Lyrics Elvis Costello - You Tripped at Every Step

take your tiny feet out of your mother's shoes
or there is going to be a terrible scene
it's not just the lipstick drawn on crooked
when they find how wicked we are
how wicked we have been
how i've been tempted
how you tripped at every step

there's a merry tune that starts in "i"
and ends in "you"
like many famous pop songs do
and you would sing along with little tell-tale staggers
while balancing on daggers
though they were killing you
you looked so deadly
as you tripped at every step

and i would run to catch you
any time you'd call
only you drank that potion
and went out of control
there's nothing to stop you
so how can you fall?
let me take your hand
put down that frying pan

darkness would become me underneath the table
as the fury raged around the house
your despairing tread was angry and unstable
you never suspected
just as that cartoon mouse went undetected
so you tripped at every step

in another world of gin and cigarettes
those cocktail cabinets put mud in your eye
maybe that is why you find it hard to see me
and if you don't believe me
before you start to cry,
"don't ever leave me."

as you start to lose your grip
you will stumble as you slip
as you tripped at every step