I first came upon this song off the soundtrack to the outstanding 2000 movie, High Fidelity, based on the even greater 1995 British novel of the same name from the author of Fever Pitch and About a Boy, Nick Hornby.
Written by Elvis Costello during the Falkland Islands War of 1982, he wonders at the disconnect between the prosperity brought to the shipbuilding cities in England versus their sons being sent off to potentially lose their lives in the conflict.
The song was originally written for singer Robert Wyatt whose version debuted almost a year before Costello's, but Elvis was unsatisfied with the lyrics and came out with his own improved version after Wyatt's had already charted.
Costello described the lyrics as "the best I've ever written", and they hold up as a picture of the mood of England in the 80s while remaining relevant to today's political climate.
"When we could be diving for pearls..."
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