And though We know Exactly what we want to say. The words When they emerge Don't quite come out that way. The language circuit doesn't work too good, No wonder we all think that we're misunderstood.
So tell me you love me But tell me again in French, Now in a Welsh accent. Say it in Maggie Smith's voice Then say it like Judi Dench, Tell me you love me.
And then Just when Our message should have hit the mark, I fear It's all too clear We've left them in the dark The thing that's said is not the thing that's heard, That's the trouble with the spoken word.
So tell me you love me But tell me again in Dutch, Shout it in Swedish, Whisper it in Norwegian, I like that one very much, Tell me you love me.
Plug in your Modem, Select your transmit mode, Give us a handshake. Tell me in Fortran, tell me in Basic, Tell me in Binary Code, Tell me you love me.
And on The words have gone All meaning long since lost. Yes Squire, We've got our wires Spectacularly crossed. It read 'Send reinforcements, we're going to advance'. You said 'Send three-and-fourpence, we're going to a dance'.
So tell me you love me But tell me again in Greek, Ancient or Modern, Demotiki or Katharevousa, I don't care which one you speak, Just tell me you love me.
Tell me in Chinese, And while we still have the chance Let's talk in Tibetan. Say it in Zulu, say it in Khosa, Say it in Afrikaans, Tell me you love me.
Buzz me in Morse code, Flash me in heliograph, Flag me a signal. Will you try in in Esperanto If I promise not to laugh? Tell me you love me.
JUDGE SAYS:
A song about communication, its joys and its extreme difficulty. This is the second rather Eastern European flavoured song from 'Dome Of Discovery' which gets another outing on this album, so that Michael can turn his wild accordion loose on it. A few references may be worth elucidating: Demotiki is modern spoken Greek, while Katharevousa is the literary form of the language. Xhosa is a South African language which is famous for the clicking sounds it uses. Heliograph was a (mainly military) method of signalling using flashes of sunlight from mirrors. 'Flagging' a signal refers to the system of naval signalling which uses (guess what) flags.
For non-UK listeners
Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are famous, and rather wonderful, British actresses, both noted for having very distinctive voices. In the last verse, 'three-and-fourpence' is a sum (three shillings and four pennies) in British 'old money', as used before decimalization in 1971. (This is a very old joke, by the way.)