Elvis Costello retires hit song 'Oliver's Army' from future live shows over racist slur
British rocker Elvis Costello is pulling the plug on one of his songs – rather than altering it.
Released on his third album "Armed Forces," the song in question is his 1979 British hit "Oliver's Army," a track about the army and imperialism that has drawn controversy in recent years for its use of a racial slur to describe a British private: "Only takes one itchy trigger/ One more widow, one less white (N-word)"
"That’s what my grandfather was called in the British army – it’s historically a fact," Costello, 67, said in an interview with The Telegraph published Saturday. "But people hear that word go off like a bell and accuse me of something that I didn’t intend."
Costello also said he won't perform "Oliver's Army" when he goes on tour this summer. Costello said he might have reconsidered the phrasing of his lyric under different social circumstances: "If I wrote that song today, maybe I'd think twice about it."
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In 2013, the BBC released an edited version of the song to address the slur, which drew criticism from Costello himself. "They’re making it worse by bleeping it for sure," he said. "Because they’re highlighting it then. Just don’t play the record."
This led Costello to perform a rewritten version of the song on tour last fall, featuring a verse that alluded to the BBC radio edit. However, the Grammy-winning singer said the effort of altering the song is not worth it.
"On the last tour, I wrote a new verse about censorship, but what’s the point of that?" Costello said. "So, I’ve decided I’m not going to play it."
Costello said the removal of "Oliver’s Army" from his catalog would do a "favor" for the legacy of his music.
"When I fall under a bus, they'll play 'She,' 'Good Year for the Roses' and 'Oliver’s Army,' " Costello said. "I’ll die, and they will celebrate my death with two songs I didn’t write. What does that tell you?"
"Good Year for the Roses" was written by Jerry Chestnut and originally recorded by country singer George Jones, while "She" was originally written by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer, and recorded by Aznavour.
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