A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety

"A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety" is a poem written by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. It is featured as a song on the bonus disk of Elvis Costello's album Brutal Youth.

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Come swish around, my pretty punk,And keep me dancing stillThat I may stay a sober manAlthough I drink my fill.Sobriety is a jewelThat I do much adore;Though drunkards lie and snore.O mind your feet, O mind your feet,Keep dancing like a wave,And under every dancerA dead man in his grave.No ups and downs, my pretty,A mermaid, not a punk;A drunkard is a dead man,And all dead men are drunk.