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.
Between The Wars
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was a docker
I was a railway man
Between the wars
I raised a family
In times of austerity
With sweat at the foundry
Between the wars
I paid the union and as times got harder
I looked to the government to help the working man
But they brought prosperity down at the armory
We're arming for peace, me boys
Between the wars
I kept the faith and I kept voting
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
And mine is a faith in my fellow man
Theirs is a land of hope and glory
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
And mine is the peace we knew
Between the wars
Call up the craftsmen
Bring me the draftsmen
Build me a path from cradle to grave
And I'll give my consent
To any government
That does not deny a man a living wage
Go find the young men never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
Sweet moderation
Heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are
Between the wars
In "Between the Wars," Billy Bragg sings about the hardworking British working class during the period between World War I and World War II. The song captures the struggles the working class went through during this time. The first verse describes Bragg's three different jobs, mining, docking, and working on the railway. These jobs often came with harsh working conditions, and the workers were paid minimal wages. The second verse tells of Bragg's family, and how they managed to survive with limited resources.
The third verse speaks about the government's role in the working class's hardship. Bragg talks about how he paid his union dues, hoping they would negotiate on behalf of the workers, but when times got harder, he looked to the government for help. Instead of helping, the government built armories, preparing for war. The chorus speaks about his faith that the working class can come together to make a change, and that there is hope for a better future.
The fourth verse suggests a possible solution to the problems facing the working class, such as developing infrastructure and creating jobs. And finally, the last two lines of the song hint at the possibility of peaceful resolution, asking the young men to lay down their arms and for the nation to come together in collective harmony.
Line by Line Meaning
I was a miner
I worked as a miner to make a living
I was a docker
I worked as a docker to provide for my family
I was a railway man
I worked as a railway employee to make ends meet
Between the wars
It was a time period in which I struggled to get by
I raised a family
I had to support my family in hard times
In times of austerity
It was a time of economic difficulty
With sweat at the foundry
I worked long hours at the foundry to provide for my loved ones
Between the wars
The economic struggles persisted during this time period
I paid the union and as times got harder
I contributed to the union and relied on them during tough times
I looked to the government to help the working man
I turned to the government in hope of assistance for the working class
But they brought prosperity down at the armory
However, the government invested more in weapons rather than social welfare
We're arming for peace, me boys
The government claims to invest in weapons for the sake of peace
Between the wars
The government's priorities were still on military defense rather than the welfare of the working class
I kept the faith and I kept voting
I remained dedicated to my beliefs and voted according to my conscience
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
I voted for policies and politicians who supported social welfare programs rather than authoritarianism
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
The politicians in power only cared about their own interests and not that of the people
And mine is a faith in my fellow man
I believed in the goodness of people and that they should be given a fair chance
Theirs is a land of hope and glory
The politicians paint a picture of a nation that is thriving, but in reality, people continue to suffer
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
My focus is on the land and the industries that provide for people's livelihoods
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
The government invests in weaponry to prepare for war
And mine is the peace we knew
I am focused on promoting peace rather than war
Call up the craftsmen
I call on skilled workers to help rebuild our society
Bring me the draftsmen
I ask for draftsmen to provide plans for rebuilding
Build me a path from cradle to grave
I want to create a system that supports people from birth to death
And I'll give my consent
I will agree to policies that support social welfare programs for all people
To any government
I am open to supporting any administration if they prioritize the welfare of people
That does not deny a man a living wage
I believe people should be paid a fair wage for their work
Go find the young men never to fight again
I want to prevent young people from experiencing the horrors of war
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
I want to remember a time when people came together for each other
Sweet moderation
I seek a society that is balanced and fair
Heart of this nation
I believe that people are the driving force behind this country
Desert us not, we are
I ask not to be abandoned and believe in the strength of our people
Between the wars
I hope for a better future where we are not struggling to survive
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Billy Bragg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
resonantfilterblog
I was a miner, I was a docker
I was a railway man between the wars
I raised a family in times of austerity
With sweat at the foundry between the wars
I paid the union and as times got harder
I looked to the government to help the working man
But they brought prosperity down at the armoury
We're arming for peace me boys, between the wars
I kept the faith and I kept voting
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
And mine is a faith in my fellow man
Theirs is a land of hope and glory
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
And mine is the peace we knew between the wars
Call up the craftsmen, bring me the draughtsmen
Build me a path from cradle to grave
And I'll give my consent to any government
That does not deny a man a living wage
Go find the young men never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
Sweet moderation, heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are between the wars
Peter Whent
As relevant in 2022 as it was in 1985. Modern day poetry. Billy Bragg.
gm maal
What the capitalists call "peace" and "freedom" the workers could call with a german word "Zwischenkriegszeit".
Monty Don
Billy Bragg is a national treasure. There are very few people who have the ability to make great songs,both love and political that make you want to dance, protest, fight and make love. What a man.
faunaflage
"I kept the faith, and I kept voting. Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand - for this is a land with a wall around it, and mine is the faith in my fellow man."
-- Billy Bragg, Between the Wars
Pathduck
Very apt lyrics for these times we're living in I think.
Nick Dobb
Well, there's faith for you - believing what you wish to be true in the absence of compelling supporting evidence.
MyCatInABox
Jesus....what lyrics.
Laura McMillan
@Pathduck They seem to get more and more apt by the day, don't they?
Chaoitcme
@Nick Dobb He is saying he has faith in his fellow man, not religion.
D G
This seriously woke me up 1985... 35years later I’m still fighting for truth and fairness.. I’ll keep on going... 🙏🏼🏴🇬🇧🛡🗡