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I'll Wear It Proudly

Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood slipped this Elvis Costello song into a short acoustic set in Amsterdam in 1999.

1986

king of america

Elvis Costello wrote it for King of America, the record he made largely with American session players under the name the Costello Show. It is a slow, wounded song about carrying someone else's mark.

13 jun 1999

tibet 99

Radiohead were making their next album that summer and had no dates of their own. Thom Yorke still turned up at Tibet 99, the Tibetan Freedom Concert at the RAI in Amsterdam, for an acoustic set with Jonny Greenwood beside him on guitar. NME billed it as Yorke's solo appearance and put the set at 25 minutes. It opened with a new song nobody had heard; the Costello was third, between “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” and “Lucky”.

the video

Elvis Costello cover.· Bas Kollenwatch on youtube →

Live history

Times played	1 show
Live debut	Sunday 13 June 1999 · Amsterdam

Nights played include broadcasts; opened and closed count gigs only. A cancelled night has no setlist. All setlist stats →

details

Type	Cover
Written by	Elvis Costello
Cover of	Elvis Costello

lyrics

I hate these flaming curtains they're not the color of your hair
I hate these striplights they're not so undoing as your stare
I hate the buttons on your shirt when all I wanna do is tear
I hate this bloody big bed of mine when you're not here

[chorus]

Well I finally found someone to turn me upside down
And nail my feet up where my head should be
If they had a King of Fools then I could wear that crown
And you can all die laughing because I'll wear it proudly

Well you seem to be shivering dear and the room is awfully warm
In the white and scarlet billows that subside beyond the storm
You have this expression dear no words could take its place
And I wear it like a badge that you put all over my face

[chorus]

I'll wear it proudly through the dives and the dancehalls
If you'll wear it proudly through the snakepits and catcalls
Like a fifteen year old kid wears a vampire kiss
If you don't know what is wrong with me
Then you don't know what you've missed

We are arms and legs wrapped round more than my memory tonight
When the bell rang out and the air outside turned blue from fright
But in shameless moments you made more of me than just a mess
And a handful of eagerness says What do you suggest?

[chorus]

sources2

The site's own catalogue note, based on Stereogum.
This site's show page for 13 June 1999 and its news story “Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood play a new song at Tibet 99 in Amsterdam”, from NME, for the night and the set.

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