What would I do
For just some time with you
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)
What will you do
When the thrill is gone, baby?
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)

Oh, where have you gone
Have you gone so far from me?
(Leaving your touch on the edge of my heart)
What will I do
In the still of the night, baby?
(Don't give that to her; you remember my words)
All the beautiful worlds
That I have seen so far
Have all fallen down
Oh, it used to be yours
Calm, beautiful child-like victim
Calm, beautiful child-like victim

I see through your smile
And I see through the heart of you
(I know where it goes and I know what it means)
Well, I know where you go
To the edge of the night, baby
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)

All the beautiful worlds
That I have seen so far
Have all fallen down
Oh, it used to be yours
Calm, beautiful child-like victim
Calm, beautiful child-like victim
Oh, you say you're leaving, baby
You don't want to tell me why
After all this time you think you
Don't even say goodbye
Oh, you say you're leaving, baby
And you don't want to tell me why
After all this time you think you
Don't even say goodbye

I see through that smile
And I see through the heart of you
(I know where it goes and I know what it means)
Well, I know where you go
To the edge of the night, baby
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)

All the beautiful worlds
That I have seen so far
Have all fallen down
Oh, it used to be yours
Calm, beautiful child-like victim
Calm, beautiful child-like victim
Calm, beautiful child-like victim
Well, I see through that smile
And I see through the heart of you
(I know where it goes and I know what it means)
Well, I know where you go
To the edge of the night, baby
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)
Well, I know where you go
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)
And I know what you do
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)
And I know what you do
(Don't give that to her; baby, give that to me)
Yes, I know where you go

---

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

This song seems to be about a cheatin' man! She wants to spend time with him, but he's giving his time to someone else. However, she warns him that his little fling won't be so great once that thrill is gone, the thrill he should be giving her! Then he might start wishing he hadn't been so quick to ditch her. (That reminds me of Kind of Woman.) She asks where he's gone (in a way very reminiscent of Violet and Blue). Here, her beautiful worlds, dreams of love, have all fallen down. (What, did he shatter your illusions of love, Stevie?) Anyway, she's calling him out, she can see behind his fake smile, she knows he's been cheating on her. She knows where he's going at night; she knows why he doesn't want to tell her about it. Still, she wishes he would give his love to her instead of to this other woman. Is Stevie speaking from experience here? Did someone actually cheat on HER? Nah!

Stevie can't give us much help with this because she doesn't remember what it's about, but she gives some insights on what she means by 'calm, beautiful child-like victim' in her audio commentary:

"'All the Beautiful Worlds' is one of the only songs on this whole record that I honestly do not exactly remember what it was written about. I can tell from the words that it was written about going to the dark side because the girl in the song is saying, 'I know where you go and I know what you do' and I don't think it's a great thing, whatever she is talking about, and I'm not sure what she is talking about. The essence of that song is there is a dark world and there is a dark side. I must have been in a place at that point when I wrote that song that I was somehow thinking about that. When it says 'all the beautiful worlds that I have seen so far have all fallen down... it used to be yours' - like it used to be your beautiful world, 'calm, beautiful child-like victim', and now it's not your beautiful world anymore because you've either gone the way of Mabel Normand, or you've gone some other weird and crazy way, and you're not getting back. We've lost you - whether it's just lost you to the darkness, or we've just lost you to the streets, but somehow, we've lost you. I guess we're all 'calm, beautiful child-like victims' in one way or another: things that we put up with; things that we go along with that we don't agree with; things that we let people do that we don't like; things that people say to us that we don't like but we don't come back and say 'I didn't like that'; or sometimes the way people treat you and you don't like it, but you just go along with it because you just don't know what to say. And I love the song. And I think it would be great song on stage."

 

BPRYDERI speculates:

I think he's more the 'wandering' type, if not actually cheating. Stevie probably has some insecurities when it comes to love, judging from her romantic past. She might even be projecting some of these insecurities on to him, if he is as they say "A highway man, the one that comes and goes". But she wants him to return to her beautiful worlds, as they used to be his.

24 Karat Gold | SN Albums