Wake Me Up
Costello Elvis & the Roots Lyrics

I've got this phosphorescent portrait of gentle Jesus meek and mild
I possess an illuminating depiction of Jesus, who is depicted as a mild-mannered and gentle man.

I've got this harlot that I'm stuck with carrying another man's child
I am forced to carry the burden of a prostitute who is carrying a child that belongs to another man.

The solitary star announcing vacancy burnt out as we arrived
As we arrived, the only star that marked our destination as unoccupied went out.

They'd throw us back across the border if they knew that we survived
If they knew that we survived, they would reject us and send us back across the border.

And they were surprised to see us
Our presence was unexpected to those who saw us.

So they greeted us with palms
They expressed their welcome by holding out palm branches.

They asked for ammunition, acts of contrition and small alms
They requested weapons, expressions of penitence, and modest charitable donations.

Wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up With a slap or a kiss
I implore for some external force, whether it be physical or emotional, to jolt me out of my current situation.

There must be something better than this
I believe that there is a more favorable condition or state of being than my current circumstances.

I've got this imaginary radio, and I'm punching up the dial
I am using my imagination to tune a nonexistent radio station.

I've got the A.C. trained on the T.V. so it won't blow up in my eye
I have directed the air conditioning towards the television so that it doesn't overheat and potentially become a hazard.

And everything that I thought fanciful or mocked as too extreme Must be family entertainment here in the strange land of my dreams
All of the things that I once considered fanciful or extreme are commonplace in the surreal world of my dreams.

And I'm practicing my likeness of St. Francis of Assisi
I am attempting to emulate the qualities and characteristics of St. Francis of Assisi.

And if I hold my hand outstretched A little bird comes to me
If I extend my arm, a small bird will come and perch on it.

And I might recite a small prayer If I ever said them
If I had ever spoken prayers, I might recite a brief one now.

I lay down on an iron frame And found myself in Bedlam
I lay on a bed made of iron and recognized that I was in a mental institution.

Stepping on the fingers that were stretching through the bars Wailing echoes down the corridors
As I walked, I stepped on the fingers of those who were reaching through the bars and listened to their cries of pain echoing through the halls.

They've got this scared and decorated girl strapped to the steel trunk of a Mustang
They have a frightened and adorned girl restrained to the trunk of a Ford Mustang.

They drove her down a cypress grove where traitors hang and stars still spangle
They drove her through a cypress forest where traitors have been hanged and stars still illuminate the sky.

They dangled flags and other rags along a colored thread of twine They dragged that bruised and purple heart along the road to Palestine
They hung flags and other scraps of fabric along a multi-colored string and dragged that beaten and wounded heart down the road leading to Palestine.

Someone went off muttering, he mentioned thirty pieces Easter saw a slaughtering, each wrapped in bloodstained fleeces
One individual left grumbling, making reference to thirty pieces of something. During Easter, a mass killing took place, and the victims were wrapped in fleeces streaked with blood.

My thoughts returned to vengeance but I put up no resistance Though I seemed a long way from my home It really was no distance
Although I was far from my home, I did not retaliate despite my desire for vengeance. In reality, the distance was not that great.

Wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up There must be something better than this
I plead to be awakened from my current situation, as there must be a more favorable condition or state of being than what currently exists.

And the player piano picks out "Life Goes On" The Ringtone rang out "Jerusalem"
The player piano performed the tune "Life Goes On" while the phone ringtone played the tune of "Jerusalem."

Into the pit of sadness Where the wretched plunge
Entering into a deep sadness and despair where those who are miserable tend to fall.

We've buried all the Innocents We must bury revenge
All of the innocent people have been interred, and now it is necessary to bury thoughts of revenge.

In the name of the Father and the Son In the name of Gasoline and a Gun
Both in the name of God and in the name of violence and weaponry.

Wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, wake me up
A serious cry for help to awaken the artist from their current condition.

There must be something better than this
An acknowledgment that a better situation exists beyond their current reality.