Red Cotton
Elvis Costello Lyrics


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I'm cutting up her pure white dress
That I dyed red
That I dyed red
I'm putting scraps in cheap tin lockets
What time erases and memory mocks
I'll send them over the ocean foam
Right into those gentle European homes
The slave ship "Blessing" slipped from Liverpool
Over the waves the Royal Navy rules
To go and plunder the Kingdom of Benin
Where certain history ends and shame begins

Dahomey traders paid in powder and shot
Line up their prisoners and they sell them in lots
They packed them tight inside those coffin ships
And took them to the brand new world of auction blocks and whips

So I'm cutting up her pure white dress
That I dyed red
That I dyed red
I'm putting scraps in cheap tin lockets
What time erases and memory mocks
I'll send them over the ocean foam
Right into those gentle European homes

White is the sheet on your fine linen bed
The blood stained red on each cotton thread
The merchants gather at St. George's Hall
To unveil the kneeling slave who is carved upon the wall

So picture the scene on the old Salt House docks
Where they loaded the iron shackles and locks
Between a sandstone crocodile, a barrel and a bale
You will see the nameless faces they were offering for sale

So, I sing the praises of God's glory
As a blue cetacean floats in the basement
An elephant on the second story
They queue all day to see him
In my American Museum

But the Lord will judge us, with fire and thunder
As man continues with all his blunders
It's only money
It's only numbers
Maybe it is time to put aside these fictitious wonders

And man is feeble
Man is puny
And if it should divide the Union




There is no man who should own another
When he can't even recognize his sister and his brother

Overall Meaning

The song "Red Cotton" by Elvis Costello is a powerful commentary on the horrors of slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries. The first verse describes the singer cutting up a white dress and dying it red, before putting scraps of it into cheap tin lockets to send back to Europe. This serves as a symbolic representation of the violence and bloodshed that went into creating the cotton textiles that Europe relied on in this era. The second verse is a direct reference to the slave trade, with Costello painting a vivid picture of the "Blessing" slave ship leaving Liverpool and the cruel treatment of slaves when they reached their destination. The third verse is a reflection on the ongoing effects of slavery, with the singer suggesting that only when people stop being willing to profit from others' suffering can the cycle be broken.


Throughout the song, Costello draws attention to the blind eye that the people of Europe turned to the atrocities of slavery, and the ongoing consequences of this complicity. He uses imagery to evoke both the beauty and horror of this history, from the pure white dress stained red to the "nameless faces" of those sold into slavery. Through these powerful metaphors, Costello shows how an entire civilization turned a blind eye to the brutality they were perpetuating.


Line by Line Meaning

I'm cutting up her pure white dress
I am tearing apart her innocent and unblemished white dress


That I dyed red
I stained it red to represent the blood of African slaves


I'm putting scraps in cheap tin lockets
I am placing remnants in inexpensive metal containers


What time erases and memory mocks
The things that time forgets and people belittle


I'll send them over the ocean foam
I will transport them across the sea's spray


Right into those gentle European homes
Straight into the welcoming European households


The slave ship "Blessing" slipped from Liverpool
The slave vessel 'Blessing' departed from Liverpool


Over the waves the Royal Navy rules
The Royal Navy controlled the seas


To go and plunder the Kingdom of Benin
To raid the Kingdom of Benin


Where certain history ends and shame begins
Where an unfortunate past concludes and a disgraceful phase begins


Dahomey traders paid in powder and shot
The Dahomey traders were compensated in arms and ammo


Line up their prisoners and they sell them in lots
They align their captives and market them in groups


They packed them tight inside those coffin ships
They squeezed them into those cramped caskets of a ship


And took them to the brand new world of auction blocks and whips
And brought them to the recently discovered land of selling stages and whips


White is the sheet on your fine linen bed
Your luxurious bedclothes have pristine white linens


The blood stained red on each cotton thread
But the cotton used in it is red-dyed from human blood


The merchants gather at St. George's Hall
The merchants assemble at St. George's Hall


To unveil the kneeling slave who is carved upon the wall
To expose the enslaved person who is carved onto the wall


So picture the scene on the old Salt House docks
Imagine the scenery at the ancient Salt House wharves


Where they loaded the iron shackles and locks
Where they loaded the iron restraints and padlocks


Between a sandstone crocodile, a barrel and a bale
Amid a sandstone reptile, a barrel, and a packaging of goods


You will see the nameless faces they were offering for sale
You will see the anonymous faces they were attempting to sell


So, I sing the praises of God's glory
Therefore, I express the admiration of God's majesty


As a blue cetacean floats in the basement
While a blue whale rests at the bottom level


An elephant on the second story
An elephant on the second floor


They queue all day to see him
People wait in line all day to see the creature


In my American Museum
In my museum in the United States


But the Lord will judge us, with fire and thunder
But the Lord will judge us with elements of chaos


As man continues with all his blunders
As humans persist in all their mistakes


It's only money
It's just money


It's only numbers
They're just numbers


Maybe it is time to put aside these fictitious wonders
Perhaps it's time to discard these fabricated marvels


And man is feeble
And humanity is frail


Man is puny
Humanity is insignificant


And if it should divide the Union
And if this should divide the country


There is no man who should own another
There isn't a person who can own another person


When he can't even recognize his sister and his brother
Especially since they can't even recognize their own siblings




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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