Songtext Wherefore art thou, elvis? The Gaslight Anthem

Wherefore art thou, elvis?

I cut my teeth on the stone of a teenage romance
I was the salt of the earth, I was hard, and the last of the independents
And the breath from my chest I was blowing kerosene
My lips and fingertips were stone, I wore my heart on my jeans
I sang the blues like the dogs left too long in the street
I still sing the blues with the dogs

And I got half a mind to let it all burn up in this fire
That's been burning through my veins since I first learned to cry
I'd watch this whole night come down and never miss her again
I never felt right and never fit in
Walking in my own skin

Now I got scars like the number of stars, my mind's full of vipers
I got the dust of the desert in my bones, coming through the amplifiers
Between the minor chord fall and the fourth and the fifth
It's a broken Hallelujah and a pain in my fist
I wash my hands like the man with the blood on his teeth
Over and over without relief

And I got nothing for you darling but a story to tell
About the rain on the pavement and the sound as it fell
I'd watch this whole night come down and never miss her again
I never felt right and never fit in

Walking in my old man shoes, with my scientist heart
I got a fever and a beaker and a shot in the dark
I need a Cadillac ride, I need a soft summer night
Say a prayer for my soul, Señorita

Because I've been dying out here in the cold and the snow
I've got a picture of you, Mama, to remind me of home
On the hood of a Dodge on a Saturday night
Say a prayer for my soul, Señorita