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Elvis Costello — Sulphur To Sugarcane
Album: Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
Avg rating:
5.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 131









Released: 2009
Length: 5:54
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane
Everywhere I travel the pretty girls call my name
I give them a squeeze and they shoot me a wink
I buy their hard-headed husbands a long cool drink
You better come up smelling sweet 'cos you're a long time stinking
It's a little too late to complain
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane

Now if you catch my eye and you find that it runs down your leg
It's like striking a match pretty hard upon a powder keg
They tell you from the borders to the waters of the gulf
If you take all the sugar you will end up in the sulphur
And you're burning
Hello baby I'm pleased to meet you
I wouldn't do you wrong, honey
I wouldn't cheat you, honey
When can I see you again?
Wrap you up in cellophane
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane

It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane
When your eyes fill up with brine
'Cause you're drowning in wine
It's like the last days of Rome
With the despots and divine
And there's no place like home for a little doll from China
It's a little too late to complain
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane

You can go west to Texas
Go east to Mississippi
You can run out of money
You can run out of pity
Throw open your purse until you're crying for mercy
Go to Alabama
Escape Louisiana
I'm digging like a miner North and South Carolina
And then if you continue you will end up in Virginia

The women in Poughkeepsie
Take their clothes off when they're tipsy
But in Albany, New York
They love the filthy way I talk
Until they gargle with the finest champagne
They can't get the grape and the grain
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane

It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane
If I could find a piano
Here in Bloomington, Indiana
I would play it with my toes
Until the girls all take their clothes off
The women knock upon my door in odd and even numbers
But none of them as wild as I've discovered in Columbus
I gave up married women 'cause I heard it was a sin
But now I'm back in Pittsburgh, I might take it up again
Because they gargle with the finest champagne
They can't get the grape and the grain
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane

It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane
Up in Syracuse
I was falsely accused
But I'm not here to hurt you
I'm here to steal your virtue
Down in Bridgeport
The women will kill you for sport
But in Worcester, Massachusetts
They love my sauce

The women in Poughkeepsie
Take their clothes off when they're tipsy
But I hear in Ypsilanti
They don't wear any panties
Once they gargle with the finest champagne
They hitch up their skirts and exclaim
It's not very far, sugar
It's not very far, sugar
Pour a little sugar on me, sugar
It's not very far from Sulphur to Sugarcane
Comments (38)add comment
Elvis, shut it down, please. Stick to cleaning Diana's garage.
Posted 15 years ago by michaelgmitchell    [ Reply ]
{#Naughty}Criminey,,..;..a Costello song that dont ask a question...far out............  cryin shame  so many tone deef(deaf for u intellects)
 more or less ons wouldnt know music if it bit em on the ass,,,,,,several times{#Roflol}


Posted 15 years ago by cattail321    [ Reply ]
 jhorton wrote:
Still just horrible.
 
Yup. Trying WAY too hard.
Posted 15 years ago by FlatCat    [ Reply ]
Still just horrible.
Posted 15 years ago by jhorton    [ Reply ]
Elvis loves Wootown!
Posted 15 years ago by NeuroJoe    [ Reply ]
 rkread wrote:
as with david byrne, I may not love every direction ec takes, but it's always interesting and well done.  {#Clap}
 
I agree, this is not one of my favorite EC songs but it does have merit and I applaud the effort.

Posted 15 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
Ok, I'm 50 and I sucked 30 years ago, so I'll try something different.

Ooops! I still SUCK!

Worst song I ever heard on RP. 
Posted 15 years ago by jhorton    [ Reply ]
Wow! the first Costello song that didnt make me switch off RP within a microsecond. 2
Posted 15 years ago by megaadam    [ Reply ]
Would this be considered minstrel music?

Wow, he's tried about every kind of music, except Gospel and World/Ambient (?).
Posted 15 years ago by Jack_Jefferson    [ Reply ]
Let's face it, since Almost Blue, his only constant has been inconstancy. I guess that's the risk of staying open and experimental.

Posted 15 years ago by lmic    [ Reply ]
2 to 1...please stop this song from playing anymore...
Posted 15 years ago by raewah    [ Reply ]
 RadioDoc wrote:
Phoned in.

5

Or less.
 
agree. 

Posted 15 years ago by Wizzuvvoz    [ Reply ]
Elvis sang this last time through Ypsilanti (where the girls don't wear panties apparently... I hadn't noticed) opening for Bob Dylan.  Elvis played solo, and was so much better than Bob it was kinda embarrassing for the old coot.  Regardless of a great performance I don't like much of this most recent stuff.
Posted 15 years ago by ch83575    [ Reply ]
Phoned in.

