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 PotosÃ, 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.
Days Like These
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By sinking foreign boats
Is dreaming up new promises
'Cause promises win votes
And being resolute in conference
With the ad man's expertise
The majority by their silence
The right to build communities
Is back behind closed doors
'Tween government and people stands
The right arm of the law
And shame upon the patriot
When the mark of the Bulldog Breed
Is a family without a home
And a pensioner in need
Those whose lives are ruled by dogma
Are waiting for a sign
The Better Dead Than Red Brigade
Are listening on the line
And the liberal, with a small L
Cries in front of the TV
And another demonstration
Passes on to history
Peace, bread, work, and freedom
Is the best we can achieve
And wearing badges is not enough
In days like these
In "Days Like These," Billy Bragg criticizes the government's relationship with the British people in the mid-1980s. He suggests that the government, particularly the Conservative Party, is exploiting the populace by making promises that they are unable or unwilling to keep. The party has become powerful as a result of demonizing other nations and groups of people, such as invaders of boats, and tempting voters with empty promises. They are able to achieve autonomy and manipulate the public by hiring skilled advertisers to market their message. The silent majority will pay for their compliance in the face of corruption.
The song is particularly critical of the British government's policy towards housing and the elderly population. Bragg laments that the government is neglecting the disenfranchised in their country, particularly the mark of the Bulldog Breed, which he characterizes as those struggling with homelessness and poverty. He empathizes with the working class, who he believes are caught in a cycle of hopelessness and are being ruled by dogmatic belief systems. The lyrics convey the importance of achieving peace, money, employment, and freedom, before concluding with an exhortation to embrace more tangible action than simply wearing badges as a sign of disapproval.
Overall, "Days Like These" reveals the political and social issues that were prevalent in the 1980s, particularly during the Thatcher era. Bragg was known for his candid social commentary and message-driven music, and this song exemplifies his dedication to making music that conveys meaningful, thought-provoking, and engaging content.
Line by Line Meaning
The party that became so powerful
The political party that gained a significant amount of influence and strength
By sinking foreign boats
By taking extreme measures to protect their nation's interests against other countries
Is dreaming up new promises
Are constantly thinking of new ways to entice people to vote for them
'Cause promises win votes
Because making promises is a key tactic to win the public's trust and support
And being resolute in conference
And being firm in their beliefs during political gatherings
With the ad man's expertise
With the help of advertising professionals who understand how to market political ideas
The majority by their silence
The silent majority who do not speak out against the party's actions
Shall pay for days like these
Will ultimately pay the price for the party's decisions and actions
The right to build communities
The freedom to create and nurture a sense of community
Is back behind closed doors
Is now being hidden behind secretive decision-making
'Tween government and people stands
Between the people and the government, there is an entity that enforces the law
The right arm of the law
The police force, who carry out orders from the government
And shame upon the patriot
And it's shameful for someone who loves their country and supports their government to see what's happening
When the mark of the Bulldog Breed
When the symbol of their country's strength and resilience
Is a family without a home
Is a family that has been displaced from their own home
And a pensioner in need
And an elderly person who does not have the resources to support themselves
Those whose lives are ruled by dogma
Those who are governed by strict beliefs and principles
Are waiting for a sign
Are waiting for a signal or indication that their beliefs will be put into action
The Better Dead Than Red Brigade
A group of individuals who are so firmly against communism that they would rather die than support it
Are listening on the line
Are monitoring phone or communication lines in hopes of uncovering a threat to their beliefs
And the liberal, with a small L
And the individual who holds liberal beliefs, but is not necessarily affiliated with a political party
Cries in front of the TV
Expresses their frustration and despair, often alone, while watching the news on television
And another demonstration
And another public gathering, such as a protest or march
Passes on to history
Will eventually be remembered as a part of the past, rather than leading to significant change
Peace, bread, work, and freedom
The basic needs and rights that people require in order to live fulfilling and contented lives
Is the best we can achieve
Is the most realistic and favorable outcome that can be expected
And wearing badges is not enough
And expressing one's beliefs through symbols or slogans is not effective in producing change
In days like these
In times of political unrest or upheaval
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Billy Bragg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind