Oliver's Army
| "Oliver's Army" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions | ||||
| from the album Armed Forces | ||||
| B-side | "My Funny Valentine" | |||
| Released | 2 February 1979 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | New Wave | |||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Label | Radar | |||
| Writer(s) | Elvis Costello | |||
| Producer | Nick Lowe | |||
| Certification | Gold (BPI – UK), March 1, 1979 [1] | |||
| Elvis Costello and the Attractions singles chronology | ||||
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"Oliver's Army" is a song written by Elvis Costello, originally performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions and appearing on the album Armed Forces in 1979. It remains his most successful single, spending four weeks at Nº2 in the UK singles chart.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Music critics, such as Prof. Simon Frith [3] and others [4] have suggested that the title refers to Oliver Cromwell whose New Model Army was a forerunner to the modern British Army.
Of the song's meaning, Costello himself has stated: "I made my first trip to Belfast in 1978 and saw mere boys walking around in battle dress with automatic weapons. They were no longer just on the evening news. These snapshot experiences exploded into visions of mercenaries and imperial armies around the world. The song was based on the premise 'they always get a working class boy to do the killing'. I don't know who said that; maybe it was me, but it seems to be true nonetheless. I pretty much had the song sketched out on the plane back to London."[5]
As well as The Troubles the song alludes to several other "trouble spots" around the world at the time including South Africa, Palestine, and "Checkpoint Charlie". It has been suggested that the events in Belfast prompted Costello to write this "anti-occupation anthem".[6]
During the recording of Armed Forces at Eden Studios in West London, the incomplete "Oliver's Army" was nearly dropped from the album, but was eventually kept after keyboardist Steve Nieve created the piano part for the song, inspired by ABBA's "Dancing Queen."[citation needed]
The music video for "Oliver's Army" was aired on MTV's first U.S. broadcast day, 1 August 1981.[citation needed]
The song lyrics contain the phrase "white nigger", which usually remains uncensored on radio stations.
[edit] Cover versions
The song has been covered by a large number of artists, including Raimundos, [spunge], Belle & Sebastian, Blur, Peter Mulvey, OK Go, O'Malley's March, Dirty Pretty Things, and comedy duo Cannon and Ball.[7][8] Comedian Frank Skinner performed the song when he impersonated Costello on an episode of Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "BPI Certified Awards". http://www.bpi.co.uk/. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
- ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". http://www.everyhit.com. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
- ^ "Academic waxes lyrical about pop's meaning: David Lister finds the message in the medium as musicologists join for an evening of deconstruction at independent.com". The Independent (London). 1993-01-22. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/academic-waxes-lyrical-about-pops-meaning-david-lister-finds-the-message-in-the-medium-as-musicologists-join-for-an-evening-of-deconstruction-1479980.html. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ "The Freaky Trigger Top 100 Tracks Of All Time: No. 57 ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS - “Oliver’s Army” at freakytrigger.co.uk". http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/pop/2007/07/the-freaky-trigger-top-100-tracks-of-all-time-no-57-elvis-costello-the-atrtractions-%E2%80%9Colivers-army%E2%80%9D/. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ Armed Forces. Rhino Records. 2002 (sleeve notes).
- ^ Chonin, Neva (7 June 1999). "Costello Helps Lift the Fog at Fleadh". San Francisco Chronicle: p. B-1. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/06/07/DD33507.DTL. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ http://www.comedykings.co.uk/index.php/music/rock-on-tommy-album
- ^ http://www.comedykings.co.uk/index.php/music/rock-on-tommy-album/lyrics