5

Or less.
Posted 15 years ago by RadioDoc    [ Reply ]
Dear Elvis,

I loved you much more when you didn't suck.

Hate,
This Song
Posted 15 years ago by pugifat    [ Reply ]
one of those annoying meaningless songs that you just can't wait to end
Posted 15 years ago by AdyMiles    [ Reply ]
 Panama_Floyd wrote:


Y'know...after hearing this, I'm beginning to think an Elvis & Randy album might not be a bad idea. {#Think}
 

just not this song...but I agree!
Posted 15 years ago by df1489    [ Reply ]
 Marr wrote:
ALthough this sounds like Costello meets Randy Newman I still like it.
 

Y'know...after hearing this, I'm beginning to think an Elvis & Randy album might not be a bad idea. {#Think}
Posted 15 years ago by Panama_Floyd    [ Reply ]
I have yet to rate this since it falls a bit in my estimation each time I hear it.  His older stuff is nearly, if not outright brilliant, but this starts to grate.
Posted 15 years ago by MojoJojo    [ Reply ]
 AdyMiles wrote:
i like elvis costello, but i don't like this
 
I just came here to say exactly that.

Posted 15 years ago by zipper    [ Reply ]
 rkread wrote:
as with david byrne, I may not love every direction ec takes, but it's always interesting and well done.  {#Clap}
 
I was just thinking the same thing. This is not the type of Elvis that I have known but is great, none-the-less. {#Music}
Posted 15 years ago by zjustme    [ Reply ]
i like elvis costello, but i don't like this
Posted 15 years ago by AdyMiles    [ Reply ]
 stevematic wrote:
o  Marr wrote:
ALthough this sounds like Costello meets Randy Newman I still like it.
 

i thought it was randy newman and wondered why i liked it. the lyrics are infectious.
 
Randy Newman has been writing the same song for 30 years. Elvis was way cool in the 70's & 80's. Now...not so much.

Posted 15 years ago by donnyballgame    [ Reply ]
 westslope wrote:
average song score = 5.7,  n = 20
 
And slowly climbing.

Posted 15 years ago by Marr    [ Reply ]
o  Marr wrote:
ALthough this sounds like Costello meets Randy Newman I still like it.
 

i thought it was randy newman and wondered why i liked it. the lyrics are infectious.
Posted 15 years ago by stevematic    [ Reply ]
ALthough this sounds like Costello meets Randy Newman I still like it.
Posted 15 years ago by Marr    [ Reply ]
as with david byrne, I may not love every direction ec takes, but it's always interesting and well done.  {#Clap}
Posted 15 years ago by rkread    [ Reply ]
Elvis got drunk at a country western bar and took the mike. somebody take his keys.
Posted 15 years ago by scraig    [ Reply ]
IMO this is Elvis' best album!

Posted 15 years ago by whtahtefcuk    [ Reply ]
Quite like this one....great toe-tapping ditty!


Posted 15 years ago by PinkFlamingo69    [ Reply ]
I'm not a EC fan by any means, and after hearing this song, nothing has changed.
Posted 15 years ago by Droidac    [ Reply ]
 westslope wrote:
average song score = 5.7,  n = 20
 
prob
Posted 15 years ago by Bazooka    [ Reply ]
 Pyro wrote:
Wow, I like this and I'm not a big EC  fan!  Catchy.  T-Bone Burnett produced this and that's Jerry Douglas on dobro.  No wonder I like it.
 
Me either and I was ready to ready to give it an eight, but when he put the line about being here in Bloomington Indiana in the lyric I had to give it a ten.

Posted 15 years ago by Prodigal_SOB    [ Reply ]
average song score = 5.7,  n = 20
Posted 15 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
 Pyro wrote:
Wow, I like this and I'm not a big EC  fan!  Catchy.  T-Bone Burnett produced this and that's Jerry Douglas on dobro.  No wonder I like it.
 
Yeah this is really good, maybe I need to start listening to Costello again, I used to be a BIG fan up to "North". Speaking of that album, btw..Read a review of it where the reviewer said " Elvis Costello, the man that made me hate a direction" {#Roflol}

Posted 15 years ago by SweTex    [ Reply ]
 BigTimber wrote:
Usually not a fan, but this is the first song of his that sounds okay to me, I'm afraid he might start growing on me, yikes!

 
My thoughts exactly.
Posted 15 years ago by rtrudeau    [ Reply ]
Usually not a fan, but this is the first song of his that sounds okay to me, I'm afraid he might start growing on me, yikes!

Posted 15 years ago by BigTimber    [ Reply ]
Wow, I like this and I'm not a big EC  fan!  Catchy.  T-Bone Burnett produced this and that's Jerry Douglas on dobro.  No wonder I like it.


Posted 15 years ago by Pyro    [ Reply ]