Released (and a copy bought by me) in
April 4, 2000,
Punishing Kiss is not
Ute Lemper's only step into the waters of
pop music, but definitely the most noticeable one. Ute did a few
French pop albums (
Espace Indecent and
Nuits Etranges), but those albums are not as noticeable to the non-
Francophone world.
Kiss is a great break out of the political satire
cabaret pieces and the
Kurt Weill-composed songs that Ute has done for a while (since 1988!). Well, Ute is definitely welcome in singing more of the new-school songs, especially those written by
Nick Cave,
Tom Waits,
Elvis Costello and
Phillip Glass. Ute also
duets with singer
Neil Hannon of
The Divine Comedy for a couple of the songs.
The following lyrics are noded from the original web page in Decca Records' web site in (http://www.deccaclassics.com/utelemper). Enjoy!
- The Case Continues
- Tango Ballad
- Passionate Fight
- Little Water Song
- Purple Avenue
- Streets of Berlin
- Split
- Couldn't You Keep That to Yourself
- Punishing Kiss -- it's the title song, look down!
- You Were Meant for Me
- The Part You Throw Away
- Scope J
This is from
Ute Lemper's latest album,
Punishing Kiss, published by Decca Records.
Music and Lyrics: Elvis Costello
I favour a good punishing kiss
It helps pass the lonely afternoons
Another stiff drink
Wipe off that lipstick
For when you reach a certain age
All the most villainous men
Can be found on channel ten
And I make them dance
In attendance
We will be back
In a minute or two
And he will punish that girl
Oh I forget the reason
Just look at me I'm lost in a social whirl
She was never so witty
Always struggling to be full of fun
On weekdays from midday to one
In a little black cocktail dress everyone hates
She'll be saving the world in-between fashion plates
I know what she gets up to in the back of that black limousine
And I find myself shouting at the screen
I think that it's time to turn over
They say it's harmless I know
Hundred ten percent certain virtually real
If you need something to feel
Then favour a good punishing kiss
It helps chase the wasted afternoons
The flowers and the pearls
The long lost relations
That love sick tomboy comes in bloom
All the pointless heartache
That seems to belong in my blue bloom
Can't stand the suspense
The endless embraces
When each episode
Lends a silly pretence
Say I can turn away
When I will never miss
It starts with a joke
And ends with a punishing kiss