Blondie : Plastic Letters

Pop Rock / USA
(1977 - Chrysalis Records)
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Lyrics

1. FAN MAIL

I set my hand to writing you
It drifted off the page
I sold my one vision for a piece of the cake
I haven't ate in days
For unspoken value, aesthetic and charm
I'd smile at you sideways
But the lighting is wrong, I'm taking a picture and counting the cost
While the bells in my ears keep ringing

I set my hand to writing you
It drifted of the page
I nearly fell, I feel like a lowlife in hell
And I haven't slept in days and days, days and days

Beat on my Fender through my Gemini 2
Play to the posters on the wall of my room
Thought I was crazy when I'd think about you
And the bells in my ears keep ringing
And the bells in my ears keep ringing
In my ear bells are ringing


2. DENIS

Oh Denis doo-be-do
I'm in love with you, Denis doo-be-do
I'm in love with you, Denis doo-be-do
I'm in love with you
Denis Denis, oh with your eyes so blue
Denis Denis, I've got a crush on you
Denis Denis, I'm so in love with you

Oh when we walk it always feels so nice
And when we talk it seems like paradise
Denis Denis I'm so in love with you

You're my king and I'm in heaven every time I look at you
When you smile it's like a dream
And I'm so lucky 'cause I found a boy like you

Denis Denis, avec tes yeux si bleux
Denis Denis, moi j'ai flashe a nous deux
Denis Denis, un grand baiser d'eternite

Denis Denis, je suis si folle de toi
Denis Denis, oh embrasse-moi ce soir
Denis Denis, un grand baiser d'eternite

Oh Denis doo-be-do
I'm in love with you, Denis doo-be-do
I'm in love with you, Denis doo-be-do
I'm in love with you


3. BERMUDA TRIANGLE BLUES

Flight 45, last seen alive on the runway
Leaving for some fun in the hot tropic sun
Back next Monday
And our friends are at the airport
Cousin Bill says, "Enjoy the water sports"

As we fly into the mystery
The film comes on and the Earth recedes
Several hours out - 20 minutes south of Bermuda
The communication's gone, something has to be so wrong
And it must be Jesus calling
The silver ship, the blue sea falling
Death was in that poison wave and in its gulf a fitting grave

The coast guard said they might be found
They know just where the plane went down


4. YOUTH NABBED AS SNIPER

Don't look in here, yeah
Sundown finds him out of town on the overpass
His inner self glued to his point twenty-two
Dirty metal in the speed of night, lights and broken glass
My heart can destroy all I see
Moving streets all make me lonely
Come to me and be mine only
I can hide us far from sight, but you must wait and I must fight this nothingness
Walls, I see my little room
I hear my parent's friends
I hope that my actions make amends
I would like to kill for love but I don't know how
Here I lie so high above the crowd
Busy streets all make me lonely
Come to me and be mine only

I can move us through the night, but you must wait and I must fight this emptiness
Black top burns with silent screams
Others stop my dreams
Lightning
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Fear causes some to live, others die real cool
I died in the evening after school
Be mine only
Be my own
Be mine only
Be my own


5. CONTACT IN RED SQUARE

Although I'm young I got a job to do
Hid the microfilm in the lining of my shoe
Call it a business trip
Got to hide inside my trench coat and be clever
I got my papers and a cyanide pill
My Polaroid's a taser in disguise
There's a base in the hills
And the wheat fields looks like Kansas in November

Astrovia, sweet comrade, your nation is your gun
Your love reads like the broken code you sent me
One last contact in red square, unless I have to run
And the long arms of the KGB detect me

Can't trust a soul, secret messenger
Just the rules that lie like circuits in your brain
And a cool .45. The wind is ice and foreign air tastes strange

I.C.B.M. Bang! Bang! You're dead!
No one left to worry
Kiss me quick, now I have to hurry
Our last contact in red square, unless I have to run
And the long arms of the CIA detect me


6. (I’M ALWAYS TOUCHED) BY YOUR PRESENCE DEAR

Was it destiny
I don't know yet
Was it just by chance
Could this be Kismet
Something in my consciousness told me you'd appear
Now I'm always touched by your presence dear
When we play at cards you use an extra sense, it's really not cheating
You can read my hand, I've got no defense
When you sent your messages whispered loud and clear
I am always touched by your presence dear
Floating past the evidence of possibilities
We could navigate together, psychic frequencies
Coming into contact with outer entities
We could entertain each one with our theosophies

