Elvis Costello.Photo: Santiago Felipe/Getty
Elvis Costellois taking a step back from his controversial track “Oliver’s Army.”
Speaking toThe Telegraphover the weekend, the 67-year-old musician addressed the criticism surrounding the 1979 track for its use of the N-word, and urged radio stations to stop playing it.
In the song, Costello sings about the Troubles in Northern Ireland, “Only takes one itchy trigger / One more widow, one less white n—–.”
During the interview, however, Costello defended the track and called its use of the N-word “historically a fact.” The “She” singer also said he would stop performing it live to stop the criticism for “something I didn’t intend.”
“If I wrote that song today, maybe I’d think twice about it,” he said. “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.”
Elvis Costello.Taylor Hill/Getty
In September, Costello spoke with PEOPLE about his audiobookHow to Play the Guitar and Y— and how he recorded it over the lockdown.
“This piece [How to Play the Guitar and Y] was recorded in a cupboard under the stairs, not a recording studio. I was sitting there with a little glowing light and my script and my ukulele and my guitar and making funny noises as the soundtrack,” he said.
source: people.com
