Happy Birthday, Billy Bragg!
Billy Bragg turns 50 today, and i thought i'd celebrate by counting down my favorite Billy verses from the past 20+ years. I wanted to choose a top 10, but that turned out to be too hard. So here's 21 of 'em. Song titles in italics, album titles in parentheses.
Billy's website is here. Go buy some stuff.
====================
He was trapped in a haircut he no longer believed in
She said "I'm a teacher here. I teach the children."
--King James Version (William Bloke)
They're out there making history
In the Lenin Shipyards today
And here I am in the Hammersmith Hotel
Wishing the days away
--Wishing the Days Away (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
Mixing Pop and Politics he asks me what the use is
I offer him embarrassment and my usual excuses
--Great Leap Forward (Worker's Playtime)
I flew with them over the Great Wen till I had seen my fill
Of such poverty and misery sure to tear my soul apart
I've got a socialism of the heart
--Upfield (William Bloke)
I don't feel bad about letting you go
I just feel sad about letting you know
--A New England (Life's a Riot with Spy v Spy)
Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone?
--Power in a Union (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
You know your moods just make me want to throw up
Why don't you just bloody well grow up?
--Sulk (Reaching to the Converted)
I had an uncle who once played for Red Star Belgrade
He said some things are really left best unspoken
But I prefer it all to be out in the open
--Sexuality (Don't try this at Home)
They are testing the air raid sirens
They've filled up the blood banks and emptied the beds
At the hospital and the asylum
--Rumours of War (Don't try this at Home)
I said there is no justice
As they led me out of the door
And the Judge said, "This isn't a court of justice, son
This is a court of law."
--Rotting on Remand (Worker's Playtime)
People say that we're a perfect match
They don't realise that there's a catch
They don't have to live with you, forgive you for the things you do
There's just no ignoring, you're pretty but you're boring
--Everybody Loves You Babe (William Bloke)
And there's only two teams in this town
And you must follow one or the other
Let us win, let them lose, not the other way round
In a northern industrial town
--Northern Industrial Town (William Bloke)
So drag me to the altar
And I'll make my sacrifice
Love is just a moment of giving
And marriage is when we admit our parents were right
--The Marriage (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
Oh look out, my country's patriots are hunting down below
What do they know of England who only England know
--The Few (Don't try this at Home)
Goodbye and good luck to all the rubbish that you've spoken
Goodbye and good luck to all the promises you've broken
Your life has lost its dignity, its beauty and its passion
You're an accident waiting to happen
--Accident Waiting to Happen (Don't Try This at Home)
Outside the patient millions who put them into power
Expect a little more back for their taxes
Like school books, beds in hospitals and peace in our bloody time
All they get is old men grinding axes
--Ideology (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
How can you lie there and think of England
When you don't even know who's in the team?
--Shirley (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
I know people whose idea of fun
Is throwing stones in the river in the afternoon sun
Oh let me be as free as them
--The Warmest Room (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
He has a lack of humility that defies imagination
And he hangs round like a fart in a Russian space station
--Goalhanger (William Bloke)
As we grow old I'm sure
There will be moments that we will not forget
But I would remember something of the moment that we met
--The Fourteenth of February (William Bloke)
I'm celebrating my love for you
With a pint of beer and a new tattoo
--Shirley (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
And there you have it. Welcome the best songwriter of the past 25 years to the half century club.
Billy's website is here. Go buy some stuff.
====================
He was trapped in a haircut he no longer believed in
She said "I'm a teacher here. I teach the children."
--King James Version (William Bloke)
They're out there making history
In the Lenin Shipyards today
And here I am in the Hammersmith Hotel
Wishing the days away
--Wishing the Days Away (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
Mixing Pop and Politics he asks me what the use is
I offer him embarrassment and my usual excuses
--Great Leap Forward (Worker's Playtime)
I flew with them over the Great Wen till I had seen my fill
Of such poverty and misery sure to tear my soul apart
I've got a socialism of the heart
--Upfield (William Bloke)
I don't feel bad about letting you go
I just feel sad about letting you know
--A New England (Life's a Riot with Spy v Spy)
Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone?