Stay awake at night and count your R.E.M.'s
When you're talking with your super friends
Levitating lovers in the secret stratosphere
I am still in touch with your presence dear
I am still in touch with your presence dear
I am still in touch with your presence dear


7. I’M ON E

I'm on E. I'm on E. I'm on E. Got nothing to say. I used to have a car of my own
I'm on E. I'm on E. I'm on E for England. Laid out for maybe a week
I've walked my feet to the bone
I'd give my life for a car of my own
I'm on E. I'm on E. Two weeks ago Saturday I was on TV. I'd like a show of my own
But you see I'm still on E even though everything is happening to me
So when you're driving on home
Don't regret your loan

I'm on E. I'm on E. I gave my car to a guy named Vinnie. I feel like gassing my feet
They've totalled me and skipped a beat. I used to have a car of my own

28 or 58. Walking to refrigerator
To the pump, do the bump
Still on E, I'll think of something
I'm on E and I'm on E
I'll never have to stop my feet
28 or 58
Walking to refrigerator
To the pump, do the bump
Still on E, I'll think of something
I'm on E and I'm on E
I'll never have to fill my feet up


8. I DID N’T HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY NO

You got ants in your pants, I don't understand, I don't trust the flick of your eyes
You're a viper and love's a fever
You said something profane and went for a vein but in spite of your delicate touch
I should have known as much. I'm a bleeder
I didn't have the nerve to say no
I didn't have the nerve to say no

You caught me surprised and my will resigned. Torture the minds of them all
You're a brain drain, you'd better beat it
I'm following lines, the blind leads the blind, so hang me or grant me a stay
You better cut me loose or hand me a noose

I didn't have the nerve to say no
I didn't have the nerve to say no

There's no end to the problem
Of a bad situation. Complication
No, no, no, no, ah
There's no end to the problem
And frustration. I need a vacation
No, no, no, no, ah
And I know I couldn't
And I know that I couldn't say no


9. LOVE AT THE PIER

We fell in love down at the pier
You were sunbathing, I was around
Soon we were sharing a beer
We fell in love at the pier
I'm no sentimental slob so don't think I'm queer
You got something baby and it ain't just my beer
Well, maybe it's the hot pants, maybe the heat
Or was it the sneakers you kicked of your feet

I sat under my umbrella to keep my pearly skin
You tanned your oily body looking like sin
Well, soon I was sweating and I wanted to leave
You slipped into the water from too much grease

Well, I saw you yelling. I just couldn't hear
So I screamed back at you: "honey keep the beer"
We never consummated our outside love affair
Too much tar and water, too much hot air

Oh, what a tragic end to love that was lost
We would have stood a chance if we met in the frost, but
We fell in love down at pier
You were sunbathing, I was around
Now I go to beaches with my girlfriend
No more love splinters in my rear end


10. NO IMAGINATION

Eyes that tell me: "baby, you don't need no invitation"
Let me smoke another cigarette before I make a move
I can see me in the morning; losing my direction
Deep inside my overcoat, looking for the door
I don't wanna stay with you. I just wanna play with you
One sweet abbreviation sleeping like the dead
You think you're pretty, well, so do I. You came to me but, passion eyes
Got no imagination to clutter up my head

Eyes that mirror innocence and cannot sense the changes
Lets have another drink, dear, before we get deranged
I can see me in the morning; avoiding your detection
Slowly down the staircase, looking for the door

All is fair in love and war but I don't want your love no more
One sweet abbreviation sleeping like the dead
You're fragile and you're very green, conditioned by a milk machine
Got no imagination. Got no imagination. No

Take a walk, kid

Eyes that tell me: "baby, you don't need no invitation"
Let me smoke another cigarette before I make a move
I can see me in the morning; losing my direction
Deep inside my overcoat, footsteps for the door


