20% Amnesia Songtext
von Elvis Costello

"What is your destiny?", the policewoman said
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The word that she wanted was destination, I′m afraid
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This is your future, boy, this is your fate
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And you're obsolete and they can′t afford to educate you
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In his bedtime Bootboy jersey
Ringin' up some fantasy tart
Give me strength or give me mercy
Life intimidates art

Give me strength or give me mercy
Don't let me lose heart
From rage to anesthesia
20% amnesia


Were you passed out on the sofa
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While justice is bartered by a drunken oaf?
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This is all your glorious country thinks of your life
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Stripped Jack naked with a Stanley knife
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So the German Queen went home again
But she couldn′t find forgiveness
They made a fist of her hand of friendship
That is only business

Give me strength or give me mercy
Don′t let me lose heart
From rage to anesthesia
20% amnesia

The wine you drink has never seen a grape
And now your sci-fi suit has lost its shape
But it's a dangerous game that comedy plays
Sometimes it tells you the truth, sometimes it delays it


Think back, think back if you still can
When the trumpet soundin′ and the world began
Somebody said we must have won
So they started burying the bogeyman

Mr.Gorbachev came cap in hand
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From a bankrupt land to a bankrupt land
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Mr.Gorbachev and some other fella
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Were taken to a show called 'Cinderella′
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It wasn't an accident, it wasn′t a mystery
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It was calculated and the rest is history
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You don't have to listen to me
That's the triumph of free will
There are promises to break
And dreams to kill

Give me strength or give me mercy
Don′t let me lose heart
From rage to anesthesia
20% amnesia