In 1977, Bragg formed the punk rock/pub rock band Riff Raff, and toured London's pubs and clubs. The band released a series of singles, which did not receive wide exposure. He also worked in Guy Norris Records in Barking. Bragg became disillusioned with his music career, and in May 1981 joined the British Army as a recruit destined for the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars of the Royal Armoured Corps. After three months, he bought his way out of the army for £175 and returned home, having attended basic training but having never served in a regiment as a soldier.
Bragg began performing frequent concerts and busking around London, playing solo with an electric guitar. His roadie at the time was Andy Kershaw, who became a BBC DJ (Bragg and Kershaw later, in 1989, appeared in an episode of the BBC TV programme, Great Journeys, in which they travelled the Silver Road from Potosí, Bolivia, to the Pacific coast at Arica, Chile). Bragg performing at South by Southwest in 2008.
Bragg's demo tape initially got no response from the record industry, but by pretending to be a television repair man, he got into the office of Charisma Records' A&R man Peter Jenner. Jenner liked the tape, but the company was near bankruptcy and had no budget to sign new artists. Bragg got an offer to record more demos for a music publisher, so Jenner agreed to release them as a record. Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy was released in July 1983 by Charisma's new imprint, Utility. Hearing DJ John Peel mention on-air that he was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom biryani, so Peel played a song from Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy although at the wrong speed (since the 12" LP was, unconventionally, cut to play at 45rpm). Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani and later played it at the correct speed.
Within months, Charisma had been taken over by Virgin Records and Jenner, who had been laid off, became Bragg's manager. Stiff Records' press officer Andy Macdonald – who was setting up his own record label, Go! Discs – received a copy of Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy. He made Virgin an offer and the album was re-released on Go! Discs in November 1983.[citation needed] In 1984, he released Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, a mixture of political songs (e.g., "It Says Here") and songs of unrequited love (e.g., "The Saturday Boy"). The following year he released Between the Wars, an EP of political songs that included a cover version of Leon Rosselson's "The World Turned Upside Down" – the EP made the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and earned Bragg an appearance on Top of the Pops. Bragg later collaborated with Rosselson on the song, "Ballad of the Spycatcher". In 1985, his song "A New England", with an additional verse, became a Top 10 hit in the UK for Kirsty MacColl. After MacColl's early death, Bragg always sang the extra verse in her honour. In 1984–1985 he toured North America.
In 1986, Bragg released Talking with the Taxman about Poetry, which became his first Top 10 album. Its title is taken from a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky and a translated version of the poem was printed on the record's inner sleeve. Back to Basics is a 1987 collection of his first three releases: Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, and the Between The Wars EP. Bragg released his fourth album, Workers Playtime, in September 1988. With this album, Bragg added a backing band and accompaniment.
In May 1990, Bragg released the political mini-LP, The Internationale. The songs were, in part, a return to his solo guitar style, but some songs featured more complicated arrangements and included a brass band. The album paid tribute to one of Bragg's influences with the song, "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night", which is an adapted version of Earl Robinson's song, "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", itself an adaptation of a poem by Alfred Hayes.
The album Don't Try This at Home was released in September 1991, and included the song, "Sexuality", which reached the UK Singles Chart. Bragg had been persuaded by Go! Discs' Andy and Juliet Macdonald to sign a four-album deal with a million pound advance, and a promise to promote the album with singles and videos.[citation needed] This gamble was not rewarded with extra sales, and the situation put the company in financial difficulty. In exchange for ending the contract early and repaying a large amount of the advance, Bragg regained all rights to his back catalogue.[citation needed] Bragg continued to promote the album with his backing band, The Red Stars, which included his Riff Raff colleague and long-time roadie, Wiggy.
Bragg released the album William Bloke in 1996 after taking time off to help raise his son. Around that time, Nora Guthrie (daughter of American folk artist Woody Guthrie) asked Bragg to set some of her father's unrecorded lyrics to music. The result was a collaboration with the band Wilco and Natalie Merchant (with whom Bragg had worked previously). They released the album Mermaid Avenue in 1998, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II in 2000. A rift with Wilco over mixing and sequencing the album led to Bragg recruiting his own band, The Blokes, to promote the album. The Blokes included keyboardist Ian McLagan, who had been a member of Bragg's boyhood heroes The Faces. The documentary film Man in the Sand depicts the roles of Nora Guthrie, Bragg, and Wilco in the creation of the Mermaid Avenue albums.
