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.
Everywhere
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those were the final orders to come down that day
Waiting to be saved in the Philippines
You'll wait forever for the young Marines
Now I believe to be here is right
But I have to say I'm scared tonight
Crouching in this hole with a mouth full of sand
Look at those slanted eyes coming up over the hill
Catching us by surprise, it's time to kill or be killed
Over here, over there, it's the same everywhere
A boy cries out for his mama before he dies for his home
All my life I wanted to be
As clever and strong as my best friend Lee
We grew up together along Half Moon Bay
Lee was Japanese, born in the USA
When Tommy was fighting Jerry along the River Seine
Me and Lee wanted to do the same
Then they bombed Pearl Harbor at the break of day
I was headed for these islands while Lee was hauled away
They said look at his slanted eyes, he's guilty as guilty can be
Sent here as enemy spies to sabotage the Land of the Free
I never got home, my platoon was never saved
That little fox hole became my island grave
Lee got out of jail but a prisoner he remained
Till he ended his own life to lose that ball and chain
And they said Oh Little Slanted Eyes can't you forgive and forget
And he said, Oh Mr Friendly Ghost
Can you catch water in a net?
The song Everywhere by Billy Bragg is a powerful commentary on war and the devastating impact it has on individuals and society as a whole. The lyrics describe soldiers waiting to be rescued on the Philippine islands, but instead, they are left to perish by their own countrymen. The soldiers wait for young Marines to come to their rescue, but they never arrive, leaving them to wonder what comes first - their country or their own lives. Bragg powerfully questions this prioritisation of the country over individual lives, highlighting the futility and sadness of war.
The song then shifts to a personal story of Bragg's friend Lee, who was born in the US but was of Japanese descent. Bragg describes how both he and Lee, as children, wanted to fight for their country during World War II but Lee was imprisoned in an internment camp while Bragg was sent off to war. Bragg laments the unfairness of this situation, as Lee was punished for his heritage and the two friends could not fight together. Lee never escapes the label of an enemy spy and, even after his release from the internment camp, he remains a prisoner in society's eyes. In the end, Lee takes his own life in an attempt to escape the stigma he never deserved.
Bragg's lyrics provide a poignant and powerful commentary on war, patriotism, and prejudice. The song highlights the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom and democracy while simultaneously imprisoning those who are seen as different or a threat. The themes of the song are still as relevant today as they were when it was first released in 1984, as we continue to see the devastating impact of war and prejudice on individuals and society.
Line by Line Meaning
Dig in boys for an extended stay
They were told to prepare for a long period of stay at their current location.
Those were the final orders to come down that day
The orders given at that time would be the last they would receive.
Waiting to be saved in the Philippines
The soldiers were hoping to be rescued in the Philippines.
You'll wait forever for the young Marines
The soldiers believed the young Marines would never come to save them.
Now I believe to be here is right
The soldier has come to believe that being in the war and fighting for his country is the right thing to do.
But I have to say I'm scared tonight
Despite his belief, the soldier is still afraid for his life.
Crouching in this hole with a mouth full of sand
The soldier is hiding in a hole, with sand in his mouth.
What comes first the country or the man
The soldier is reflecting on whether loyalty to his country should come before loyalty to himself as an individual.
Look at those slanted eyes coming up over the hill
The soldier is referring to the enemy soldiers with Asian features.
Catching us by surprise, it's time to kill or be killed
The soldier and his comrades are taken by surprise, and now they must choose between killing the enemy or being killed themselves.
Over here, over there, it's the same everywhere
War is the same no matter where you are in the world.
A boy cries out for his mama before he dies for his home
In the end, the soldiers are still young boys who long for their mamas even as they fight and die for their country.
All my life I wanted to be
The soldier has always wanted to be something.
As clever and strong as my best friend Lee
He wanted to be as smart and strong as his best friend, who happened to be Japanese.
We grew up together along Half Moon Bay
The two friends grew up in the same area along Half Moon Bay in California.
Lee was Japanese, born in the USA
The soldier's best friend was of Japanese ethnicity but was born in the United States.
When Tommy was fighting Jerry along the River Seine
The soldier and his friend wanted to fight in World War II, just like the fictional characters Tommy and Jerry.
Me and Lee wanted to do the same
They both wanted to be soldiers, fighting for their country.
Then they bombed Pearl Harbor at the break of day
The attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything, and the soldier was sent to fight in the Pacific.
I was headed for these islands while Lee was hauled away
The soldier went to the Pacific islands to fight, while his friend was sent to an internment camp.
They said look at his slanted eyes, he's guilty as guilty can be
The people in charge of the internment camp believed that Lee was guilty because of his Asian features.
Sent here as enemy spies to sabotage the Land of the Free
The authorities believed that Japanese Americans were sent to America as spies to harm the country.
I never got home, my platoon was never saved
The soldier was never able to go home, and his entire platoon died in battle.
That little fox hole became my island grave
He died in battle and was buried in the foxhole where he fought.
Lee got out of jail but a prisoner he remained
Lee was eventually released from the internment camp, but he was still a prisoner of racism and discrimination.
Till he ended his own life to lose that ball and chain
He committed suicide because he could not bear the burden of his past experiences and what his life had become.
And they said Oh Little Slanted Eyes can't you forgive and forget
People asked Lee to forgive and forget, even though he had every reason to be angry and resentful.
And he said, Oh Mr Friendly Ghost Can you catch water in a net?
Lee's response to those who asked him to forgive and forget was to question whether it was even possible to do so.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARBRA GRIFFIN, LEAH COONEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind