To see the lyrics, click on the name of the version you are interested in (on the left).
It’s not played live very often: in 1997, 1999 and 2006 as far as we know.
Being a
Casanova song, it’s about... sex! No need to explain more… Oh yes, there are a few things to say though.
First of all, the title. Sometimes spelt ‘In And Out
Of Paris And London’ (on the
Casanova back cover), or sometimes spelt ‘In And Out
In Paris And London’ (in the
Casanova booklet). It has been confirmed by the management that the correct spelling is the second one, as in fact the title is a parody of George Orwell’s book
Down And Out In Paris And London.
The two introductory sentences to the song are actually the conclusive sentences of Charles Dickens’
A Tale Of Two Cities: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever know.” This quote is said by the main character when he is about to get his head cut off. The song is supposed to be read as a metaphor: the lover is like a headsman.
The outro is parodied on a children’s play song ‘Hokey Kokey’: “You put you left leg in,/Your left leg out,/In out in out,/Shake it all about”.
Within
Casanova, it tells the intercourse between the hero and the girl he’s met in the previous song, ‘
Middle-class Heroes’.