A Century of Elvis – English Lyrics

• By: Belle and Sebastian

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the enigmatic world of Belle and Sebastian's 'A Century of Elvis,' a song that blends spoken-word storytelling with indie-pop charm. Unravel the mystery of Elvis, the silent visitor, and explore the nuances of relationships and identity. This song offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Belle and Sebastian's signature lyrical style and musical storytelling.

[English]

We were sitting in the living room on the sofa,

The wrong way round, looking out the window.

It was quiet, and then in the car park across the road

We saw elvis - look, there beside the postman's van,

And he was walking round the postman's van,

Looking in the open door.

He looked as if he was thinking about getting in,

But then the postman came back,

And he swaggered off,

Walked past the window and down the stairs,

And then at the bottom of the stairs right

By the caretaker's office,

He started licking the pavement.

Every night now since we moved in that new house

There's this noise outside the door at just about half seven

Or eight o' clock every night.

And if we go and look outside the door,

Elvis'll be standing there waiting to be let in.

And then he wanders into the living room,

Maybe sits down on one of the chairs

Or even lies down on the floor.

He doesn't say much,

He just stays there for an hour or two, watching the tv.

We talk to him a bit,

And then around ten o' clock, he'll go away again,

And not come back until the next night.

There's a lot of lanes and stuff around here,

Around the house - although it's right in the middle

Of the city it seems quite like the country,

It's dead hidden - safe i suppose, made for night living.

There's a lot of squirrels and birds,

And stuart says he's seen about nine foxes

There when he's jumped over the fence on

His way to prior's road.

Sometimes you can go out walking,

And when you've been out for a wee while even you don't know

Where you are anymore,

So it would be pretty hard for anyone else to find you.

I suppose that's why he spends so much time there,

That's why he's come to live there, or maybe it's

Just the squirrels.

I read about somewhere that he likes squirrels quite a lot.

There's these two videos that we got for wedding presents -

Called the e-files, e-files one and e-files two about how elvis is

Supposed to be still alive.

And one time when he came round we were watching one of

Those, but he didn't say anything he just sat on the armchair.

He was playing with his collar a bit, and we watched

It right through and then when it finished he just

Got up and walked off into the mist and didn't say anything.

The first few times he came round i didn't speak to him at all,

I wasn't really sure what to say.

And karen spoke to him quite a lot -

She seemed to know what to do more than i do.

He had quite a strange manner though,

He'd go into your stuff and look through it, then he'd maybe

Pick something up and play with it for a wee while,

But he'd never make any comment about any of it.

Seemed pretty rude to me. i just watched whatever karen did,

And listened to how she talked to him and then,

After a while i started to copy that, and tell him a few things,

Not really bothered about whether he

Responded or said anything back or not. i think the first time

I spoke to him we were sitting up on the mezzanine and

I said that i would tell him about me and wee karen,

And how it was that we'd come to be living there.

I thought he probably liked the fact that we were

Living there because he came round so much, so

I thought he might want to know how it was that it came about.

We did it all over backwards, i told him.

First of all we got to know each other,

And then a while after that we met,

And when we'd known each other for

About seven years we decided to have an anniversary,

And that went quite well,

So after the anniversary we had a honeymoon,

And that went well too,

So after that we decided that we would get married.

That's why we're living there now.

I used to think my dad was

Elvis, but i haven't told him that yet. i haven't told my dad either.

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
living /ˈlɪv.ɪŋ/ B1	noun / adjective - the state of being alive / related to life or existence
park /pɑːrk/ A2	noun - a large public green area in a town or city
walking /ˈwɑː.kɪŋ/ A2	verb / noun - to move on foot / the activity of moving on foot at a regular pace
fox /fɒks/ B1	noun - a small wild animal with a bushy tail
fence /fɛns/ B2	noun - a structure used to enclose an area
live /lɪv/ B1	verb - to be alive / to reside somewhere
mind /maɪnd/ B2	noun / verb - the part of a person that thinks and feels / to be concerned or bothered
park /pɑːrk/ A2	noun - a large public green area in a town or city
door /dɔːr/ A2	noun - a panel that can be opened or closed to access a room or building
sound /saʊnd/ B2	noun / verb / adjective - a noise / to make a noise / conveying a particular impression or quality
office /ˈɒf.ɪs/ B1	noun - a place where work is done
touch /tʌtʃ/ B2	verb / noun - to make contact / the act of making contact

Key Grammar Structures

• He looked as if he was thinking about getting in.

  ➔ Past continuous tense

  ➔ The phrase "looked as if he was thinking" uses the past continuous tense to describe an ongoing action in the past.

• There's this noise outside the door at just about half seven.

  ➔ Present simple tense

  ➔ The phrase "there's this noise" uses the present simple tense to state a fact about the current situation.

• He started licking the pavement.

  ➔ Past simple tense

  ➔ The phrase "started licking" uses the past simple tense to indicate a completed action in the past.

• He just stays there for an hour or two, watching the tv.

  ➔ Present simple tense with gerund

  ➔ The phrase "stays there watching" combines the present simple tense with a gerund to describe an ongoing action.

• I suppose that's why he spends so much time there.

  ➔ Present simple tense with modal verb

  ➔ The phrase "I suppose that's why" uses the present simple tense with a modal verb to express a belief or assumption.

• I thought he probably liked the fact that we were living there.

  ➔ Past simple tense with modal verb

  ➔ The phrase "I thought he probably liked" uses the past simple tense with a modal verb to express a past belief or assumption.

• I haven't told him that yet.

  ➔ Present perfect tense

  ➔ The phrase "I haven't told" uses the present perfect tense to indicate an action that has relevance to the present.