# Oliver's Army being retired from Costello's setlist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604 "2022-01-11T20:41:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/1 "2022-01-11T20:41:28Z")
Gosh darn cancel culture!! Just kidding. Elvis Costello is retiring the song Oliver’s Army from his setlist and he’s asking radio stations to stop playing it. It uses the N word. It’s his song, and I have no issue with him retiring it. I hope he doesn’t pull it from the streaming services, because it will screw up the album sequence on Armed Forces – I’ve listened to the album so many times that I know the sequence. That song is kinda racist for other lyrics as well. You can find the lyrics anywhere, so I’m not going to post any here. If he does pull it from the streaming services, I’ll just have to listen to that album from the mp3s that I ripped years ago and are already on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/2 "2022-01-11T20:52:32Z")
Here’s a cite/explanation: > **[Elvis Costello is Never Performing Hit Song "Oliver's Army" Again, Wants it...](https://americansongwriter.com/elvis-costello-is-never-performing-hit-song-olivers-army-again-wants-it-pulled-off-radio/)** > > Elvis Costello has no plans to perform his 1979 hit song “Oliver’s Army” in concert, and hopes it never gets played on radio again.  In a recent interview, Costello says his decision comes down to one lyric in the song: Only takes one itchy... ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/3 "2022-01-11T21:07:15Z")
Something I didn’t know: That song was the highest charting song of his career??? How it that possible? I would have thought Alison, Watching the Detectives, What’s So Funny (bout Peace Love and Understanding), Pump it Up, Radio Radio, Every Day I Write the Book, and Veronica did better, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/4 "2022-01-11T21:08:34Z")
Yeah. Not a huge fan but I recognize all the songs RitterSport mentioned and have never heard of this one. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/5 "2022-01-11T21:09:02Z")
It was big in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/6 "2022-01-11T21:09:10Z")
I was about to say that the article must have been talking about UK charts, but the website is American Songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/7 "2022-01-11T21:12:53Z")
If this site is to be believed, I was way, way, way off in my list: > **[Elvis Costello | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16558/elvis-costello/)** > > All the singles and albums of Elvis Costello, peak chart positions, career stats, week-by-week chart runs and latest news. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/8 "2022-01-11T21:18:24Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > How it that possible? I would have thought Alison, Watching the Detectives, What’s So Funny (bout Peace Love and Understanding), Pump it Up, Radio Radio, Every Day I Write the Book, and Veronica did better, at least. Yeah, if I had been asked to guess his highest charting songs, that’s pretty close to the list I would have come up with. As far as I can remember, I’ve only ever heard “Oliver’s Army” in the context of playing the album it appears on (_Armed Forces_). ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/9 "2022-01-11T21:29:10Z")
US and UK radio are very different, I guess. He never charted here in the US, apparently, but those songs I listed still get radio play on the rock stations. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/10 "2022-01-11T21:31:14Z")
Official Charts is the music charting service of record for the UK. Somewhat like Billboard in the US. The UK and US charts are often very different. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/11 "2022-01-11T21:38:03Z")
In the US, he charted 3 times, with _Veronica_ being highest at #19. _Everyday I Write The Book_ (the only thing of his I can remember seeing on MTV) hit #36. I’m surprised to see _Pump It Up_ didn’t chart - that’s probably the song I heard most on the radio. > **[Elvis Costello](https://www.billboard.com/artist/elvis-costello/chart-history/hsi/)** ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/12 "2022-01-11T21:42:39Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@RitterSport](#): > > > > How it that possible? I would have thought Alison, Watching the Detectives, What’s So Funny (bout Peace Love and Understanding), Pump it Up, Radio Radio, Every Day I Write the Book, and Veronica did better, at least. > > Yeah, if I had been asked to guess his highest charting songs, that’s pretty close to the list I would have come up with. > > As far as I can remember, I’ve only ever heard “Oliver’s Army” in the context of playing the album it appears on (_Armed Forces_). I would be surprised if I ever heard the song on the radio. The other songs I know word for word. I had to look up Oliver’s Army right now just to see if I recognized it. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/13 "2022-01-12T00:06:05Z")
If a billion people now YouTube it, how much will he stand to make? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/14 "2022-01-12T00:06:16Z")
I don’t think I ever heard it on the radio - even KROQ which played all the punk/new wave/alternative stuff - but I had the cassette (oy, am I old) and it was / is one if my favorites. It’s his decision to make but it disappoints me. The song is about pointing out the injustice of colonization and the degradation of minorities by The Empire. Not really related to U.S. race relations, and “nigger” in this sense is referring to those downtrodden minorities. It’s a song of protest and disdain; he is in no way expressing racist sentiments. At least that’s how I’ve always interpreted it. Context is the key; or are there people whose ears will literally go up in flames at the sound of a racial slur? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/15 "2022-01-12T00:58:03Z")
It is a radio staple in Australia. > [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > … are there people whose ears will literally go up in flames at the sound of a racial slur? Seriously, you have to ask that question? The key line that is allegedly offensive is about the danger of being casually shot as a member of an oppressed minority, FFS. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/16 "2022-01-12T01:03:23Z")
I hear it all the time, and cringe. He made the right choice. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/17 "2022-01-12T01:17:17Z")
Given that E.C. successfully made major alterations to the lyrics of “Less Than Zero” to make it more pertinent to American audiences by referencing the JFK assassination, I find it odd that he doesn’t simply re-write that one small rhyme and keep the rest of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/18 "2022-01-12T01:40:27Z")
_Only takes one itchy trigger One more widow, one less white African American_ And now everyone’s happy ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/19 "2022-01-12T01:43:56Z")
Only takes one itchy trigger One more chuckle, one little snigger ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604/20 "2022-01-12T01:47:05Z")
Yeah that certainly makes it sufficiently meaningless and pointless that no one could be offended. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olivers-army-being-retired-from-costellos-setlist/957604.md?page=2)