The British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco collaborated to … Read Full Bio ↴The British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco collaborated to put to music and perform previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. The project was organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie. The ensuing album "Mermaid Avenue" was released on the Elektra Records label on June 23, 1998. A second volume of recordings, "Mermaid Avenue Vol. II", followed in 2000. The projects are named after a song "Mermaid's Avenue" written by Guthrie. This was also the street in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York on which Guthrie lived.

According to Bob Dylan's autobiographical Chronicles, Woody Guthrie gave his unpublished songs to Dylan but Bob was unable to get them from Guthrie's family (he tells a story about a reluctant babysitter).

Nora Guthrie's liner notes in Mermaid Avenue indicate that it was her intention that the songs be given to a new generation of musicians who would be able to make the songs relevant to a younger generation. She therefore contacted singer-songwriter Billy Bragg in spring 1995 about recording some unreleased songs by her father, folk singer Woody Guthrie. Most of the songs were written late in Guthrie's life when he was unable to record due to the motor impairments of Huntington's disease. By the 1990s, Woody Guthrie had become a "relic" to the MTV generation, and Nora sought to establish a different legacy for the musician. To Nora, Bragg was "the only singer I knew taking on the same issues as Woody." Bragg was concerned, however, that his fans would not realize that the songs were written by Guthrie when he performed them on tour, so he decided to record the album with another band.

Bragg contacted Tweedy and Bennett about co-recording the album while Wilco was on the European segment of their Being There tour. Bragg was particularly fond of Being There because their influences extended farther back than the 1950s. Although Tweedy was indifferent to the offer, Bennett was enthused about recording songs of one of his idols—Bennett's previous band Titanic Love Affair was named after a Billy Bragg lyric. A recording contract between Bragg and Wilco was signed after a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Bragg mostly recorded the politically-charged lyrics, while Tweedy preferred to record lyrics that showcased Guthrie as a "freak weirdo." The recording of Mermaid Avenue began on December 12, 1997, and was the topic of BBC's Man in the Sand documentary film.

Tempers flared between Bragg and Wilco after the album was completed. Bennett believed that Bragg was overproducing his songs, a sharp contrast to Wilco's sparser contributions. Bennett called Bragg about the possibility of remixing Bragg's songs, to which Bragg responded with "you make your record, and I'll make mine, fucker." Eventually Bragg sent copies of his recordings to Chicago for Bennett to remix, but Bragg refused to use the new mixes on the album. The two parties were unable to establish a promotional tour and quarreled over royalties and guest musician fees.

Despite these conflicts, the album was released on June 23, 1998, and sold over 277,000 copies. The album received rave reviews from Robert Christgau and Rolling Stone, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. It also placed fourth on the Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1998 (right behind Bob Dylan's Live 1966).

My Thirty Thousand
Billy Bragg & Wilco Lyrics

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Paul Robeson, he's the man
That faced the Ku Klux Klan
On hollow grove's golfing ground
His words come sounding

And all around him there
To jump and clap and cheer
I sent the best I had, the best I had

My thirty thousand

The Klansman leader said
That Paul would lose his head
When thirty five thousand vets
Broke up that concert

But less than four thousand came
To side with the Klan
But around Paul's lonesome oak
My thirty thousand

A beersoaked brassy band
Did snortle round the grounds
Four hundred noblest souls
Westchester's manhood

And they looked exactly like
The fleas on a tiger's back
Lost fish in the waters of
My thirty thousand

When Paul had sung and gone
And the kids and babies home
Cops came with guns and clubs
And they clubbed and beat 'em

Well, I'd hate to be a cop
Caught with a bloody stick
'Cause you can't bash the brains
Out of thirty thousand

Each eye you tried to gouge
Each skull you tried to crack
Has a thousand, thousand friends
Around this green grass

If you furnish the skull someday
I'll pass out the clubs and guns
To the billion hands that love
My thirty thousand

Each wrinkle on your face
I know it at a glance
You cannot run and hide
Nor duck nor dodge them

And your carcass and your deeds
Will fertilize the seeds
Of the men that stood to guard
My thirty thousand

Of the men that stood to guard
My thirty thousand

Overall Meaning

"My Thirty Thousand" is a song by Billy Bragg and Wilco that contemplates the life and works of famed scholar and activist Paul Robeson. The song alludes to his works in the civil rights movement and the efforts he made in advocating for the rights of African Americans. Paul Robeson became a symbol of aspiration for black people around the world because of his incredible musical talent, intelligence, and dedication to standing up against injustice. Robeson's musical genius spoke to people, challenging them to be better versions of themselves while making a difference in the world.

The song, "My Thirty Thousand," begins by describing how Robeson faced the Ku Klux Klan on a golfing ground during one of his speeches. The chorus, which emphasizes the phrase "My Thirty Thousand," is used to indicate that he had a substantial crowd present to hear him speak that day. The song expresses that the Klan expected thirty-five thousand veterans to come and halt the concert, but only four thousand came to support them. In contrast, Robeson had an army of thirty thousand supporters surrounding him, cheering and clapping along to his words. Additionally, the lyrics reference a feeling of solidarity between Robeson and his supporters. Billy Bragg and Wilco wrote, "Around Paul's lonesome oak, My thirty thousand—where the Klansman leader watched in disdain."

Moving on to the second verse of "My Thirty Thousand," the song alludes to the post-concert events of that fateful day. Despite efforts to break up the concert, Paul persisted and sang until he had finished his message. However, when the concert ended, the police arrived with guns and clubs in hand, and they began to use them against the peaceful crowd that had gathered to listen to Robeson's speech. The song then ends by encouraging the people who had witnessed the events of that day to act as guardians to Robeson's message and teachings.

My Thirty ThousandBilly Bragg & Wilco Lyrics

My Thirty Thousand
Billy Bragg & Wilco Lyrics