Radio Silence

Signal fading, listen to what I'm saying Testing, testing This better be worth all of the breath I'm wasting Maintaining radio silence from now on Barricaded in the talk radio station Hostage taken, the red 'On Air' light shines on Something cheaper that passes for free speech will have to do Hear him coming through loud and clear He's trickling in your ear He'll tell you anything you want to hear Tape starts running He's going to tell you something Strings start strumming another humdrum conundrum Signing off now Maintaining radio silence from now on But there's one thing I should have said The hostage will end up dead It's just a comedy, the hostage is me So pay the ransom beyond the run-out groove and Get my wife down here, a helicopter on the roof No police marksman Maintaining radio silence from now on Mystery voices drowned out by too much choice that's Not to mention The sad waste of this wonderful invention Maintaining radio silence from now on Libraries filled up with failed ideas There's nothing more for me there I trust in tender ink and gentle airs Do those drug dealers still polish women made of wax? Gangsters and world leaders require the same protection from attack From a distance it's hard to tell the difference Between a king and a jack And a poet and a hack Maintaining radio silence from now on --- Radio Silence - Elvis Costello