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.
It Says Here
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It says here that the economy is on the upturn
And it says here we should be proud
That we are free
And our free press reflects our democracy
Those braying voices on the right of the House
Are echoed down the Street of Shame
In a money and numbers game
Where they offer you a feature
On stockings and suspenders
Next to a call for stiffer penalties for sex offenders
It says here that this year's prince is born
It says here do you ever wish
That you were better informed
And it says here that we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of Law and Order
And a touch of the short sharp shock
If this does not reflect your view you should understand
That those who own the papers also own this land
And they'd rather you believed
In Coronation Street capers
In the war of circulation, it sells newspapers
Could it be an infringement
Of the freedom of the press
To print pictures of women in states of undress
When you wake up to the fact
That your paper is Tory
Just remember, there are two sides to every story
The song "It Says Here" by Billy Bragg is a scathing critique of the media and its manipulation of public opinion. The lyrics challenge the reader to question the sources of the news and the messages they convey. The first verse highlights the media's portrayal of the economy as being on the upturn, while elsewhere it reports on the failures of the unions. Bragg suggests that this is a deliberate attempt to get the public to blame the unions for the country's problems, rather than the government's economic policies. The second verse takes a swipe at the tabloid press and its sensationalism, using the imagery of political voices echoing down the "Street of Shame" where politics and bingo mix. The tabloid press is presented as a place where issues are reduced to a "strictly money and numbers game," where the feature on stockings and suspenders is given the same prominence as calls for stiffer penalties for sex offenders.
The third verse highlights the manipulative nature of the press by questioning the validity of the claims made about the birth of the prince, suggesting that people "wish they were better informed." Bragg suggests that the only way to stop the rot is through "a large dose of Law and Order and a touch of the short sharp shock." This is a clear reference to the Conservative government's policies of the time, which were aimed at cracking down on crime and limiting civil liberties. The final verse acts as a call to action, encouraging people to wake up to the fact that the papers they read are biased and to remember that there are always two sides to every story.
Line by Line Meaning
It says here that the Unions will never learn
According to what is written here, it is believed that the Unions will never learn.
It says here that the economy is on the upturn
What is written here suggests that the economy is improving.
And it says here we should be proud
That we are free
And our free press reflects our democracy
This passage claims that we should feel proud of the freedom we have, and that our free press is a reflection of our democracy.
Those braying voices on the right of the House
Referring to the voices of politicians on the right side of the room/house.
Are echoed down the Street of Shame
Their voices are also heard on a street that represents shame or scandal.
Where politics mix with bingo and tits
In a strictly money and numbers game
This line describes a setting where politics mixes with gambling and sexual references, all for the sake of money and profit.
Where they offer you a feature
On stockings and suspenders
Next to a call for stiffer penalties for sex offenders
In this setting, articles about lingerie are placed beside articles calling for harsher punishments for sex offenders.
It says here that this year's prince is born
According to this writing, a prince has been born this year.
It says here do you ever wish
That you were better informed
The passage asks if you ever wish you had more information or knowledge about something.
And it says here that we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of Law and Order
And a touch of the short sharp shock
This part suggests that the way to stop things from getting worse is with strict law enforcement and punishments.
If this does not reflect your view you should understand
That those who own the papers also own this land
If you do not agree with what has been written, you should know that the owners of the newspapers have significant power and control in this country.
And they'd rather you believe
In Coronation Street capers
In the war of circulation, it sells newspapers
The owners of the papers prefer that you believe in entertainment stories like those of Coronation Street, because in the world of competing news, sensational stories sell the most papers.
Could it be an infringement
Of the freedom of the press
To print pictures of women in states of undress
This line questions whether printing images of partially naked women could be a violation of the freedom of the press.
When you wake up to the fact
That your paper is Tory
When you realize that the newspaper you read supports the Tory party.
Just remember, there are two sides to every story
This is a reminder that there is always more than one perspective or version to consider when it comes to news and events.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Billy Bragg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jayclouston7734
My favourite song on this album. Fucking awesome. Still relevant too
@redbug3485
Jay Clouston I agree, great song. It helped change my life.
@Lemma01
Nah. "A Lover Sings". But that's BB -lover and a fighter. X
@chrismorrison3696
I was 18 when this came out. There was only The Jam for me. And then I heard Billy Bragg.
@julesrandolph5687
Billy Bragg and Paul Weller are very similar-sounding singer/songwriters - lots of passion, deep introspection and sharp observation. Both faves of mine as well!
@david-fx8ri
That's how I got into billy because of listening to Paul weller don't he look rough now.
@rockyboy220
Legend
@JustME-ft4di
Reminded of this today in light of XR blocking Murdochs machine.
Well done them!
@vanillaorchid
This sing could have been written this morning.
@chrisbarry773
Or this morning, unfortunately.