ELVIS COSTELLO SAYS HE’LL NO LONGER PERFORM ‘OLIVER’S ARMY’

UltimateClassicRock ^ | January 10, 2022 | Corey Irwin

[nickcarraway]

Elvis Costello has announced he’ll no longer perform his 1979 hit song “Oliver’s Army” is concert.

The rocker explained his decision during an interview with The Telegraph, noting that it stems from the lyric, “Only takes one itchy trigger / One more widow, one less white n_____."

“If I wrote that song today, maybe I’d think twice about [the lyric],” Costello admitted, before noting that the slur was historically accurate. “That’s what my grandfather was called in the British army — it’s historically a fact — but people hear that word go off like a bell and accuse me of something that I didn’t intend.”

“Oliver’s Army” was inspired by the conflicts in Northern Ireland that took place during the ‘70s. The song, which was included on the 1979 LP Armed Forces, hit No. 2 in the U.K. and remains the highest charting song of Costello's career. At the time of release the song aired on radio stations uncensored, however the track has routinely been bleeped in recent years. Costello claimed such action was “a mistake.”

“They’re making it worse by bleeping it for sure. Because they’re highlighting it then,” the musician opined. “Just don’t play the record!”

Costello admitted he’d toyed with changing the inflammatory lyric. “On the last tour, I wrote a new verse about censorship, but what’s the point of that?” he questioned. “So I’ve decided I’m not going to play it.”

Costello is currently slated to hit the road for a U.K. tour in June. His new album, The Boy Named If, arrives on Jan. 14.

[JennysCool]

VERY perceptive. I mentioned earlier about how much “Oliver’s Army” and its brilliant lyrics relates to the current state of the world.

Maybe even more than it did in 1979.

An Armageddon you can dance to.

[JennysCool]

I face-palmed at that post.

“Oliver’s Army” is, in words and music, just brilliant. And Costello’s lyrics are still SO applicable to the world we’re living in.

[JennysCool]

I just hope the feminists don't go after "Pump It Up".

Grinning bigtime! :)

[Antoninus]

Who cares?

[yesthatjallen]

History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies, the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues
I'm just an oily slick
And I travel the world on a nervous tick
In a very fashionable hovel
I hang around, dying to be tortured
You'll never be alone in the bone orchard
This battle with the bottle is nothing so novel
So in this almost-empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass, you see your Alice
You know she has no sense for all your jealousy
In a sense, she still smiles very sweetly
Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous?
And now, you find you fit this identikit completely
You say you have no secrets, then leave discreetly

[JennysCool]

Genius. Really nothing more to say.

Except we've been way lucky he crossed our path.

[Rinnwald]

I looked up the song, and it doesn’t ring a bell. I’m with you.

[doorgunner69]

OK, what was it?

[OrangeHoof]

Americans don't have to understand all of the lyrics to like a catchy tune.

I think "99 Luftballoons" proved that. ;P

[dfwgator]

To think this is the same guy who defied Lorne Michaels and performed “Radio, Radio” on SNL.

[dfwgator]

Leftists then were different than the Leftists of today. It’s one of the reasons I could still enjoy The Clash, even though I wasn’t on board with their politics.

[Dr. Sivana]

It sure did! I bought the 45 when it came out. And don’t forget Sukiyaki.

[McGruff]

Darn, he was going to play at our Senior Center soon.

[ifinnegan]

Note he didn’t apologize or say there was anything wrong with the lyric.

[Drew68]

What does Dire Straights do with “Money for Nothing”? Play the short version?

Mark Knopfler has been singing "Little maggot" in place of the original lyrics since at least 1997.

[Dr. Sivana]

See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup?
Yeah buddy, that's his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot, he's a millionaire


British blue collar guys installing microwave ovens and moving tube based color TVs would NOT use the word "maggot". The meter still works, but nothing else does. I'm sorry that Knopfler chose self-censorship in this case.

I don't pretend to be consistent, in part because I think faggot is an appropriate word in certain contexts. I admit to being OK with Neil Sedaka changing "bitches" to "witches" on the kiddie show "Wonderama" when he sang "Bad Blood" on it in 1975. Of course, the kids who bought the 45 for 99 cents wound up with "bitches" instead. Folks buying the original Dire Straights' albums (and Elvis Costello's) still get uncensored versions.