Elvis Costello - Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Takin' Over)

From the album Extreme Honey The Best of the Warner Brothers Years.
Lyrics:

The man in the corner of this picture has a sinister purpose
In the teeming Temple of the Railroad Kings
He's planting a trashy paperback book for accidental purchase
Containing all the secrets of life and other useless things

But I can't bring myself to look
Wake up Zombie write yourself another book
You want to scream and shout my little flaxen lout
Hurry down Doomsday the bugs are taking over

She sleeps with the shirt of a late, great country singer
Stretched out on her poor jealous husband's pillow
In time you can turn these obsessions into careers
While the parents of those kidnapped children start the bidding
for their tears

But I can't bring myself to look
Wake up Zombie
Get yourself off the hook
You want to scream and shout my little waxen lout
Hurry down Doomsday the bugs are taking over

Forget about Beethoven, Rembrandt and rock and roll
Forget about Mickey Mouse, Marlboro and Coca Cola
Forget about Cadillac, Mercedes and Toyota
Forget about Buddha, Allah, Jesus and Jehovah
Hurry down Doomsday the bugs are taking over

Any day now a giant insect mutation
Will swoop down and devour the white man's burden
Starting out with all of the sensitive ones
Better make like a fly if you don't want to die
Look out there goes Gordon

But I can't bring myself to think
Wake up Zombie
Kick up a big stink
You want to scream and shout my little Saxon lout
Hurry down Doomsday the bugs are taking over

[john_atco]

to bloody true geoff., interesting, very good writer is mr costello .

[ThisIsSoul]

Not that I have ever seen. It is on Extreme Honey: The Best Of The Warner Bros.Years, a compilation covering from Spike to All This Useless Beauty. When I Was Cruel is his first album for Universal (Island) and is all new and original songs from 2002. This song is from 1991. Look it up on Allmusic or even Wikipedia. Thank you for posting this song!

[kallek]

Had been a brilliant soundtrack to the movie "Starship Troopers" 😉

[MrNightshade]

actually this song was first heard on the album "mighty like a rose" which he did during or after his divorce from his first wife (who ironically has several credits on the album) its a somewhat very  bitter album

[Circumpunk]

My apologies. I must've been drunk when I uploaded it.hahaha
Thanks for the correction.
Geoff

[Circumpunk]

@formaface Love yer pic bro! Thanks m8!

[lamper]

is he trying to sound like lennon? better version on the mtv unplugged show

[Oliviacaptain]

The man in the corner of this picture has a sinister purpose
In the teeming Temple of the Railroad Kings
He's planting a trashy paperback book for accidental purchase
Containing all the secrets of life and other useless things
But I can't bring myself to look
Wake up, zombie, write yourself another book
You want to scream and shout, my little flaxen lout
Hurry down Doomsday, the bugs are taking over

She sleeps with the shirt of a late, great country singer
Stretched out on her poor jealous husband's pillow
In time you can turn these obsessions into careers
While the parents of those kidnapped children start the bidding for their tears
But I can't bring myself to look
Wake up, zombie, get yourself off the hook
You want to scream and shout, my little waxen lout
Hurry down Doomsday, the bugs are taking over

Forget about Beethoven, Rembrandt and rock and roll
Forget about Mickey Mouse, Marlboro and Coca Cola
Forget about Cadillac, Mercedes and Toyota
Forget about Buddha, Allah, Jesus and Jehovah
Hurry down Doomsday, the bugs are taking over

Any day now a giant insect mutation
Will swoop down and devour the white man's burden
Starting out with all of the sensitive ones
Better make like a fly if you don't want to die
Look out, there goes Gordon!
But I can't bring myself to think
Wake up zombie, kick up a big stink
You want to scream and shout, my little Saxon lout
Hurry down Doomsday, the bugs are taking over

You want to scream and shout, my little Saxon lout
Hurry down Doomsday, the bugs are taking over

[eric]

I'm guessing Elvis is not a Trump fan...

[trashandcheese]

Another cultural snobbery song to file away with Pidgin English, Worthless Thing, Satellite, God's Comic etc.
And isn't this the one which started some critic off complaining about the production, who then said "the only kind of "bass" Mitchell Froom has ever heard of is a species of fish!"