1983 – what a year. The Dog had just left school, was a happy young man busy studying in Catering College, busy courting Mrs. Dog, busy playing in my band, busy drinking too much alcohol – all in all a pretty good year. I can, however, remember being totally stunned by this song and can still recall the shivers down my spine on seeing and hearing this guy on The Old Grey Whistle Test.

This song was written by Elvis Costello and producer Clive Langer during the Falklands War of 1982. Costello’s lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of 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 – Costello has described it as “the best lyrics I’ve ever written”.

Robert Wyatt released the song in 1982 and it reached number 36 in the UK charts in May of the following year, marking the first ever UK Top 40 entry for Rough Trade Records and was number 2 in John Peel‘s Festive Fifty for tracks from that year.

We all hear the word genius being used too frequently these days – but the collaboration between Langer/Costello and Wyatt is simply that – genius.

Is it worth it?
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife
And a bicycle on the boy’s birthday
It’s just a rumour that was spread around town
By the women and children
Soon we’ll be shipbuilding

With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls