Elvis Costello & The Attractions. Oliver's Army

[ska2tone1]

loved this tune in its time

[ska2tone1]

@ska2tone1 yes love the suit also 

[glaeken14]

Is a Wonder

[philcoool]

HERVE TIELIE 52 HOYMILLE FRA 1:29.7 IND I

1 Greg Forbes 54 Las Vegas NV USA 1:32.1 IND_V I

2 Phillip Cameron 50 Birmingham West Midlands GBR 1:35.3 IND

500m world ranking for over 50's ,75kg.I have moved from 4th last week to 2nd today by taking off 0.9 sec off my fastest time.

[istanbulbob]

The song is nothibng to do with Oliver Cromwell. It is about working class lads who join the British Army to escape unemployment. The boys from the Mersey and the Thames and the Tyne (Liverpool, Newcastle and London)are traditional working class areas of England. The Murder Mile is a reference to an area in Cyprus where many British soldiers were killed in the troubles in the 50's and the term White Nigger was used to describe the Greek Cypriot killers who were fighting for union with Greece.

[LANCSKID]

Only takes one itchy trigger to silence the twat in the pink suit!

[jasonwheel]

this song commemorates the 'tyranny of 1649' when Oliver Cromwell and his 'Ironsides' trashed many Irish cities, mostly as payback for the 'massacre of 1641' when the Irish attacked and killed Anglos in Eire. about 100k people died on either side. and history was of course changed forever.

[janeknisely]

Goodbye Riley.

[Incudius]

This song is appropriate now as when it was released.

It even used that word "n.....r" in a way that shows that a white man understands that word...

If you dont libve in the Uk you do not underatdn this song. No you do NOT.

We are still having to wath our White "Ni...rs" get killed regulary cos the USA is so horrible.

I wish the government would get a grip and let us get out of the wars. Its the ...

oh, why mention it ? We will keep on dying forever !

[Rockerfeller46]

@Incudius Dude, Im American and understand this song. Im questioning if you understand it, or if you can spell for that matter. This song is about Oliver Cromwell and his "New model Army". Its about British Imperialism. Not America's. You saying, "We are still having to wath our White "Ni...rs" get killed regulary cos the USA is so horrible", Doesnt make any sense sir. -Cheers

[auggdogrules]

ec is the best,still going strong today,now that's amazing,do we still hear about joe jackson,graham parker etc....not as much as elvis,long live the king!

[hampden12]

@auggdogrules aye but paul weller still does the tourin', album writin', and the general continual momentum that Keith Richards blurted today in his automemoirslife bit withoot considering some in advanced years in the same industry that still tour aw the time.

so many flybynight bands over the last 20 years.Limited effort and talent crushes most folk in any walk.

tramp the dirt down

[nikkibt]

im amazed !! i love elvis costello i love the original !! "olivers army "is my fave .. anyhoo love you all ... xxx

[pbrick6301]

Is that really the bassist on backup vocal?

[jasonwheel]

a good song that commemorates a very very tragic series of events that changed the course of history.

[betterthanbrad]

Mr Laconic!!

[simfaithguitar1]

...the first EC "album" I bought. It was 8-track tape. Man, that's old.

[texatexa]

hahahaha, the upperlip he's pulling. Real '78..'79 punky ! I know, cause I was 19 in those days and all the punks and new wavers were doing that.

[donquixote2u]

terrific track, and in fact the whole "Armed Forces" album would surely have to be one of the classic albums of all time!

[lightninghector]

I think that this song was definitely Elvis Costello's Classic, yes this band had many excellent records out in the late 70's, early 80's, but as far as I'm concerned none compared with this one!

[theselector]

Anyone know the brand of guitar Elvis is playing?

[theselector]

@theselector Just looked it up... it's a Gibson Jazzmaster.....thanx myself , cheers selector!!!

[yorkshireluke666]

it's actually a Fender Jazzmaster

[theselector]

Of course......Gibson??.....it was late. Cheers

[MusicByTheMoon]

it's a fender jazzmaster, not a Gibson.

[iorioriorio]

Fu*ckin A, mate...doesn't get anymore 1983 than this...ollie north, london arabs, checkerboard suits...elvis is the bob dylan of the 80's

[eblanaken]

I reckon we had the best of back then.I was 16 and the music was massive.

[crapple009]

But this song is from 1978- way before the Ollie North scandal.

[peskirabbit]

This song was inspired by Elvis Costello seeing adolescent soldiers on the streets of Belfast and the song widened the commentary to cover different trouble spots around the world.

The term "white nigger" is not like wigger, (some white trying to be a black dude), here nigger is meant to convey all manner of disadvantaged people ( Lennon's "Woman is the nigger of the world" and Patti Smith's "Rock and Roll Nigger").

So WN is someone the speaker feels they can look down on AS IF on a "nigger".

[skyredted]

he mentions harrisburg ,,,could he mean Pa ,,also it seem it could mean mercenery soldiers ,,,,if your out of luck or out of work ,,,im kinda confused on the meaning there was an oliver north ,,,his scandel came out big in the 80,s ,,,contra aid ,,,

[peskirabbit]

Yeah, I mean the only way out of a lot of depressed areas where unemployment was high was to join the army....that's not exactly mercenary as such, but it fits Costello's comment that they always get working class boys to do the killing. Maybe it was Oliver North, maybe it was Oliver Cromwell (England, 17th century, Civil War era)whose Model Army was the original pattern on which the later English army was based. Or Both!

[JoTheSnoop]

peskirabbit, the title is to do with Oliver Cromwell's idea of the Model Army - the blueprint for the set up of the modern army.

[crapple009]

Not Harrisburg (that's in the Clash song,Working for The Clampdown,btw) but Johannesburg.

[skyredted]

oh ok thanks ,,,he says johanesburg ,,,,ok ,,,,i remember listening to it when it first came out in the 70,s

[theselector]

@peskirabbit Someone suggested the term "white nigger" refers to the Irish or possibly Northern Irish in this context (song)

[venisfurs]

oliver's army is the us army, oliver is oliver north, ex us genreal

[brabon1]

its an anti imperialism song

[AirsoftHanoverPA]

i want that suit jacket he's got.

[youspoppa]

@AirsoftHanoverPA : only if you get the pink tie to go with it!

[happentodie]

who cares about the word nigger ,ffs its a song not a planned attack on blacks!!!

[TomGreenUK]

Find it amazing that 'nigger' isn't censored!

[guywithtights]

well how the word is used isnt bad

[TomGreenUK]

I know it isn't but you know that some TV/radio people are like, they rarely realise these things!

[SECblackmagic]

theres more white on white racism in this world than has ever been against coloured people, i know cos i was a victim myself, love and peace to all mankind, thats what i say, nigger is just a word!!

[thecolin6]

Took the words right outta my mouth SECblackmagic.

[costco5626]

One of my fav songs, brings back lots of teenage memories watching this clip

[mrmarriottsgirl]

yep - Costello was basically untouchable during the first few years of his career - he surely wrote with some bite - I know the guys grown more mellow as he has aged, most due and yes, he's still n excellent songwriter but I always end up needing a dose of some early EC & Attractions stuff when I need a dose of 70's or 80's pop!

[MusherLady]

Not sure why I keep hearing this. Costello has certainly not become more mellow. From Pills And Soap, to The Scarlet Tide, Monkey To Man, and the whole of The River in Reverse, Costello's political and social/ethical awareness seems more keen than ever.

[marcelcruzeiro]

The year I was born had good music.

[SirHuckenden]

awesome he's got the same spangly silver jazzmaster as Grant from feeder

[garyconyers]

Agreed, but as I said there are a lot of Ulster references.

The song is 'bigger' than just Ulster.

[Richardhedditch261]

"Oliver's Army" is about the transfer of communities and individuals around the world during the British Empire,in seemingly hare-brained schemes,for labour requirements.Nothing specifically to do with "Oliver Cromwell" or anyone's Armed Forces.

[garyconyers]

Largely true, but he mostly focussed on young, naive English schoolkids being enlisted into the army in the '70s and sent to Northern Ireland, a phenomenally dangerous place at that time for servicemen!

Lines like, "Have you got yourself an occupation" (said to kids to consider the army); and references to "checkpoint charlie" and the "murder mile".

Brilliant song, for reasons discussed.

[Richardhedditch261]

On many other video sites for Elvis Costello's Oliver's Army,my comments are screened and not posted - comment exactly like the one you've replied to.People stupidly can't get beyond a word association to "Oliver" Cromwell - because of "Army" and Cromwell's association with things military.I think "Oliver" is more to do with perhaps Oliver Twist;and waifs shipped offshore by the British Empire. But,I concede "the murder mile" as being Ulster-but the song itself is much more than mere Ulster.

[dmartins07]

I dont understand the checkpoint charlie part because that was an american checkpoint in Berlin so why would he be talking about that if this about the British

[garyconyers]

'Checkpoint Charlie' was also a checkpoint in Ireland.

[allyplumb]

ARMED FORCES classic album

[GriefTourist]

Surprised it wasn't banned!

[blindingsun]

why would it be?

[SixStringMonster07]

Kick ass.

[pidgin]

So overtly political and such spiteful lyrics yet chirpy-souding and melodic pop at the same time, that's the magic of Elvis... :)

[Wattsie]

One of my favourite tracks of all time

[jamesoblivion]

I was always amazed that Elvis C could work this kind of lyrical genius and heavy content into extremely catchy POP songs. Pop music has a not-entirely-undeserved reputation for being mostly fluff, but every once in a while, the world produces an artist like Elvis C, and we're reminded of how great and insightful pop music can be.

I would say that his closest "relative" in today's pop landscape is the oft-overlooked Stuart Davis, who can also work inspired magic with pop music.

[trapadoored]

@jamesoblivion there's pop music and there's pop punk music-and no that doesn't mean just Blink 182 or green day-but any combination of punk and pop dating back to the buzzcocks Ramones, the Jam and Mr. Elvis Costello-punk attitude style and vocals mixed with pure hooky pop magic. Rock n Roll doesn't get much better.

[jamesoblivion]

@trapadoored Elvis always felt that he was on the outside looking in when it came to punk, but there's definitely a caustic wit at work in much of his work that makes him a kindred spirit to the punk movement. But to my mind, he was and is just a DAMN good pop singer-songwriter. And I agree 100% that rock n roll doesn't get much better.

[trapadoored]

@jamesoblivion

I guess my definition of punk fits a broader paradigm than Elvis's idea of it-I thought of all those bands from early cbgb's era as punk whether they sounded like the talking heads or Blondie or even suicide-although the Ramones version of the punk sound became the one that i stuck and became definitive-and was emulated by the U.K punkers-so I can see how he must have felt different than that-I mean heck he wrote about peace love and understanding! the spirit is there though.

[TheSnowman134]

@jamesoblivion That's a great reason why the punk culture love Elvis C too.

[tagjim]

that suit.

that suit...