the first to leave

Elvis Costello

I should open with a kiss
For if you?re reading this
You must have opened up your case
And found this letter where I placed it
In between the silk and lace
There were other clues, like your walking shoes
But I still refused to believe
That you were meant to be the first to leave

Everybody here sends you their love
How can I forget you still walk above
Or
below
Perhaps you?ll never know this purgatory
We never could agree
There?s a thought, there?s a pause
No time to repent
Eternally yours
In a permanent lent

But if I should give you up
If you?re right and life just stops
And I never see your face again
Then from unearthly pleasures, proud and plain
I shall abstain

Until you realise, my loss is your surprise
Unless you know otherwise
Then don?t grieve
You see I had to be the first to leave