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.
Qualifications
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
I could get me a job walking a dog
Chopping a log, cleaning a bog
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
I could see myself stacking a shelf
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
And my brother worked night and day
On the Euro-Star terminal
And the government gave it away
So what's the point in university?
For three years, I read philosophy
Now I read bar codes all day long
Beep, beep, beep sings that check-out song
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Talking 'bout my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Would you like to see my PhD?
My BSc? My GCSEs?
I gotta first in physics so I ought to know
If your fries are for here or to go
The song "Qualifications" by Billy Bragg is a commentary on the futility of spending years obtaining higher education qualifications, devoting time and effort, only to find oneself in a menial job. The lyrics are a rather ironic portrayal of how, despite academic achievements, one's work options are limited to low-paying jobs that require little expertise. The repeating phrase "with my qualifications" mocks the idea of how important degree or certificate completion is in achieving a desirable career. The song highlights how many students presume that attending university or college can automatically guarantee them a prominent career or land them high paying positions; however, that is rarely the case. The line "I could get me a job walking a dog, chopping a log, cleaning a bog" epitomizes the underemployment, undervaluing, and underutilizing of one's potential, despite being educated.
The mention of the Euro-Star terminal and how it was given away despite the hard work Billy Bragg's brother put in, symbolizes the political and economic factors that govern people's lives beyond their qualifications. The song suggests that the current system of higher education does not offer a fair chance for upward mobility or fulfillment of one's potential. The final lines of the song, "I gotta first in physics so I ought to know/ If your fries are for here or to go," exemplify the disillusionment that Billy Bragg expresses with the post-graduation job prospects.
Line by Line Meaning
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Celebrating the possession of qualifications
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Repeating the above line to emphasize the point
I could get me a job walking a dog
Even with qualifications, only menial jobs like dog walking might be available
Chopping a log, cleaning a bog
Other jobs available might include manual labor such as chopping wood, or cleaning dirty toilets
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Still, the artist emphasizes the importance of his qualifications to himself
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Again, repeating the point
I could see myself stacking a shelf
One of the few jobs in which qualifications might be relevant is being a 'sales assistant at do-it-yourself' store, which is still a relatively low-skilled job
As a sales assistant at do-it-yourself
Qualifications might make the artist qualified for jobs like assistant at a store
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Continuing the theme of how qualifications may not always translate into desirable jobs
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Repeating the above line again
And my brother worked night and day
The singer cites the example of his own brother (who may or may not have qualifications) working really hard at a difficult job
On the English Channel, he toiled away
The brother worked at the Eurostar terminal in the English Channel
And the government gave it away
The government apparently sold off or privatized this terminal rather than keeping it under their control
So what's the point in university?
The singer questions the value of university qualifications in helping obtain decent jobs
For three years, I read philosophy
The singer spent three years studying an academic subject (in this case, philosophy)
Now I read bar codes all day long
Despite these qualifications, the artist only gets a job reading barcodes all day long
Beep, beep, beep sings that check-out song
The artist has to endure the monotony of scanning item after item at the checkout
With my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
The singer still has his qualifications and feels a sense of pride owning them
Talking 'bout my qualifications, woo-hoo-hoo
Repeating the above line with slight variation
Would you like to see my PhD?
The artist sarcastically asks if anyone would like to see his academic certificates
My BSc? My GCSEs?
The artist lists a few of his other qualifications
I gotta first in physics so I ought to know
The artist has a high degree (first) in physics
If your fries are for here or to go
Despite this, his work only requires him to determine whether someone is having their food there or taking it to go
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stephen William Bragg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind