Nothing Clings Like Ivy - Elvis Costello, The Imposters

Nothing clings like Ivy

Frightened by the dark

Though she cuts deep

It never leaves a mark

No one quite like Ivy

Ever gets it straight

What she believes

She won’t negotiate

All the words of tenderness

That never quite got through

She said «You know how young girls are

From my contempt for you

Outside in the hollow

She may dare herself

For there may be

A serpent in the grass

Nothing clings like Ivy

Trying to scare herself

And it may strike or

Wait for her to pass

All the words of tenderness

That she never possessed

«So what’s the use of promises?

I had my fingers crossed

She said, «I laughed behind your back

When I told them to you