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.
Bad Penny
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When she worked for the "woman's realm"
And all the things she promised me
She promised herself as well
She said, "I want my freedom"
And ran off along the beach
It's hard to love a girl so near
She came back when the tide came in
And introduced her friend to me
She said, "don't ring while he is here"
And gave me back my poetry
She expected me to understand
As she's always done this before
And now she asks me
"why don't you send me poems anymore?"
And she steals more than she buys
You can see it in her eyes
And she'll come back as soon as she's ready
She's a bad penny
Then she comes back and asks me
To sing all her favourite songs
As if she's never been away
As if she's done nothing wrong
But I've come to the conclusion
That she doesn't realise a thing
And she probably still thinks I love her
And she doesn't know that it's a sin
The song "Bad Penny" by Billy Bragg is about a turbulent and unfaithful relationship. The singer describes a woman, who he once loved, but who has been causing him pain by constantly leaving and returning. He has a letter from her, written during her time working for a women's magazine, in which she promised him everything she also wanted for herself. These promises likely include freedom and independence, which she seeks by running away along the beach. Although she is so close, she feels out of reach, making it hard to love her.
She eventually returns during the tide with a friend, asking the singer not to call while he is there and returning his poetry. The woman expects the singer to understand her behavior, as she has apparently done this before. She questions why he has stopped sending her poems, to which he implies that she has broken his heart and betrayed him. The singer then states that this woman is a thief, taking more than she buys, and will return as soon as she is ready. He concludes by saying she still believes he loves her, but he knows that she is a sinner.
Billy Bragg has stated that "Bad Penny" was inspired by a woman he knew from his hometown, who would often visit him with a different man in tow each time. The song explores the complexities of love, loyalty, and betrayal. The lyrics are full of vivid and visceral imagery, such as the woman running along the beach and stealing more than she buys. The repetition of the phrase "she's a bad penny" is a clever play on words that reflects the cyclic nature of the relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I have a letter from her
I possess a piece of correspondence from her
When she worked for the "woman's realm"
During the time she was employed by "woman's realm" publication
And all the things she promised me
All the commitments she made to me
She promised herself as well
She also committed to herself
She said, "I want my freedom"
She stated, "I aspire to be free"
And ran off along the beach
She took off down the shore
It's hard to love a girl so near
It's difficult to love a girl so close by
Yet so far out of reach
But still so unattainable
She came back when the tide came in
When the tide returned, she came back too
And introduced her friend to me
She made up an acquaintance of hers to me
She said, "don't ring while he is here"
She ordered me, "Don't call while I'm with him"
And gave me back my poetry
She returned to me the poems I had given her
She expected me to understand
She hoped that I would comprehend
As she's always done this before
Because she has frequently acted like this
And now she asks me
And now she inquires of me
"why don't you send me poems anymore?"
"Why don't you send me poems anymore?"
And she steals more than she buys
She shoplifts more than she purchases
You can see it in her eyes
You can detect it in her gaze
And she'll come back as soon as she's ready
She will return when she feels like it
She's a bad penny
She is an unwelcome or troublesome person or thing
Then she comes back and asks me
Then she reappears and inquires of me
To sing all her favorite songs
To perform all her preferred tunes
As if she's never been away
As though she had not departed at all
As if she's done nothing wrong
As if she has not committed any offenses
But I've come to the conclusion
But I've realized
That she doesn't realize a thing
That she is not aware of anything
And she probably still thinks I love her
And she more than likely believes that I still love her
And she doesn't know that it's a sin
And she doesn't recognize it as a wrongdoing
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILLY BRAGG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind