During a live performance on the Today Show (July 21, 2005),
Costello expressed his feelings about the Iraq War by changing
the lyrics of his Oscar-nominated song (from "Cold Mountain"),
"Scarlet Tide." (watch
the video). Later, he explained what he did, saying, "At
2 a.m. on the 21st July, I woke up and re-wrote a few lines
of 'The Scarlet Tide' to reflect the frustration that I sense
with the disastrous and dishonest prosecution of a war, an action
that might have been thought treasonous in saner times."
The original lyrics are:
Man has no choice,
When he wants everything.
The rewritten lyrics are:
Admit you lied,
And bring the boys back home.
Other EC video performances
Check out this energetic 2005 live performance of "Peace,
Love, and Understanding" from the "Club Date: Live
in Memphis" DVD on iFilm.