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.
Tank Park Salute
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leave the light on at the top of the stairs
Tell me the names of the stars up in the sky
A tree taps on the window pane
That feeling smothers me again
Daddy, is it true that we all have to die?
At the top of the stairs
At the top of the stairs
Is darkness
I closed my eyes and when I looked
Your name was in the memorial book
And what had become of all the things we planned?
I accept the commiserations
Of all your friends and your relations
But there's some things I still don't understand
You were so tall
How could you fall?
Some photographs of a summer's day
A little boy's lifetime away
Is all I've left of everything we've done
Like a pale moon in a sunny sky
Death gazes down as I pass by
To remind me that I'm but my father's son
I offer up to you
This tribute
I offer up to you
This tank park salute
The lyrics to Billy Bragg's song "Tank Park Salute" are a poignant and reflective meditation on the experience of grief and loss. The opening lines of the song address a child's fear of mortality, with the singer asking to be comforted with loving words and the assurance that the deceased is at peace. The image of a tree tapping on a window pane creates a sense of disquiet, as if death is always present, lurking outside the window.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on his own grief and the struggle to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. He looks back on the plans he and the deceased had made, and wonders what could have been if circumstances had been different. The line "you were so tall, how could you fall" is particularly powerful, highlighting how unexpected the loss was.
The final stanza of the song takes a more reflective tone, with the singer contemplating the passage of time and the inevitability of death. The use of imagery, with the moon and death both personified, adds a dreamlike quality to the song. The final line, "I offer up to you this tank park salute," is both an acknowledgement of the loss and a tribute to the deceased, suggesting that even in death there can be a sense of pride and honor.
Line by Line Meaning
Kiss me goodnight and say my prayers
Before I go to sleep, I want you to give me a kiss and pray for me.
Leave the light on at the top of the stairs
Please leave the light on at the top of the stairs so I am not afraid of the dark.
Tell me the names of the stars up in the sky
Please teach me the names of the stars so I can appreciate the beauty of the night sky.
A tree taps on the window pane
The sound of a tree hitting the window makes me feel scared and alone.
That feeling smothers me again
I am overwhelmed by my emotions once again.
Daddy, is it true that we all have to die?
I am curious if death is something that happens to everyone.
At the top of the stairs
Is darkness
The darkness at the top of the stairs makes me feel uneasy and scared.
I closed my eyes and when I looked
Your name was in the memorial book
And what had become of all the things we planned?
I thought of you and saw your name in a memorial book. I wonder what happened to all the things we wanted to do together.
I accept the commiserations
Of all your friends and your relations
But there's some things I still don't understand
I appreciate the condolences from everyone, but there are still things I don't comprehend.
You were so tall
How could you fall?
I can't believe how someone so big could have fallen so hard.
Some photographs of a summer's day
A little boy's lifetime away
Is all I've left of everything we've done
All I have left of our memories are pictures of a summer day, which seems like a lifetime ago.
Like a pale moon in a sunny sky
Death gazes down as I pass by
To remind me that I'm but my father's son
Death looms over me as a reminder that I am just like my father and will one day also perish.
I offer up to you
This tribute
I offer up to you
This tank park salute
This song is my tribute to you, and I raise my hand in a military salute to show my respect.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stephen William Bragg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stephen Green
Lost my Dad when I was 5 and at 35 I’ve just found this song! Unbelievably moving!
DJ Tokyo
I used to DJ for my college radio station. When I was starting out in the fall of 1991 I used to have the 2-6 am shift. That fall we had Billy Bragg's record Don't Try This at Home on our playlist, which was the first time I had heard his music. In October one of my best friends from home lost his Mom in a horrible car accident, I remember that fall I would play Tank Park Salute every week in the middle of the night in her memory.
I was just listening to this song tonight. My Dad is in hospice care and probably doesn't have much time left. This song reminded me of how much I am going to miss him when he is gone and how grateful I have been for the time I have gotten to spend with him this year. My thoughts are with all of you who have shared your thoughts about your Dad's passing here, reading these words have brought comfort to me.
Eamon Hanka
My fear is that I never did enough. Thank you for your post.
seventiesmovies
"you were so tall - how could you fall?" Jesus Christ, that line...every time.
Coach John
@John Willoug Yes you are. You're a great person. The things in your heart, whether enacted or nor, are the arbiters of your greatness. I have no doubt you measure well.
John Willoug
"I closed my eyes and when I looked, your name was in the memorial book..."
That couplet gets me.
I neglected connecting to my father for some time, then when I'd just started spending time with him, suddenly he was gone. Four hundred people at his funeral, politicians, civic leaders... and I only knew about twenty of his friends. He did things, and worked for causes I don't even know about; I'm not even half the person he was.
Here's a tank park salute to you.
Marcus Elmore
Me too, for years and years...
debutch
seventiesmovies I have always found this to be a beautiful and very emotional song but it is "that" simple line that crushes me. The thoughts of a little boy who has just lost his dad. Unbearably moving.
Jonathan H
I heard this for the first time about a week ago - brings me to tears each time - reminds me of how much I miss my Dad and wondering if I've been a good enough father to my son.
Matt Steinkruger
I'm sure you have man. Remember your his son, and like it or not, he's with you.