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.
SHE SMILED SWEETLY
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They seem to stay for day after day
They won't disappear, I've tried every way
But she smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly and said don't worry
Oh no no no
Keeps her peace most every day
Won't disappear, my hair's turning grey
But she smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly and said don't worry
Oh no no no
There's nothing in why or when
There's no use in trying
You're here begging again and again and again
That's what she said so softly
I understood for once in my life
Feeling good most all of the time
But she smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly
She smiled sweetly and said don't worry
Oh no no no
Oh no no no
Oh no no no
The lyrics to Billy Bragg's song She Smiled Sweetly, are open to personal interpretation but are likely written to capture the emotions of a vulnerable individual who is struggling to control the thoughts in their head. The singer in the song seems to be looking for solace and relief from the pain their thoughts are causing them. The opening lines of the verse make it clear that the thoughts in their head are weighing heavily upon them and are refusing to leave despite their best efforts. The singer seems to be searching for an escape route from their own mind and this is where the title of the song comes in. The phrase 'She Smiled Sweetly' is repeated throughout the lyrics and becomes the respite the singer is searching for.
The singer seems to be asking where their friend keeps their peace and positivity, as it's something they themselves struggle with. The singer of the song tells us about their own attempt to find peace, which has not been successful, and furthermore, they appear to be getting old and grey in the process. The repetition of the phrase 'she smiled sweetly' emphasises the friend’s positive nature and the respite her friendship offers him. The singer is well aware of how much they lean on her and seek comfort and support from her.
The last verse of the song is the most poignant, as the singer understands that he cannot change the past, but he can take comfort in knowing that his friend is there for him. The line "Feeling good most all of the time" suggests that the singer is now feeling happy and content with life, perhaps for the first time, and his friend's smile played an important role in this transformation. The song concludes with the idealistic notion that there is no need to sweat over the past as it's something we cannot change.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do my thoughts loom so large on me ?
I am wondering why my thoughts consume me so much and refuse to leave for days, despite all my efforts.
They seem to stay for day after day
My thoughts relentlessly stay with me despite my attempts to shake them off.
They won't disappear, I've tried every way
Despite my best efforts, I can't seem to make my thoughts go away.
But she smiled sweetly
Despite my struggles, she smiles kindly at me.
She smiled sweetly
Her smile helps me feel more calm and relaxed.
She smiled sweetly and said don't worry
She reassures me that I have nothing to worry about.
Where does she hide it inside of her ?
I wonder where she gets her inner peace from.
Keeps her peace most every day
She maintains her composure and peace of mind consistently.
Won't disappear, my hair's turning grey
My issues continue to weigh on me, causing me stress and anxiety (even to the point of physical effects).
There's nothing in why or when
There's no point or reason in constantly analyzing the past or worrying about the future.
There's no use in trying
There's no point in trying to control everything and force outcomes that may not be possible.
You're here begging again and again and again
I continue to worry and stress, despite it continually causing me issues.
That's what she said so softly
She reassures me that there's no need to worry, and she does so in a gentle manner.
I understood for once in my life
I finally am able to comprehend and internalize her advice.
Feeling good most all of the time
With her help, I feel positive and relaxed most of the time.
Oh no no no
Repeating her reassurance, reminding me that there's nothing to worry about.
Contributed by Alexandra M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.