Elvis Costello
London’s Brilliant Parade
[Verse 1]
Outside my window not long before sleep arrives
They come with their sirens
And they sweep away all the boys busy draining the joy from their lives
They never said their prayers out loud
And while I'm dreaming there's a passing motor car
That broadcasts a popular song
And a girl appears to be saying, "Do you think that I'm going to go far?"

[Chorus]
Just look at me, I'm having the time of my life
Or something quite like it
When I'm walking out and about in London's brilliant parade

[Bridge]
She's one of those girls that you just can't place
You feel guilty desiring such an innocent face
But of course they knew that when they cast her
Along with the red Routemaster
And the film takes place in an MGB
And a perfect re-creation of "The Speakeasy"
Everybody looks happy and twisted
Though she probably never existed for old times' sake
Don't let me awake

[Verse 2]
I wouldn't want you to walk across Hungerford Bridge
Especially at twilight
Looking through the bolts and the girders into the water below
You'll never find your answer there
They sounded the "all-clear" in the occidental bazaar
They used to call Oxford Street
Now the bankrupt souls in the city are finally tasting defeat
[Chorus]
Don't look at me, I'm having the time of my life
Or something quite like it
When I'm walking out and about in London's brilliant parade
When I'm walking out and about in London's brilliant parade

[Verse 3]
From the gates of St. Mary's, there were horses in Olympia
And a trolley bus in Fulham Broadway
The lions and the tigers in Regents Park couldn't pay their way
And now they're not the only ones
At the Hammersmith Palais, in Kensington and Camden Town
There's a part that I used to play
The lovely Diorama is really part of the drama, I'd say

[Chorus]
Just look at me, I'm having the time of my life
Or something quite like it
When I'm walking out and about in London's brilliant parade
Just look at me, I'm having the time of my life
Or something quite like it
When I'm walking out and about in London's brilliant parade