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.
YARRA SONG
Billy Bragg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Winter is creeping in
While far away my loved ones
Wake up in England's spring
And although delights await me
All the way to Flinders Street
It's that little piece of heaven
When The Saints take on The Magpies
Someday too far away
I barrack for St. Kilda
In that funny game they play
But my heart's not really in it
My mind wanders to a town
Where The Hammers sing "I'm forever blowing bubbles"
And the rain comes pouring down
Yes, it's still raining in England
Guess that's why I like it here
There's a brolly in my hotel room
For when the skies aren't clear
'Cos it never rains in Sydney
And it never rains in Perth
Adelaide's a desert
And Brisbane's just scorched earth
So excuse me please such days as there
And send me to the town
Where the children sing when St. Kilda win
And the rain comes falling down
So wake me up tomorrow
And send me home again
To where The Hammers sing "I'm forever blowing bubbles"
In the pouring London rain
The opening verse of Billy Bragg's song "Yarra Song" sets a melancholy mood as he navigates between the distances separating him from his loved ones. The cold shiver down his spine from the creeping winter calls to mind the chilly climate of England, where his family and friends reside. The comparison between the English spring and the Australian winter leaves Bragg feeling nostalgic and longing for the familiar atmosphere of home, but he is also excited for the new experiences waiting for him in Melbourne, as he heads to Flinders Street.
However, Bragg's mind wanders off to a town where the West Ham United FC resides, and the sound of the medley "I'm forever blowing bubbles" rings out amidst the pouring rain. It's interesting how Bragg inserts himself into the local Australian culture, professing his support for St. Kilda during a football match, but concedes that his heart is not in it as his thoughts drift towards another place. The comparison between the rainy weather in England and Australia is also fascinating, with Bragg finding beauty in the rainfall of both places.
Overall, "Yarra Song" has a dual effect on the listener - on one hand, it is nostalgic and reflective, but it is also optimistic in its embrace of new experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a chill tonight on the Yarra
It's really cold tonight by Yarra River
Winter is creeping in
Winter season is slowly approaching
While far away my loved ones
My loved ones are distant from me
Wake up in England's spring
They wake up to spring season in England
And although delights await me
There are many good things waiting for me
All the way to Flinders Street
Everything is great even up to Flinders Street
It's that little piece of heaven
But there's something special missing
With which they must compete
And my loved ones must compete with it
When The Saints take on The Magpies
When St. Kilda Saints play against Collingwood Magpies
Someday too far away
Someday far in the future
I barrack for St. Kilda
I support St. Kilda
In that funny game they play
In the sport called Australian Rules Football
But my heart's not really in it
But my heart is not fully into it
My mind wanders to a town
My thoughts drift to a place
Where The Hammers sing "I'm forever blowing bubbles"
Where West Ham United fans sing their song
And the rain comes pouring down
And it rains heavily there
Yes, it's still raining in England
It's still rainy in England
Guess that's why I like it here
Maybe that's why I prefer being here
There's a brolly in my hotel room
There is an umbrella in my hotel room
For when the skies aren't clear
In case the weather is bad
'Cos it never rains in Sydney
Because it almost never rains in Sydney
And it never rains in Perth
And it almost never rains in Perth
Adelaide's a desert
Adelaide is like a desert
And Brisbane's just scorched earth
And Brisbane gets really hot
So excuse me please such days as there
Please forgive me for having those kinds of days
And send me to the town
And take me to the place
Where the children sing when St. Kilda win
Where the kids celebrate when St. Kilda wins
And the rain comes falling down
And it heavily rains there
So wake me up tomorrow
Wake me up tomorrow
And send me home again
And send me back home again
To where The Hammers sing "I'm forever blowing bubbles"
Where West Ham United fans sing their song again
In the pouring London rain
In the heavy rain in London
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEPHEN WILLIAM BRAGG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mick Standing
Brilliant. I saw Billy at the Enmore Theatre Newtown Sydney in 2000 he was really good thank you for posting this It's great.