Who Do You Think You Are
Elvis Costello/The Brodsky Quartet Lyrics

The hunted look, the haunted grace
Your appearance is marked by an anxious, frightened look, and a miserable, gloomy demeanor.

The empty laugh that you cultivate
You force yourself to laugh, but its hollowness only reveals the lack of true joy in your life.

You fall into that false embrace
You willingly accept a superficial, fake comfort that only serves to soothe you temporarily.

And kiss the air about her face
You miss the object of your desire so much that you trace the air with your lips where she would have been.

Who do you think you are?
You are acting so foolishly that you should question your own identity and purpose.

The tres bon mots you almost quote from your Quiver of literary darts
You try to impress others with the witty remarks you almost remember from the arsenal of clever turns of phrase.

A thousand or so tuneless violins thrilling your cheap Little heart
You are moved by shallow, meaningless things to such a degree that your heart, which is of little value, is stirred by thousands of pointless violins.

My cigarette Burns right down to the ash, my coffee Cup is unstained
As I wait for you, my cigarette is consumed, but my coffee cup remains empty and untouched.

The waiter hovers close at hand His courtesy strained
The waiter anticipating my order hovers nervously close by, his polite demeanor forced and insincere.

Well I'm the red-face gentleman Caught in this picture postcard
I am the flushed, awkward man captured in this photograph of a place that reminds me of you.

Trying my best to make the best of your absence Though the joke gets tired and sordid
Despite my efforts to adapt to your absence, my attempts at humor and levity eventually become tired and depressing.

Sea-shell hearts get trampled under foot Punchlines unrewarded
The delicate, fragile hearts of those who love you are crushed and unrecognized joke punchlines.

But even at this distance, it's not easy to accept The vision that I chase returns when I least expect it
Even though I am far from you, it is still difficult to come to terms with the fact that the image of you which I pursue, and which has caused me so much difficulty, continues to resurface without warning.

I've fallen from your tired embrace I kiss the air around the place that should be your face
As I have distanced myself from your listless arms, I try in vain to find solace in the atmosphere of where you should have been, including the scent of your presence.