Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet - The First to Leave

I should open with a kiss
For if you`re reading this
You must have opened up your case
And found this letter where I placed it
In between the silk and lace
There were other clues, like your walking shoes
But I still refused to believe
That you were meant to be the first to leave

Everybody here sends you their love
How can I forget you still walk above
Or
Below
Perhaps you`ll never know this purgatory
We never could agree
There`s a thought, there`s a pause
No time to repent
Eternally yours
In a permanent lent

But if I should give you up
If you`re right and life just stops
And I never see your face again
Then from unearthly pleasures, proud and plain
I shall abstain

Until you realize, my loss is your surprise
Unless you know otherwise
Then don`t grieve
You see I had to be the first to leave

Written by:
ELVIS COSTELLO, IAN BELTON, JACQUELINE THOMAS, MICHAEL JAMES THOMAS, PAUL CASSIDY

Publisher:
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group

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