--Power in a Union (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
You know your moods just make me want to throw up
Why don't you just bloody well grow up?
--Sulk (Reaching to the Converted)
I had an uncle who once played for Red Star Belgrade
He said some things are really left best unspoken
But I prefer it all to be out in the open
--Sexuality (Don't try this at Home)
They are testing the air raid sirens
They've filled up the blood banks and emptied the beds
At the hospital and the asylum
--Rumours of War (Don't try this at Home)
I said there is no justice
As they led me out of the door
And the Judge said, "This isn't a court of justice, son
This is a court of law."
--Rotting on Remand (Worker's Playtime)
People say that we're a perfect match
They don't realise that there's a catch
They don't have to live with you, forgive you for the things you do
There's just no ignoring, you're pretty but you're boring
--Everybody Loves You Babe (William Bloke)
And there's only two teams in this town
And you must follow one or the other
Let us win, let them lose, not the other way round
In a northern industrial town
--Northern Industrial Town (William Bloke)
So drag me to the altar
And I'll make my sacrifice
Love is just a moment of giving
And marriage is when we admit our parents were right
--The Marriage (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
Oh look out, my country's patriots are hunting down below
What do they know of England who only England know
--The Few (Don't try this at Home)
Goodbye and good luck to all the rubbish that you've spoken
Goodbye and good luck to all the promises you've broken
Your life has lost its dignity, its beauty and its passion
You're an accident waiting to happen
--Accident Waiting to Happen (Don't Try This at Home)
Outside the patient millions who put them into power
Expect a little more back for their taxes
Like school books, beds in hospitals and peace in our bloody time
All they get is old men grinding axes
--Ideology (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
How can you lie there and think of England
When you don't even know who's in the team?
--Shirley (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
I know people whose idea of fun
Is throwing stones in the river in the afternoon sun
Oh let me be as free as them
--The Warmest Room (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
He has a lack of humility that defies imagination
And he hangs round like a fart in a Russian space station
--Goalhanger (William Bloke)
As we grow old I'm sure
There will be moments that we will not forget
But I would remember something of the moment that we met
--The Fourteenth of February (William Bloke)
I'm celebrating my love for you
With a pint of beer and a new tattoo
--Shirley (Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
And there you have it. Welcome the best songwriter of the past 25 years to the half century club.
Labels: pop culture
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
6 Comments:
thankyou, Mr. Erection! Billy continues to knock me out after all these years. I abandoned my love of Bob Dylan for him (actually I'd abandoned it quite a while before, but nevermind)
Sparky
By
sparky, at 12:35 PM
That's Mr. Dependable, son.
I don't see Billy and Dylan as being mutually exclusive. In fact, i think Billy could learn a thing or two from Bob. I noticed that all my favorite Billy songs are from older albums. Outside of the Mermaid Ave. stuff (which itself is almost a decade or so old), the newer stuff, is not as strong.
Dylan went through a similarly weak period in his career, but has turned up in his 60s as, once again, one ofthemost important figures in the music scene. I'm expecting good things from Billy in the future as well.
By
Barry, at 12:43 PM
hmmm, I'm not sure I want to continue this, but.....maybe you're right that the younger Billy is the one that I found more interesting/apt/funny that dear old Bob. But the fact is that I think Bob is basically a schmuck and Billy is really a very decent guy (which, yes,yes, I know should have nothing to do with how I judge their work, but). And, anyway, I'm of the female persausion, Mr. Dependable. all the best
Ms. Sparky
By
sparky, at 2:41 PM
A woman who calls herself Sparky?
My apologies. I'm sure there's an interesting story wating to be told somewhere.
By
Barry, at 2:58 PM
I didn't know Sparky was a boy's name. I thought it was probably a dog's name. Anyway, it was chosen as a joke because gmail couldn't give me my original choices, and now I'm stuck being Sparky. But I think I like it--once I get over the initial embarrassment.
By
sparky, at 3:12 PM
Sparky (or Sparks) was often the nickname given to the radio operator of a military unit, submarine, flying fortress, or what have you, especially in the movies.
By
Barry, at 5:04 PM
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