It`s at times such as this she`d be tempted to spit
If she wasn`t so ladylike
She imagines how she might have lived
back when legends and history collide
So she looks to her prince finding since he`s so charmingly
slumped at her side
Those days are recalled on the gallery wall
And she`s waiting for passion or humour to strike
What shall we do, what shall we do with all this useless beauty?
All this useless beauty
Good Friday arrived, the sky darkened on time
`Til he almost began to negotiate
She held his head like a baby and said "It`s okay if you cry"
Now he wants her to dress as if you couldn`t guess
He desires to impress his associates
But he`s part ugly beast and Hellenic deceased
So she finds that the mixture is hard to deny
Chorus
She won`t practice the looks from the great tragic books
That were later disgraced to face celluloid
It won`t even make sense but you can bet
If she isn`t a sweetheart or plaything or pet
The film turns her into an unveiled threat
Nonsense prevails, modesty fails
Grace and virtue turn into stupidity
While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise
And our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts
They still think they`re the gods of antiquity
If something you missed didn`t even exist
It was just an ideal -- is it such a surprise?
Chorus [x2]
| Disc | Track | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | All This Useless Beauty Studio Album | 1996 |
| 1 | 0 | Extreme Honey-Very Best Of The Warner Brothers Years Album | |
| 1 | 6 | Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. Years Compilation | 1997 |
| 1 | 1 | Re-Examine: Selections From All This Useless Beauty, Spike And My Aim Is True Compilation | 2001 |
| 1 | 10 | For The First Time In America Miscellaneous | 1996 |
| 1 | 11 | Main Attraction Unofficial | 1996 |
| 1 | 3 | The Berwald Hall Unofficial | |
| 1 | 4 | Costello & Nieve Studio Album | 1996 |
| 1 | 4 | Between Wisdom and Murder Live | |
| 1 | 3 | Aging Gracefully Live | |
| 1 | 10 | John Jay College, New York City |
| Track | Song Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Sails In The Sunset | 3:12 |
| 1 | Just About Glad | 3:43 |
| 1 | Temptation | 2:32 |
| 1 | You Bowed Down | 5:12 |
| 2 | Poor Fractured Atlas | 4:01 |
| 2 | Starting to Come to Me | 3:45 |
| 2 | The Long Honeymoon | 4:39 |
| 2 | Why Can't a Man Stand Alone? | 5:38 |
| 2 | You'll Never Be a Man | 3:12 |
| 3 | Distorted Angel | 5:54 |
| 3 | I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself | 3:27 |
| 3 | Just A Memory | 2:18 |
| 3 | My Dark Life | 6:22 |
| 3 | The Other End (of The Telescope) | 5:44 |
| 4 | All The Rage | 3:53 |
| 4 | All This Useless Beauty | 4:25 |
| 4 | I Want to Vanish | 3:15 |
| 4 | It's Time | 3:49 |
| 4 | (the Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes | 2:48 |
| 5 | Alison Medley | 6:15 |
| 5 | Little Atoms | 4:54 |
| 5 | Man Out of Time | 4:54 |
| 5 | Ship Of Fools | 5:32 |
| 5 | Watching The Detectives | 5:23 |
| 6 | My Funny Valentine | 3:44 |
| 6 | Shallow Grave | 2:59 |
10
70
3
