Songtext My most beautiful mistake Elvis Costello

My most beautiful mistake

She was a part-time waitress with a dream of greatness
That nobody knew of or even suspected
Though it was sometimes reflected in the slant of a mirror
It was buried so deep and so dear

She caught the eye of a guy passing by who said
"My, if I prove to be faithless, you'll surely know why
Oh, why?
You'll probably know why"
Then again you may say
"Mister, you've got a nerve
Most of us never get just what we deserve"
I'll smile sweetly
"I'm here at your service"

And the camera walks us through into a sunlit room
Where a one-hit wonder lives
And he says, "Action" and, "That's a take"
You are my most beautiful mistake

"It's not your reputation I'm trying to besmirch"
"I'm here undercover, I'm writing this screenplay"
"You might be my inspiration, it's beyond my control"
"So it's my soulful and wounded expression, that you'd like to console?"

There's a hand that lingers a little too long
There are lies you will hear, that they're singing right now
Right here, right here in this song
And the lens pulls the focus on his magnum opus
He's a one-hit wonder kid
And he says, "Action" and, "That's a take"
You are my most beautiful mistake

He made a portrait of her face out of burnt out matches
She said "The trouble is, Sunshine, I know what the catch is
You'll offer me nothing, you'll offer me riches
I've seen your kind before in courtroom sketches"

From the booth in the corner
From a different perspective
Where a man plays the fool or a private detective
He wrote her name out in sugar on a Formica counter
"You could be the game that captures the hunter"
Then he went out for cigarettes
As the soundtrack played The Marvelettes

Let me check the script
Check the continuity
You'll be up on that screen for eternity
The billboard will spit
"That look! That's it!"
Take a little pill and you will get over it
The light will hit you if you drop that hint
Now "Cut" and "Print"
And the camera walks us through into a low-lit room
Where a one-hit wonder lives
And he says, "Action" and "That's a take"
You are my most beautiful mistake

She left a tip in the jar and a note at the door
It said, "I'm going away, I won't be back anymore
If the call should come later to commute my sentence"
"Dance a little jig for my repentance"
"Dance a little jig for my repentance"
"Dance a little jig for my repentance"