Anne Sofie von Otter & Elvis Costello - Just a Curio [tekst, tłumaczenie i interpretacja piosenki]

In the cold pale sunlight that was slanting down, I spied
Frost reflecting on the glass and in the air outside
Fond relations mouthing words of love and tragedy
Though it's cold there's vapour rising from a moving stream
In a narrow, shallow bed of fine linen and starch
Where her long hair tumbled once upon her graceful arch
Lace hung on the counters and the walnut cabinets
Teeth ware chattering like schoolgirls clicking castanets

There will be no light to guide as you ascend the stairs
There may be a candle as you kneel and say your prayers
Throw the window wide and open, keep this mark from me
Just the letter T and its most dread companion B

How in heaven? Hadn't it been conquered long ago?
How did it come back again? It's just a curio