Thanks Malcolm! I did the Hallelujah deep dive a few years ago and KD Lang's version is one of my favorites. Does anyone want to take a crack at the meaning of these lyrics? I'm very curious to hear what people think?

  21. a.... c....

    thank you to Malcolm gladwell for bringing this to my attention. amazing!

  22. M.... K....

    I started with Jeff Buckleys album listened to it couple of times now switched to Costello. I gotta say that Elvis Costello also collaborated with Chet Baker you should check it out. nice song. BTW: does somebody read the book ?

  23. F.... S....

    Anyone know where one can buy this? CD/MP3 otherwise? I see Goodbye Cruel World Reissue on Amazon but $50+ is a bit much for a used CD. =)

  24. a.... b....

    Yep. Thanks Malcolm Gladwell. Loved hearing this.

  25. C.... M....

    Always a fan, Mr Costello. You have brought me to tears, so many times. Thank God for talent like you.

  26. M.... A....

    I am shocked so many people actually listen to gladwell's podcast. I thought I was the one of the few.

    M.... A....

    Yeah right? Ive mentioned it to plenty of people and no one knew who Gladwell was much less that he has a podcast.

    M.... A....

    Mohammad Ahmed Bawany Gladwell is brilliant .

  27. B.... B....

    expect a surge in Toyota crash videos as well

  28. C.... B....

    Question is -- after the podcast, did you seek this out first or did you do a deep dive into the different versions of Hallelujah? I'm here after Hallelujah deep dive.

    C.... B....

    Hallelujah

    C.... B....

    I went from the podcast to an Elvis Costello obsession.

    C.... B....

    Christopher Borey this first also I love that podcast

    C.... B....

    Christopher Borey - I stopped the podcast and went looking for this. I still have to hear about Hallelujah (even if I know the story).

    C.... B....

    Christopher Borey same

  29. J.... F....

    Except that's the demo recorded in the U.S. in July 1985 & released on the 2005 reissue of King Of America. The demo Malcolm Gladwell is particularly taken with was recorded in England in March 1985 and was only ever on the 1995 reissue of Good Cruel World. I've just listened to both back to back and there is a sharpness to the U.K. version that is lacking in the U.S.one. That might be explained by Elvis's note in '05 - 'My cassette of this session was rather grimly labelled "EC as JR", meaning "Jimmy Reed", who apparently used to drink until he fell off his chair. At that time, I was drinking a lot of whisky, which was a poison that I could never drin

  30. D.... H....

    NOT ON iTUNES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  31. R.... H....

    Me too - from the podcast.

  32. D.... N....

    I'm also here because of Malcolm Gladwell's podcast. What a beautiful song!

  33. f.... k....

    This is on Malcolm Gladwell's podcast site now. You should see a bump in visits.

  34. S.... H....

    http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/07-hallelujah

    S.... H....

    I just came from there. You know the podcast you listen to is stellar when it introduces you to such incredible music.

  35. K.... P....

    porta potty?

  36. s.... ....

    Beautiful.

  37. s.... a....

    I think half the views are me.

    s.... a....

    sandra anderson it's a big world little child

    s.... a....

    Also I made that comment when it was at 556 views.