In 2004, Bragg joined Florida ska-punk band Less Than Jake to perform a version of 'The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out' for the Rock Against Bush compilation.
At the 2005 Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, Bragg teamed up with the Levellers to perform a short set of songs by or associated with The Clash in celebration of Joe Strummer's birthday. Bragg performed guitar and lead vocals on "Police and Thieves", and performed guitar and backing vocals on "English Civil War", and "Police on my Back".
In 2007, Bragg moved closer to his English folk music roots by joining the WOMAD-inspired collective The Imagined Village, who recorded an album of updated versions of traditional English songs and dances and toured through that autumn. Bragg released his album Mr. Love & Justice in March 2008. This was the second Bragg album to be named after a book by Colin MacInnes. In 2008, during the NME Awards ceremony, Bragg sang a duet with British solo act Kate Nash. They mixed up their two greatest hits, Nash playing "Foundations", and Bragg redoing his "A New England". Bragg also collaborated with the poet and playwright, Patrick Jones, who supported Bragg's Tour.
In 2008, Bragg played a small role in Stuart Bamforth's film "A13: Road Movie". Bragg is featured alongside union reps, vicars, burger van chefs and Members of Parliament in a film that explored "the overlooked, the hidden and the disregarded."
He was involved in the play Pressure Drop at the Wellcome Collection in London in April and May 2010. The production, written by Mick Gorden, and billed as "part play, part gig, part installation", featured new songs by Bragg. He performed during the play with his band, and acted as compere.
Bragg curated the Leftfield stage at Glastonbury Festival 2010.
He took part in the Bush Theatre's 2011 project Sixty Six where he has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible.
Bragg performed a set of the Guthrie songs that he had set to music for Mermaid Avenue during the Hay Literary Festival in June 2012. Mermaid Avenue Vol. III and Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions were also released in early 2012.
On 18 March 2013, Bragg released his latest studio album, five years since Mr. Love & Justice, titled Tooth And Nail. It featured 11 original songs, including one written for the Bush Theatre, and a Woody Guthrie cover. Stylistically, it continues to explore genres of Americana (music) and Alternative country, both of which he has said he has been playing and writing regularly since Mermaid Avenue (1998).
In November 2017, he released all six tracks from the mini-album Bridges Not Walls as downloads and CD through the Billy Bragg website and other sellers, followed by the single Full English Brexit through Cooking Vinyl.
A13 Trunk Road to the Sea
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Go motorin' on the A13
Well, if you're looking for a thrill that's new
Take in Fords, Dartford Tunnel and the river too
Go motorin' on the A13
There ain't no stopping
By-pass Barking and straight through Dagenham
Down to Grays Thurrock
And rather near Basildon
Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea,
Chalkwell, Prittlewell
Southend's the end
If you ever have to go to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Go motorin' on the A13
It starts down in Wapping
There ain't no stopping
By-pass Barking and straight through Dagenham
Down to Grays Thurrock
And rather near Basildon
Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea,
Chalkwell, Prittlewell
Southend's the end
If you ever have to go to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Go motorin' on the A13
Go motorin' on the A13
Go motorin' on the A13
The lyrics to Billy Bragg's song A13 Trunk Road to the Sea celebrate the journey down the A13 highway, which runs from London to Shoeburyness on England's southeast coast. The song is an ode to the road, encouraging listeners to take it for a thrilling ride. Bragg sings about the various landmarks and towns along the way, painting a picture of both the urban and coastal scenery that the road passes through.
The lyrics express a sense of liberation and adventure, with the refrain "go motorin' on the A13" acting as a call to action for listeners. The song's repetition of the line "it starts down in Wapping, there ain't no stopping, bypass Barking" reinforces the idea of the A13 as a continuous, uninterrupted highway that leads straight to the sea. The choice of Shoeburyness as the destination is also significant, as it was a popular seaside resort town in the mid-20th century.
