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.
Wishing The Days Away
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So I could wish for the weekend to come
On Tuesday I wished that the night would pass
So I could call you on the phone
Now a man can spend a lot of time
Wondering what was on jack ruby's mind
And time is all I have without you here
It was as much as I could do
To stop from wishing Thursday
Would pass so quickly too
They're out there making history
In the Lenin shipyards today
And here I am in the Hammersmith Hotel
Wishing the days away
There's always room for one more soul
Down in the human zoo
I don't want you to come here though
I want to come home to you
Somebody's knocking at the door
Its later than I think
And its time to put on these stinking clothes
And get out there and stink
On Friday I wished there was something more
To be seen in the letters you send
On Saturday I wished it was Sunday
Oh will this torment ever end
Sometimes I get a notion to put a torch
To the tools of my trade
Here I am in the Hammersmith Hotel
Wishing the days away
In Billy Bragg's song "Wishing the Days Away," the singer describes his longing for the weekend and his lover's company. As the days of the week pass, he transitions from wishing for the next night or the next day to come faster so that he can see his lover or escape the doldrums of everyday life, to simply wishing the days away. He muses on the possibility of making history, like the workers in the Lenin shipyards, but instead, he finds himself cooped up in a hotel room, waiting for time to pass. He is frustrated by the mundanity of his current existence and uncertain about the future, only sure that he wishes he were with his lover.
The song captures the ennui and restlessness that can come from a stagnant, unsatisfying life. The repetition of the days of the week reflects the monotony of daily routines, while the singer's yearning for love and adventure highlights the desire for something more. The mention of Jack Ruby, the assassin of Lee Harvey Oswald, further emphasizes the singer's sense of being caught up in history and the possibility of being swept away by events beyond his control.
Overall, "Wishing the Days Away" is a poignant reflection on the yearning for connection and meaning in everyday life and the struggle to find those things in a world that can feel isolating and mundane.
Line by Line Meaning
On Monday I wished it was Tuesday night
I want the week to go by quickly so I can get to the weekend
So I could wish for the weekend to come
I am looking forward to the weekend and want to skip ahead to it
On Tuesday I wished that the night would pass
I am excited to talk to someone on the phone and want time to go by faster
So I could call you on the phone
I am eager to speak with someone and want to skip ahead to it
Now a man can spend a lot of time
I have a lot of time on my hands
Wondering what was on jack ruby's mind
I have nothing to do and am wondering about something that is not important
And time is all I have without you here
I am lonely and have nothing else to do without this person around
On Wednesday when you hung up
I am feeling sad because someone I care about is not with me
It was as much as I could do
I am struggling to keep myself together
To stop from wishing Thursday
I want time to go by faster so I can be with this person
Would pass so quickly too
I don't want to wait any longer
They're out there making history
People are doing important things elsewhere
In the Lenin shipyards today
This is a specific example of somewhere important things are happening
And here I am in the Hammersmith Hotel
I am stuck in this uneventful place
Wishing the days away
I want time to pass quickly so I can be with this person
There's always room for one more soul
There are always more people to meet and interact with
Down in the human zoo
This refers to society and how people can feel trapped and caged
I don't want you to come here though
I don't want someone I care about to feel trapped like I do
I want to come home to you
I want to be with this person and feel safe and comfortable
Somebody's knocking at the door
Someone is trying to get my attention
Its later than I think
Time has passed quickly and I wasn't paying attention
And its time to put on these stinking clothes
I need to get ready to do something, even though I don't want to
And get out there and stink
This is a reference to going out into the world, even though I don't want to
On Friday I wished there was something more
I am feeling unfulfilled and want something else in my life
To be seen in the letters you send
I want more interesting things to happen in my life, even if it's just in the letters I receive
On Saturday I wished it was Sunday
I am looking forward to something that is coming up soon
Oh will this torment ever end
I am feeling frustrated and want things to change
Sometimes I get a notion to put a torch
I feel like doing something drastic to change my life
To the tools of my trade
This is a metaphor for the things that make up my life
Here I am in the Hammersmith Hotel
I am still stuck in this same uneventful place
Wishing the days away
I still want time to pass quickly so I can be with this person
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILLY BRAGG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Antiomnis
Thanks. I've had this in my head for about a year and haven't managed to find either the time, or cash to get hold of it.
cally777
my favorite! so many memories when my life was like that!
catpainblackudder01
cheers..