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Shipbuilding

[words Elvis Costello, music Clive Langer]

Shipbuilding is a song written by singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and producer Clive Langer. Written 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 (Swan Hunter) and Belfast (Harland and Wolff)[1] 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. [Wikipedia]

Swan Arcade sang Shipbuilding in 1986 on their Fellside LP Diving for Pearls, The album’s title is a line from this song.

Maura O’Connell with Darrell Scott and The Settles Connection sang Shipbuilding in 2009 on her acappella Sugar Hill album Naked With Friends.

June Tabor recorded Shipbuilding on her 2011 CD on nautical themes, Ashore.

Daphne’s Flight sang Shipbuilding on their 2017 Fledg’ling CD Knows Time, Knows Change.

Lyrics

Please find the lyrics for this song at Elvis Costello’s website.

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