Elvis Costello and the Imposters Bid a Stomping ‘Farewell, OK’ on New Song

Elvis Costello and the Imposters have released new song “Farewell, OK.” It’s the third single from upcoming album, The Boy Named If, which arrives Jan. 14. The song follows previously released LP singles “Paint the Red Rose Blue” and “Magnificent Hurt.”

“Like a lot of good rock and roll songs this began with a drummer down in a basement and a singer howling outside the backdoor,” Costello said in a statement about the track. “It’s a blurred gaze, a drink too much, an accidental punch and a kiss goodnight all in the tumult of a dancehall.”

In a previous statement, Costello said the full title of the album is The Boy Named If (And Other Children’s Stories). “‘IF,’ is a nickname for your imaginary friend; your secret self, the one who knows everything you deny, the one you blame for the shattered crockery and the hearts you break, even your own. You can hear more about this ‘Boy’ in a song of the same name,” he said.

Describing the themes of the LP’s 13 songs, Costello said they “take us from the last days of a bewildered boyhood to that mortifying moment when you are told to stop acting like a child — which for most men (and perhaps a few gals too) can be any time in the next 50 years.”

The Boy Named If follows Costello’s 2020 studio album, Hey Clockface, and the subsequent French-language EP featuring interpretations of Clockface songs, La Face de Pendule à Coucou, which was released early last year. In September, he dropped an all-Spanish version of 1978 LP This Year’s Model.