Lyrics Poisoned Rose - Elvis Costello

Poisoned Rose

The poisoned rose
That you gave to me
Has left me half alive
And half in ecstasy
But if just half your love
Is all I can win
Give me just a fraction
And no more medicine
The poisoned rose
On a Valentines card
That you take straight to your heart
That you call my junkyard
But if all I can do
Is save pieces of you
The piece of your mind
The piece of your heart
Didn’t tear me apart
Like the poisoned rose
That I received from you
Now I don’t know how we came to grow
Into this very sad affair
But every time we try to do the decent thing
Somebody spikes the drinks
And a single becomes a pair
The poisoned rose
You wear at your best
That I keep pressed between the white sheets
Where you lie half undressed
I threw away my shirt and shoes
You looked and I dived in
It’s just you and me now, darling
And do you know why?
'Cause I threw away the gin
I talked to the garbage men
And they took away your alibis
And all your worn-out clothes
I even threw myself down on the ground
But I couldn’t bring myself
To throw away the rose
This poisoned rose
This poisoned rose