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.
Valentine
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll catch a cold and you'll be on your own
And you will see that what's wrong with me
Is wrong with everyone that you wanna play your little games on
Poetry and flowers, pretty words and threats
You've gone to the dogs again and I'm not placing bets on you
Coming home tonight
If you take me for granted than you must expect to find
Surprise, surprise!
Valentine's Day is over, it's over
Valentine's Day is over
If you want to talk about, well
You know where the phone is
Don't come 'round reminding me again
How brittle bone is
God didn't make you an angel
The devil made you a man
That brutality and the economy
Are related now I understand
When will you realize that as above
So below there is no love?
Valentine's Day is over, it's over
Valentine's Day is over
For the girl with the hour-glass figure
Time runs out very fast
We used to want the same things
But that's all in the past
And lately it seems that as it all gets tougher
Your idea of justice just becomes rougher and rougher
Valentine's Day is over, it's over
Valentine's Day is over
Thank you for the things you bought me
Thank you for the card
Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard
That love between two people must be based on understanding
Until that's true you'll find your things all stacked out on the landing
Surprise, surprise!
Valentine's Day is over, it's over
Valentine's Day is over, it's over
It's over
In Billy Bragg's Valentine, we are given a biting depiction of a relationship gone wrong. The opening lyrics set the tone for the rest of the song, with Bragg warning his partner that the hurt they have caused will inevitably come back to haunt them. Despite this clear warning, the rest of the lyrics seem to suggest that his warnings have gone unheeded. His partner continues to play games with him, using "pretty words and threats" to assert their power in the relationship.
Bragg's lyrics also hint at a bigger picture issue of economic inequality and its role in shaping our society's notions of love and justice. He suggests that his partner's increasing brutality is a direct result of the "economy," calling into question just how much choice we have in our actions when livelihood is at stake. The song ends with a sense of finality - Bragg thanks his partner for what they have taught him, but asserts that true love needs to be based on understanding, and until that is achieved, their relationship is truly over.
Overall, Valentine is a nuanced and provocative take on the ups and downs of love, capturing both the pain and the growth that can come from difficult relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Someday boy you'll reap what you sown
One day, you will experience the consequences of your actions
You'll catch a cold and you'll be on your own
You will suffer and be alone
And you will see that what's wrong with me
You will eventually understand what is wrong with my behavior
Is wrong with everyone that you want to play your little games on
Your manipulative and hurtful behavior affects everyone you try to control
Poetry and flowers, pretty words and threats
Your attempts to win me over with sweet words and material gifts while also threatening me are useless
You've gone to the dogs again and I'm not placing bets on you
You have resorted to your old, destructive ways and I do not trust you anymore
Coming home tonight
You are not welcome back
Anything but blind
I am aware of your true intentions
If you take me for granted than you must expect to find
You should not underestimate me
Surprise, surprise!
I am not fooled by you anymore
Valentine's day is over, it's over
The holiday has ended and so has our relationship
If you want to talk about, well
If you have something to say to me
You know where the phone is
You know how to contact me
Don't come 'round reminding me again
Do not come around and try to manipulate me again
How brittle bone is
How fragile people can be
Got didn't make you an angel
God did not create a perfect being
The devil made you a man
You are flawed and have a destructive nature
That brutality and the economy
Acts of cruelty and the economy
Are related now I understand
Are connected and I now realize this
When will you realize that as above
When will you understand that what goes up
So below there is no love
Also comes down and there is no love in this situation
For the girl with the hour-glass figure
For the woman who is aging quickly
Time runs out very fast
Time is limited and goes by quickly
We used to want the same things
We used to have similar interests and desires
But that's all in the past
That no longer matters
And lately it seems that as it all gets tougher
Recently, as things get more difficult
Your idea of justice just becomes rougher and rougher
Your concept of fairness becomes more and more violent
Thank you for the things you bought me
Thank you for the material possessions you gave me
Thank you for the card
Thank you for the Valentine's Day card
Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard
Thank you for the lessons you unintentionally taught me through physical violence
That love between two people must be based on understanding
True love requires understanding and respect
Until that's true you'll find your things all stacked out on the landing
Until you understand this, your belongings will be left outside
Surprise, surprise!
I am not surprised that you have not learned anything and are suffering the consequences
Valentine's day is over, it's over
The holiday may be over, but our relationship is also over
It's over
We are finished
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Bragg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dadon6055
Someday boy you'll reap what you've sown
You'll catch a cold and you'll be on your own
And you will see that what's wrong with me
Is wrong with everyone that
You want to play your little games on
Poetry and flowers pretty words and threats
You've gone to the dogs again and I'm not placing bets
On you coming home tonight anything but blind
If you take me for granted then you must expect to find
Surprise, surprise
Valentine's Day is over, it's over
Valentine's Day is over
If you want to talk about it well you know where the phone is
Don't come round reminding me again how brittle bone is
God didn't make you an angel, the Devil made you a man
That brutality and economy are related now I understand
When will you realize that as above so below there is no love
Valentine's Day is over, it's over
Valentine's Day is over
For the girl with the hour glass figure
Time runs out very fast
We used to want the same things but that's all in the past
And lately it seems that as it all gets tougher
Your idea of justice just becomes rougher and rougher
@shraddhadevkota8326
Someday boy you'll reap what you sown
You'll catch a cold and you'll be on your own
And you will see that what's wrong with me
Is wrong with everyone that you want to play your little games on
Poetry and flowers, pretty words and threats
You've gone to the dogs again and I'm not placing bets on you
Coming home tonight
Anything but blind
If you take me for granted than you must expect to find
Surprise, surprise!
Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over
If you want to talk about, well
You know where the phone is
Don't come 'round reminding me again
How brittle bone is
Got didn't make you an angel
The devil made you a man
That brutality and the economy
Are related now I understand
When will you realize that as above
So below there is no love
Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over
For the girl with the hour-glass figure
Time runs out very fast
We used to want the same things
But that's all in the past
And lately it seems that as it all gets tougher
Your idea of justice just becomes rougher and rougher
Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over
Thank you for the things you bought me
Thank you for the card
Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard
That love between two people must be based on understanding
Until that's true you'll find your things all stacked out on the landing
Surprise, surprise!
Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over, it's over
It's over
@hwyisalive
Billy Bragg is a national treasure regardless of what country you live in.
@nevennekic5262
Each time on 14th of February I sing this song for myself. Fan since mid 80s. Milkman of human kindness, exactly.
@markxist
Me too. Play it each year. Socialism of the heart :)
@neridawalker6623
I sing it dreadfully loud.
@tropicalsummerescape
Raw, honest, brilliant....amazing he can write from a woman's perspective. You're the best Billy.
@gabrielmungaray9378
this is my first time hearing anything from Billy Bragg.
now a fan for life
@COCCmath
Welcome to the most wonderful of fanclubs. #socialismoftheheart
@neridawalker6623
C... I've been in love with the old Bard from Barking since 1983... top bloke.
@sunnybunny6275
Heard this live at Cambridge Folk Festival yesterday. Made me cry so much. This man is truly brilliant
@djsi38t
A fan for over 30 years.i bought this album the week it was released.trust me if you love this song you will love this whole album.not a bad song on it.