Overall, the lyrics to A13 Trunk Road to the Sea celebrate the freedom and exhilaration of taking a long drive down a scenic road, and capture the charm of an iconic British highway.
Line by Line Meaning
If you ever have to go to Shoeburyness
If you need to get to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Use the A road, as it's the best option
Go motorin' on the A13
Drive on the A13
Well, if you're looking for a thrill that's new
If you're seeking an exciting experience
Take in Fords, Dartford Tunnel and the river too
Visit Fords, the Dartford Tunnel and the river
Go motorin' on the A13
Drive on the A13
It starts down in Wapping
The A13 starts in Wapping
There ain't no stopping
There are no interruptions or stops
By-pass Barking and straight through Dagenham
Avoid Barking and go through Dagenham directly
Down to Grays Thurrock
Go down to Grays Thurrock
And rather near Basildon
It's quite close to Basildon
Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea, Chalkwell, Prittlewell
There are several towns on the way, including Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea, Chalkwell, and Prittlewell
Southend's the end
The end of the A13 is in Southend
If you ever have to go to Shoeburyness
If you need to get to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Use the A road, as it's the best option
Go motorin' on the A13
Drive on the A13
It starts down in Wapping
The A13 starts in Wapping
There ain't no stopping
There are no interruptions or stops
By-pass Barking and straight through Dagenham
Avoid Barking and go through Dagenham directly
Down to Grays Thurrock
Go down to Grays Thurrock
And rather near Basildon
It's quite close to Basildon
Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea, Chalkwell, Prittlewell
There are several towns on the way, including Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea, Chalkwell, and Prittlewell
Southend's the end
The end of the A13 is in Southend
If you ever have to go to Shoeburyness
If you need to get to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Use the A road, as it's the best option
Go motorin' on the A13
Drive on the A13
Contributed by Max T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@LeviticusCorwall1899
If you ever have to go to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Go motorin' on the A13
Well, if you're looking for a thrill that's new
Take in Fords, Dartford Tunnel and the river too
Go motorin' on the A13
It starts down in Wapping
There ain't no stopping
By-pass Barking and straight through Dagenham
Down to Grays Thurrock
And rather near Basildon
Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea
Chalkwell, Prittlewell
Southend's the end
If you ever have to go to Shoeburyness
Take the A road, the okay road that's the best
Go motorin' on the A13
It starts down in Wapping
There ain't no stopping
By-pass Barking and straight through Dagenham
Down to Grays Thurrock
And rather near Basildon
Pitsea, Thundersley, Hadleigh, Leigh-On-Sea
Chalkwell, Prittlewell
Southend's the end
@QueerChica
Love it! A13 was a big part of my life! Essex! Essex! Essex! X
@Residentlistener
He reportedly told Time Out magazine that if Bruce Springsteen could romanticise New Jersey he didn't see why he couldn't do the same for Essex. Trunk road to the sea (Southend) - and then there's Billy and Kirsty McColl - Darlin' lets have another baby. Classic. ps Basildon used to be Britain's Detroit with the Ford factory.
@crazyleyland5106
They still make tractors in Basildon. I would have thought Dagenham was once Essex's Motor town.
@Frontera3
@@crazyleyland5106 Yes, 8 years ago I corrected my mistake, It's the last comment I can see. "Duh! I meant Dagenham not Basildon - blame the Whisky! " plus a thank you from TheSpikehere not so long ago.
@ritamcneill4945
The car factory was in Dagenham. They made tractors in Basildon and the Rothmans' cigarette factory was there too.
@steve9542000
Southend till i die! ❤
@aikicinema
So great. And this picture might be the finest shot of Billy ever captured.
@johnbarry1965
First hearing this on "Peel" and I was in love xxxx
@ruadriob
I love this song so much. Think of it everyday driving to work on that road.
@peterparkingmeter4764
Never heard this before,love it.Phil Jupitus playlist