Elvis Costello — Pills And Soap

[Verse 1] They talked to the sister, the father and the mother With a microphone in one hand and a checkbook in the other And the camera noses in to the tears of her face The tears on her face[x2] You can put them back together with your paper and paste But you can't put them back together You can't put them back together [Chorus] What would you say? What would you do? Children and animals two by two Give me the needle Give me the rope We're going to melt them down for pills and soap Give me the needle Give me the rope [Verse 2] Four and twenty crowbars, jemmy your desire Out of the frying pan into the fire The king is in the counting house Some folk have all the luck And all we get are pictures of lord and lady muck They come from lovely people with a hard line in hypocrisy There are ashtrays of emotion for the fag ends of the aristocracy [Chorus] [Verse 3] The sugar coated pill is getting bitterer still You think your country needs you but you know it never will So pack up your troubles in a stolen handbag Don’t dilly dally boys rally round the flag Give us your daily bread in individual slices And something in the daily rag to cancel any crisis [Chorus] [Outro] We’re going to melt them down for pills and soap