I heard “Green Shirt” by Elvis Costello many years after it came out.

I liked it. It had what all of Elvis Costello’s best songs have — good pop hooks and great lyrics.

This one hit slightly different for me, though.

Every time he sings the chorus I’m expecting to end it with a different phrase, but he never sings it. I’m always expecting him to end with “gonna get hurt”.

He NEVER SINGS THIS. Why not? It rhymes with ‘shirt’. Someone who’s “gonna get hurt” seems like the obvious rhyme. “Hurt” is also an obvious choice as it’s the opposite of “please” in the previous line. It would match the rhythm of the previous phrase as well.

Instead of matching the meter of the prior phrase, he short circuits the natural rhythm of the last line and sings “gonna get it”. which ends before the downbeat that punctuates the end of the chorus.

I feel like it’s a deliberate confounding of the listener’s expectations. Can you think any other songs that do this kind of thing — where something that would seem to fit naturally is intentionally swapped out with something different, slightly “off”?

You tease, and you flirt
And you shine all the buttons on your green shirt
You can please yourself but somebody’s gonna get it hurt

You can please yourself but somebody’s gonna get it hurt
You can please yourself but somebody’s gonna get it hurt