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.
Ship in My Harbour
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From Jersey and Memphis, the home of the brave, and the home of the blues
With voices like honey that made you feel ugly just to talk
It's all crew cuts and cameras and photos for the folks, back in New York
He said, baby I'm sure that you're getting bored in this town
They'd love you back in LA the way that you say "baby get down"
Here's my telephone number but I can't always promise I'll be home
Night on my own
I can't blame you for what you did
It's like the television opened up and they invited you in
And the way he said honey and that Wayne Rogers [Jerry Seinfeld / Jack Palance] grin
I searched the seas all my life baby where have you been
And I hear you've been covering the water front
Crying lover man where have you been
There's a ship in my harbour again.
The stars and the stripes wave goodbye as the ship sails out of sight
And you walk back to bed to catch up on the sleep you missed out on last night
And the river [rolls/flows] out to the sea in the [cold light/grey] of the dawn
And you [wish/dream] yourself thousands of miles from the [place/town] where you were born
I can't blame you for what you did
It's like the television opened up and [they] invited you in
There's nothing harder to resist than a stranger's kiss
Why the hell do you think that I sing like this
And I hear you've been covering the water front
Crying lover man where have you been
There's a ship in my harbour again.
The lyrics to Billy Bragg's song "Ship in My Harbour" touch on themes of loneliness, temptation, and the desire for something more. The singer is watching as a ship full of people arrives, making their way down the gangplank with their money and fancy shoes. He observes their voices, which are like honey but make him feel ugly just to talk. They are taking photos for the folks back in New York, and the singer feels out of place.
A man on the ship catches his eye, offering his telephone number and promising to be there for him. The singer is tempted, feeling bored with the town and the people around him. He longs for something more, and dreams of being somewhere else. He sees the ship sail off into the distance, but the allure of the stranger lingers.
The singer expresses empathy for those who are tempted by the unknown and the new experiences that they offer. He recognizes that it is difficult to resist the stranger's kiss and that the desire to explore and seek something better is a driving force for many people. Even though he cannot blame those who give in to these temptations, he wonders where they have been and how they ended up on this ship in his harbor.
Line by Line Meaning
A cakewalk down the gangplank full of greenbacks and Annapolis shoes
It was an easy journey for them, with lots of money and fancy shoes.
From Jersey and Memphis, the home of the brave, and the home of the blues
They came from places famous for their bravery and music.
With voices like honey that made you feel ugly just to talk
Their voices were so beautiful that it made others feel insecure about their own voices.
It's all crew cuts and cameras and photos for the folks, back in New York
They were posing for pictures to show off to family and friends back home.
He said, baby I'm sure that you're getting bored in this town
He thought she was bored and wanted to take her somewhere more exciting.
They'd love you back in LA the way that you say "baby get down"
He thought she would be popular in LA because of the way she talks.
Here's my telephone number but I can't always promise I'll be home
He gave her his number, but he couldn't guarantee he would always be available to answer.
I've come ten thousand miles to be with you tonight, don't let me spend this
Night on my own
He traveled a great distance to be with her and hoped she wouldn't leave him alone that night.
I can't blame you for what you did
He can't hold her responsible for her actions.
It's like the television opened up and they invited you in
She was drawn in like she was watching TV and invited to do something.
And the way he said honey and that Wayne Rogers [Jerry Seinfeld / Jack Palance] grin
He had a charming personality and smile that won her over.
I searched the seas all my life baby where have you been
He had been looking for her for a long time, possibly metaphorically or literally.
And I hear you've been covering the water front
Crying lover man where have you been
He heard that she had been spending time near the water, possibly crying and looking for love.
There's a ship in my harbour again.
There is someone new in her life.
The stars and the stripes wave goodbye as the ship sails out of sight
As the ship with the new person in her life sails away, it feels like the American flag is waving goodbye to them.
And you walk back to bed to catch up on the sleep you missed out on last night
She goes back to bed to make up for the sleep she missed when she was with the new person.
And the river [rolls/flows] out to the sea in the [cold light/grey] of the dawn
The river flows towards the sea in the dim light of the morning.
And you [wish/dream] yourself thousands of miles from the [place/town] where you were born
She wishes she could be far away from where she grew up.
There's nothing harder to resist than a stranger's kiss
She found it difficult to turn down someone new and exciting.
Why the hell do you think that I sing like this
He might sing this way because of the experiences he has had with women.
There's a ship in my harbour again.
She has found someone new in her life once again.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jim Glennie
Billy Bragg just a legend.
mostlycatbands1
Hi there. It's from the Phoenix Festival, England, July 1993. Lovely version. I love the original. Best wishes.
brettdaniels27
Nice version, where is it from. I saw Billy Bragg and WPA play together back in about 1987. Have always loved this song. Check out the WPA version as well.