Elvis Costello Radio Silence lyrics

Signal fading, listen to what I'm sayin'
"Testin', testin'"
This better be worth all of the breath I'm wastin'
Maintainin' radio silence from now on

Barricaded in the talk radio station
Hostage taken
The red "On air" light shines on
Somethin' cheaper that passes for free speech will have to do

Hear him comin' through loud and clear
He's tricklin' in your ear
He'll tell you anythin'
You want to hear

The tape starts runnin'
He's goin' to tell you somethin'
The strings start strummin' another humdrum conundrum
Signin' off now maintainin' radio silence from now on

But there's one thing I should have said
"The hostage will end up dead"
It's just a comedy
The hostage is me


So pay the ransom beyond the run-out groove in
Get my wife down here
A helicopter on the roof, no police marksman
Maintainin' radio silence from now on

Mystery voices
Drowned out by too much choice that's not to mention
The sad waste of this wonderful invention
Maintainin' radio silence from now on

Libraries filled up with failed ideas
There's nothin' more for me there
I trust in tender ink
And gentle airs

Do those drug dealers still polish women made of wax?
Gangsters and world leaders
Require the same protection from attack
From this distance it's hard to tell the difference
Between a King and a Jack, between a poet and hack
Maintaining radio silence from now on