![]() ![]() All I thought about was singing it in tune!" I went in and did a vocal in a couple of hours with Mr. Elvis had already recorded a vocal for it – very good vocal – and it was going to come out in the same form with him singing on it. The musical setting was nothing to do with me. Wyatt himself recalled, "Geoff (Travis, head of Rough Trade Records) sent me a cassette saying this is a pretty good song, you ought to sing it. There were going to be versions of the song by Elvis, Clive and Steve Allen, but once Elvis had done some more work on the lyrics and changed the song to 'Shipbuilding', they decided to approach Robert Wyatt and his version was so special that it came out as a straight single. The original plan was to release four different versions of the song, which was then called 'Ten to Nine', as an EP with four different guest vocalists. ![]() In a 1983 interview with NME, Mark Bedford of Madness, who played double bass on the single, recounted the history of the song:Īt first Robert Wyatt wasn't involved. Langer played the tune to Elvis Costello at a party hosted by Nick Lowe, and within days Costello had produced what he described as "the best lyrics I've ever written". Įlvis Costello, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (credited as "Clangwinstello")Īccording to Clive Langer, he had written the tune for Robert Wyatt but was not happy with the lyrics that he had written himself. The song is a duet partly sung in Argentinian Spanish by La Marisoul. In September 2013, Elvis Costello and the Roots released an answer song written in the perspective of the other side of the conflict, called "Cinco Minutos con Vos" ("Five Minutes with You"). According to Robert Sandall, the best version of the song is the one recorded and released as a single by English singer-songwriter Robert Wyatt in August 1982 a few months after the Falklands War, although it was not a hit until it was re-released eight months later on the first anniversary of the conflict. ![]() Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics highlight the irony of the war bringing back prosperity to the traditional shipbuilding areas of Clydeside, Merseyside ( Cammell Laird), North East England and Belfast ( Harland and Wolff) to build new ships to replace those being sunk in the war, whilst also sending off the sons of these areas to fight and, potentially, lose their lives in those same ships. " Shipbuilding" is a song with lyrics by Elvis Costello and music by Clive Langer. ![]() Song written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2023
Categories |