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According to Bob Dylan's autobiographical Chronicles, Woody Guthrie gave his unpublished songs to Dylan but Bob was unable to get them from Guthrie's family (he tells a story about a reluctant babysitter).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

Union Prayer
Billy Bragg & Wilco Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I hear that prayer and praying
Will change this world around
I fold my hands I bow my head
I kneel down on the ground

I prayed and prayed by night and day
And then I prayed some more
I prayed till my tongue was dry as dust

And I prayed till my knees had sores

Will prayer change shacks to decent homes?
Will prayer change sickness into health?
Will prayer change hate to works of love?
Will prayer get me my right to vote?

Will prayer give jobs at honest pay?
Will prayer bring stomach full of food?
Will prayer make rich treat poor folks right?
Will prayer take out the Ku Klux Klan?

Will prayer cut down the hoodlum bands?
Will prayer stop in the lynchbug hands?
If all of these things my prayers can do
I'll pray till I am black and blue

I'll pray till I am black and blue
I'll pray till I am black and blue
I'll pray till I am black and blue
I'll pray till I am black and blue

If prayer will bring us union love
I'll pray and pray and pray some more
I'll pray all day from door to door
And fall at night to pray some more

My prayer with a union label
My prayer with a union label

My prayer with a union label
My prayer with a union label

Overall Meaning

The song Union Prayer by Billy Bragg and Wilco is a powerful commentary on the role of prayer in social justice and political change. The lyrics are written from the perspective of an individual who is deeply committed to the idea that prayer can make a difference in the world, but who is also grappling with doubts and questions about the true impact of prayer.

In the verses, the singer poses a series of questions about the power of prayer to effect real change. They wonder whether prayer can transform shacks into decent homes, sickness into health, hate into love, and whether it will give them their basic rights and freedoms. They question whether prayer can bring about economic justice, provide access to food and shelter, and eradicate racism and violence.

Despite all of these doubts and questions, the chorus of the song resolves that prayer can indeed bring about union love and solidarity, and that the singer will continue to pray with the symbolic "union label" of worker's rights and social justice.

Overall, Union Prayer is a stirring call to action for those who believe in the transformative power of prayer, but who also recognize the need for sustained and collective action in order to achieve true social change.

Line by Line Meaning

I hear that prayer and praying Will change this world around
I have heard that prayer has a miraculous power to change the world.

I fold my hands I bow my head I kneel down on the ground
I show my reverence for the divine by assuming a prayer position.

I prayed and prayed by night and day And then I prayed some more I prayed till my tongue was dry as dust And I prayed till my knees had sores
I prayed incessantly, even when it caused physical discomfort, hoping that my prayers will be answered.

Will prayer change shacks to decent homes? Will prayer change sickness into health? Will prayer change hate to works of love? Will prayer get me my right to vote?
I wonder if prayer has the power to transform poverty into prosperity, illness into wellness, hate into love, and grant me fundamental human rights.

Will prayer give jobs at honest pay? Will prayer bring stomach full of food? Will prayer make rich treat poor folks right? Will prayer take out the Ku Klux Klan?
I question if prayers can fulfill basic human needs like fair employment, adequate nourishment, social justice, and eradicate hate groups.

Will prayer cut down the hoodlum bands? Will prayer stop in the lynchbug hands? If all of these things my prayers can do I'll pray till I am black and blue
I doubt if only prayers alone can combat organized crime and prevent racial violence, but I am ready to continue praying towards these causes despite physical harm.

If prayer will bring us union love I'll pray and pray and pray some more I'll pray all day from door to door And fall at night to pray some more
If prayer can promote unity and love, I am willing to pray tirelessly, going from place to place, seeking divine intervention.

My prayer with a union label My prayer with a union label My prayer with a union label My prayer with a union label
My prayer is associated with a labor union, reflecting my belief in collective action and social justice.

Contributed by Christian C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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