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.
Little Time Bomb
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the other one's off his head
And both of them are off down the boozer
To drink a toast
To the one that he hates most
And she says there are no winners, only losers
Well if there are no winners
Then what is this he thinks
And he sits in the stands with his head in his hands
And he thinks of all the things
He'd like to bring down upon her
Revenge will bring cold comfort in this darkest hour
As the jukebox says 'It's All Over Now'
And he stands and he screams
What have I done wrong
I've fallen in love with a little time bomb
In public he's such a man
He's punching at the walls with his bare and bloody hands
He's screaming and shouting and acting crazy
But at home he sits alone and he cries like a baby
He holds your letters but he can't read them
As he fights this loneliness that you call freedom
You said this would happen and you were not wrong
I've fallen in love with a little time bomb
The Billy Bragg's song 'Little Time Bomb' tells the story of a toxic and volatile relationship between a man and a woman. The opening lines describe the physical injuries both parties sustained, but instead of healing or seeking help, they choose to go to a bar and toast to their mutual dislike for each other. The woman recognizes that there are no winners in this situation, only losers, and the man is left to ponder over her words. As he watches her leave, he realizes that revenge will not make him feel better.
In the chorus, he laments his situation, asking himself what he has done wrong. He loves this woman who has turned into a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. He can't control his emotions, and in public, he comes across as aggressive and violent, but in the privacy of his home, he can't help but cry like a baby. He holds onto her letters but can't bear to read them, struggling with the loneliness that he believed was freedom.
Overall, the song highlights the destructive nature of an unhealthy relationship, how it can leave both parties bruised both physically and emotionally. The chorus shows the man's desperation, acknowledging the warning signs but unable to escape the trap he has created for himself.
Line by Line Meaning
One of them's off her foot
One person involved in this situation is extremely drunk or not fully in control of their actions
And the other one's off his head
The other person involved in this situation is also extremely drunk or not fully in control of their actions
And both of them are off down the boozer
They are heading to the bar/pub to continue drinking
To drink a toast
To raise a glass in honour of something or someone
To the one that he hates most
They are drinking in honour of someone that they despise
And she says there are no winners, only losers
One person is explaining that in this situation, there will be no one who comes out on top
Well if there are no winners
If this is true and no one will benefit from the situation
Then what is this he thinks
What is the point of doing any of this if no one will gain anything?
As he watches her complete a lap of honor
He sees her succeed in some way and he is left behind
And he sits in the stands with his head in his hands
He is distraught and upset as he watches her succeed
And he thinks of all the things
He is filled with negative thoughts and ideas
He'd like to bring down upon her
He is thinking of ways to harm or hurt her
Revenge will bring cold comfort in this darkest hour
Taking revenge will not make him feel better in this difficult time
As the jukebox says 'It's All Over Now'
The music playing in the background is reflecting the situation they are in
And he stands and he screams
He is so overwhelmed by his emotions that he has to express them loudly
What have I done wrong
He is questioning what he has done to deserve this situation
I've fallen in love with a little time bomb
He has fallen in love with someone who is destined to cause chaos and destruction in his life
In public he's such a man
He puts on a brave and strong facade when around others
He's punching at the walls with his bare and bloody hands
He is so overwhelmed by his emotions that he resorts to violence and harming himself
He's screaming and shouting and acting crazy
His emotions are so intense that he cannot control himself
But at home he sits alone and he cries like a baby
Behind closed doors, he cannot hide his vulnerable and emotional side
He holds your letters but he can't read them
He is still holding onto communication from the person he loves, but he cannot bring himself to read them due to the emotional pain they bring
As he fights this loneliness that you call freedom
He is struggling with the idea that the person he loves has left him and is free to do whatever they want, while he is left feeling lonely and heartbroken
You said this would happen and you were not wrong
The person he loves warned him about the situation they were in, but he did not listen
I've fallen in love with a little time bomb
Once again, he acknowledges that he has fallen in love with someone who will ultimately bring destruction to his life
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BILLY BRAGG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind