Green Shirt
Elvis Costello Lyrics


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There's a smart young woman on a light blue screen
Who comes into my house every night
And she takes all the red, yellow, orange and green
And she turns them into black and white

But you tease, and you flirt
And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt
You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Better cut off all identifying labels
Before they put you on the torture table

'Cause somewhere in the "Quisling Clinic"
There's a shorthand typist taking seconds over minutes
She's listening in to the Venus line
She's picking out names
I hope none of them are mine

But you tease, and you flirt
And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt
You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Never said I was a stool pigeon
I never said I was a diplomat
Everybody is under suspicion
But you don't want to hear about that

'Cause you tease, and you flirt
And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt
You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Better send a begging letter to the big investigation
Who put these fingerprints on my imagination?

You tease, and you flirt
And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt
You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it





You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it
You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it

Overall Meaning

The song Green Shirt by Elvis Costello & The Attractions is a scathing indictment of surveillance and the loss of privacy in the modern world. The opening lines reference a television screen, and the way that it transforms color into black and white. This sets the tone for the rest of the song, which delves into the idea of people being spied on and stripped of their individuality.


The lyrics build on the theme of surveillance with lines like “Better cut off all identifying labels / Before they put you on the torture table,” which suggests that the singer is aware of the risks of being too visible in a world where people are being watched closely. There are also references to specific types of monitoring, such as the “shorthand typist taking seconds over minutes” who is listening in on the “Venus line” and picking out names.


The song’s title is a nod to the green shirts worn by members of Sinn Féin, the political party associated with the Irish Republican Army. This connection adds another layer of meaning to the song’s lyrics, as the experiences of surveillance and loss of privacy are particularly acute in areas where conflict is ongoing.


Overall, Green Shirt is a powerful commentary on how the technological advancements of recent decades have impacted our lives, and the dangers that come with living in a world where we are always being watched and controlled.


Line by Line Meaning

There's a smart young woman on a light blue screen
An intelligent and attractive woman appears on a television in the singer's home.


Who comes into my house every night
The woman appears on the television program that the singer watches every night in his home.


And she takes all the red, yellow, orange and green
The woman on the television removes all the colors except black and white from the singer's vision.


And she turns them into black and white
The woman on the television makes the singer's vision monochromatic.


But you tease, and you flirt And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it
The singer warns someone that they may be causing trouble and will eventually face the consequences of their actions.


Better cut off all identifying labels Before they put you on the torture table
The singer advises someone to remove all traces of their identity in case they are subjected to harsh interrogation.


'Cause somewhere in the "Quisling Clinic" There's a shorthand typist taking seconds over minutes She's listening in to the Venus line She's picking out names I hope none of them are mine
The singer narrates a scene where a transcriptionist is eavesdropping on conversations for the purpose of gathering information, but the singer hopes that his name is not among the extracted.


Never said I was a stool pigeon I never said I was a diplomat Everybody is under suspicion But you don't want to hear about that
The singer is claiming that he never betrayed anyone, but he also never pretended to be impartial. He adds that everyone is being watched and suspected but the listener seems uninterested in this information.


Better send a begging letter to the big investigation Who put these fingerprints on my imagination?
The singer suggests that the listener appeals to a higher authority to discover who is responsible for the influencing of his imagination or ideas.


You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it
The singer reminds the listener that their choices or actions will eventually have consequences that will impact others.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@ThePwebb

Elvis Costello is generally thought of as an 80's artist, and by sheer volume that may be true. For me, however, his three releases in the late 70's are hands down his top 3 albums.

@oldcrowtj4937

I can't thing of any successful artist or group who's first 3 albums were this good.

@rjjcms1

I got to know This Year's Model very well when classmates at school were playing it often back then,and at least one of them had My Aim is True and got Armed Forces as well.

@oldcrowtj4937

@@rjjcms1 Can't think of any band or artist who's first 3 albums are that good.

@mehitabelgill6711

You could expand that to his first five LPs, even if the fourth and fifth were in the 80s. After that he changed directiion

@rjjcms1

Almost Blue?

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@jimm9051

My favorite Elvis song ever

@todd9031

From the states I say that Mr. Costello's Alison is an Icon of art that I heard later. The earliest, Green Shirt introduced me to the 'different' tune that so many would be changed. Not 'Alison' or 'Oliver's Army', but in my world 'Green Shirt' was my time of change in music.

@rickcochran2165

Our kid came home with allsorts armed forces then buzzcocks stranglers etc

@rely9

No songwriter that ever lived could manipulate melody the way Elvis does

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