11. KIDNAPPER

Hey, you've got an unnerving face
And twitching eyes like Norman Bates
You got a cigarette, eye on a mirror
Farm boy brown gas station sweeper
You took that girl, you put the saddle on her
Just thirteen, she's her daddy's apple
And she don't know you're the kidnapper
Hey, your Daddy's Whiskey Sam
He's got bloodshot eyes like Ray Milland
Playing solitaire, your Mother fidgets
You wanna be rich but you won't dig ditches
She bitches like a brat, she got the money
People breaking their necks and she thinks it's funny
Where's your old man now
Nobody's home

Kidnapper

Hey, they call you Skinny Jim
And nobody knows the boat you're in
They dipped your tail when you were back in school
Well, you're a real strange cake but your nobody's fool
So you took that girl and you put the saddle on her
Just thirteen, she's fresh out of diapers
And she don't know you're the kidnapper
She don't know you're the kidnapper
I said: "she don't know you're the kidnapper


12. DETROIT 442

You know he can't be tested, he can't be read or found
Urban grey takes breath away, he wants to push his pedal to the ground
And the night's what's right, puts him at the wheel
Well, I eat danger, any stranger is all right
Feel hot to go like Jimmy O, dodging flying objects at the show
And the lights make me fight
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you

This town's a concrete factory and Dad and Mum look just like me
I'm on the plant assembly line. Too late now. Too far behind
You said you want to hang around, no one really cares where you go
Take your time. Things never change

In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you

One more to market, one more piggie, and they all, they all look just like me


13. CAUTIOUS LIPS

All the way down do it
Another way down
Why, yeah, what do you know
I seen you skip
That cautious lip
Now tell me this
Through that cautious lip

You can be bit
As I make you it
I seen you skip
That cautious lip
A chance you'll fit
That cautious lip
It's just these things
Not really gifts
It's just these things
Not really gifts
I seen you skip
That cautious lip

I seen you skip
That cautious lip
But never miss
My bouncing hips
A girl so sweet
A love so strong
I seen you skip
I see you tip
You can be bit
As I make you it
I seen you skip
That cautious lip
Ah, I seen you skip
That cautious lip
Ah, cautious lip
Cautious lip
You can be bit
I'll make you it
I seen you skip
Cautious lip
Change your fit
Skip of the lip
Oh, oh, not really get
Skip lip

What's going on
No way


BONUSTRACKS (RE-ISSUE 2001)


14. ONCE I HAD A LOVE (AKA THE DISCO SONG,1975 VERSION)

Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out, to be a thing of the past
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Much o' mistrust, love's gone behind

Once I had a love and it was divine
Soon found out I was losing my mind
Seemed like the real thing, but I was so blind
Much o' mistrust, love's gone behind

In between, what I find is pleasing and I'm feeling fine,
love is so confusing there's no peace of mind
If I fear I'm losing you
It's just no good, you teasing like you do

Once I had a love and it was a gas
Soon turned out to be a pain in the ass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Much o' mistrust, love's gone behind

Lost inside
Adorable illusion and I cannot hide
I'm the one you're using, please don't push me aside
We coulda made it cruising, yeah

Yeah, riding high on love's true bluish light

Once I had a love and it was gas
Soon turned out, to be a pain in the ass
Seemed like the real thing, only to find
Much o' mistrust, love's gone behind


15. SCENERY

We took too long to park the car.
Ran across the street into the bar.
Your face said it was four o'clock.
I closed my eyes and hear a shot.
The traffic lights were much too hot.
I walked my eyes around the block.
Purple shadows were so thin.
I had to close my eyes again.
I didn't know they were important to you.
I thought their faces were a poster.
Natural things, scenery.
You showed me your kind of madness.
Saw sound slipping silently.
Time passenger to future shock.
I closed my eyes and saw you drop


16. POETS PROBLEM

Poet's problem, patron's sin, puts me in the place I'm in.
Passion's letter, poison pen, on these two things I can depend.
You will write your number, that's not all.
I will not be there when you call.
I think I'll do a line and then again...
Dirty dealer's school of thought.
An armchair for the strength you've lost.
The TV set's been on all night.
You were wrong and I was right.
You will write your number on the wall.
I will not be there when you call.
I think I'll do a line and then again...


17. DETROIT 442

(See lyrics on track 12)

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