Oliver's Army

I created the poll precisely because I felt uncomfortable about singing a song with words in it that are, at best inflammatory and at worst, actually racist. I thought the best way to tackle this, and to resolve my own doubts, was to ask my friends what they thought. It's worked up to a point, in that I'm now certain of what I feel. I agree that bowdlerising a song is a mistake, but to perform a piece with racist language in it - regardless of the original intent of the artist - would be a bigger one.

Finding this out has cost me a friendship I valued, and I don't think it was worth it.