Radio Radio

Album: The Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions (1978)
Charted: 29
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  • I was tuning in the shine on the late night dial
    Doing anything my radio advised
    With every one of those late night stations
    Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes
    I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver
    When the switch broke 'cause it's old
    They're saying things that I can hardly believe
    They really think we're getting out of control

    Radio is a sound salvation
    Radio is cleaning up the nation
    They say you better listen to the voice of reason
    But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
    So you had better do as you are told
    You better listen to the radio

    I wanna bite the hand that feeds me
    I wanna bite that hand so badly
    I want to make them wish they'd never seen me

    Some of my friends sit around every evening
    And they worry about the times ahead
    But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
    And the promise of an early bed
    You either shut up or get cut up, they don't wanna hear about it
    It's only inches on the reel-to-reel
    And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
    Tryin' to anesthetize the way that you feel

    Radio is a sound salvation
    Radio is cleaning up the nation
    They say you better listen to the voice of reason
    But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
    So you had better do as you are told
    You better listen to the radio

    Wonderful radio
    Marvelous radio
    Wonderful radio
    Radio, radio
    Radio, radio
    Radio, radio
    Radio, radio
    Radio, radio
    Radio, radio
    Radio, radio
    Radio, radio Writer/s: ELVIS COSTELLO
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management, CONSALAD CO., Ltd.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

  • Steve from Philadelphia, PaNot sure about this, but this may be the only song ever written that uses the word "anesthetize". Brilliant.
  • Andy from Halesowen, West Midlands, United KingdomAlways thought this a Costello classic, and generally under-rated, probably a little to close to the truth to get much air-play I imagine, so only one for the record buying fans.

    I think the line "I want to bite the hand that feeds me - I want to bite that hand so badly" is a classic.

    I also admire the courage of the man, writing this early in his career, and I love the story of Saturday Night Live above (showing more guts that the supposedly "bad boys" - the Rolling Stones who could only manage to "spend some time together" on the Ed Sullivan show)
  • Jim from Long Beach, CaClassic Elvis, Costello that is....
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