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.
Brickbat
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Enough hot water
For your morning bath
That I'd not thought I
Hate to hear you talk that way
But I can't bring myself to say I'm sorry
The past is always
Trying to break through
Into the present
We have to work to keep it out
And I won't be the first to shout
It's over
I used to want to plant bombs
At the last night of the proms
But, now you'll find me with the baby in the bathroom
With that big shell listening for the sound of the sea
I steal a kiss from you
In the supermarket
I walk you down the aisle
You fill my basket
And through it all
The stick I take
Is worth it with the love we make
I used to want to plant bombs
At the last night of the proms
But now you'll find me with the baby in the bathroom
With that big shell listening for the sound of the sea
The baby and me
I stayed in bed
Alone uncertain
Then I met you
You drew the curtains
The sun came up
The trees began to sing
And light shone in on everything
I love you
The sun came up
The trees began to sing
And light shone in on everything
I love you
The song “Brickbat” by Billy Bragg is a contemplation on the past and the present, and how the past can creep into our lives and affect the present. The opening lines, “I ought to leave enough hot water for your morning bath/ that I'd not thought of/ Hate to hear you talk that way” suggest a small incomplete gesture that may have been overlooked. This tiny act of negligence is just one example of how the past actions and habits can linger and affect the present. The chorus, “I used to want to plant bombs/ At the last night of the proms/ But, now you'll find me with the baby in the bathroom/ With that big shell listening for the sound of the sea”, acts as a contrast to the opening lines, showing how the singer has moved on from wanting to use violence to change society to a more loving and nurturing way of life.
The second verse, “I steal a kiss from you/ In the supermarket/ I walk you down the aisle/ You fill my basket/ And through it all/ The stick I take/ Is worth it with the love we make” represents the present, where the singer is focused on building a love-filled relationship with their partner. The song’s final lines, “I stayed in bed/ Alone uncertain/ Then I met you/ You drew the curtains/ The sun came up/ The trees began to sing/ And light shone in on everything/ I love you” suggest that the singer has found happiness in their present and has let go of their violent past.
Line by Line Meaning
I ought to leave
I should prepare for your day by leaving hot water for your bath, though I hadn't planned to do so.
Enough hot water
An ample supply of hot water is necessary for your morning bath.
For your morning bath
This bath is a daily routine and a part of your morning ritual.
That I'd not thought I
I didn't realize the importance of this small act until now.
Hate to hear you talk that way
Although your words are hurtful, I don't want to admit fault.
But I can't bring myself to say I'm sorry
My pride won't allow me to apologize.
The past is always
Memories and experiences from before still linger and influence us.
Knocking incessant
The past is always trying to be heard and felt, even if it's unwanted.
Trying to break through
The past wants to be seen and felt in the present.
Into the present
The past wants to be a part of current experiences and decisions.
We have to work to keep it out
We must intentionally work to not let the past affect the present, which can be difficult.
And I won't be the first to shout
I won't be the first to raise my voice in a fight, even if it's about difference in opinion on how to move forward.
It's over
We need to make progress and move on from the past.
I used to want to plant bombs
I used to believe in violent, radical action to change society and the world.
At the last night of the proms
A traditional, British music event that represents cultural norms and power dynamics.
But, now you'll find me with the baby in the bathroom
Now, I focus on peaceful moments and relationships with those closest to me, like my child.
With that big shell listening for the sound of the sea
Enjoying small moments brings peace and fulfillment, like listening to the sound of the sea through a shell with my child.
I steal a kiss from you
I take small, tender moments whenever I can, like stealing a kiss from you while we grocery shop.
In the supermarket
Even mundane, daily tasks can have moments of tenderness and connection.
I walk you down the aisle
I go with you through the ups and downs of life.
You fill my basket
Your love and presence fills my life with joy.
And through it all
Despite life's challenges and difficulties, our love persists.
The stick I take
The negative experiences I endure are worth it for the love we share.
Is worth it with the love we make
Despite hardship, our love and connection is fulfilling and rewarding.
I stayed in bed
Before I met you, I had trouble finding meaning or motivation to start my days.
Alone uncertain
I was unsure of myself and my future.
Then I met you
Meeting you changed everything for me.
You drew the curtains
You helped me see a brighter future and outlook on life.
The sun came up
New days and opportunities became clearer to me with your perspective and presence.
The trees began to sing
The world became more colorful, poetic, and alive with you in it.
And light shone in on everything
You brought clarity, meaning, and a sense of purpose to my life.
I love you
I feel a deep and meaningful connection and love for you.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEPHEN WILLIAM BRAGG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind