A Lover Sings: Selected Lyrics

by Billy Bragg

Billy Bragg is one of Britain's most distinctive and accomplished songwriters, whose work has articulated the passions, both personal and political, of Britain during the past five decades. A Lover Sings contains over seventy of his best-known lyrics, selected and annotated by the author.

'Sexuality', 'A New England', 'Levi Stubbs' Tears' — these are unadorned, poetic songs that skilfully interweave everyday observation with much broader of fairness and outrage, of generosity and love. A Lover Sings reveals a unique principled and proudly of the Left, funny, forthright and tender. It is a remarkable collection.

Genres: Music, Poetry, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 12, 2016

About the author

Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) — known as Billy Bragg — is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes. His music career has lasted more than 30 years.

Reviews

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than a book of lyrics, A Lover Sings gives fans of Billy Bragg a "behind the music" look at the creation of his songs.

Bragg made a name for himself in the UK in the early 80s as a folk/punk-styled political voice for the left through strident message songs on the one hand and on-the-sleeve personal story songs that touched upon young folks in and out of love.

In the intro to the book, Bragg explains his roots and influences. Considering the punk sensibilities of his early work, it's surprising to hear that songwriters like Paul Simon had an impact on him and that the Motown sound was a favorite of his youth. I guess I shouldn't be surprised after listening for years to lines in his songs like "Remember the sadness In Florence Ballard's eyes" and references to Holland, Dozier, Holland in a song like "Levi Stubbs' Tears".

The Clash seemed a more likely source of inspiration and certainly they helped to form Bragg's ideas and sound, and yet, so too did the enthusiastic energy of the British music hall tradition contribute to his one-man-and-a-guitar performances: Billy Bragg on the South Bank Show

Bragg's brand of socialism is well summed up in his song "Between the Wars":

I was a miner, I was a docker
I was a railway man between the wars
I raised a family in times of austerity
With sweat at the foundry between the wars

I paid the union and as times got harder
I looked to the government to help the working man
But they brought prosperity down at the armoury
We're arming for peace, me boys between the wars

I kept the faith and I kept voting
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
And mine is a faith in my fellow man

Theirs is a land of hope and glory
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
And mine is the peace we knew between the wars

Call up the craftsmen, bring me the draftsmen
Build me a path from cradle to grave
And I'll give my consent to any government
That does not deny a man a living wage

Go find the young men never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
Sweet moderation, heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are between the wars


Reading of his struggle and the evolution his ideals underwent has always been interesting to me. He's like a version of Phil Ochs, but one who kept the faith and fought on despite overwhelming defeats and an ever-growing conservative movement in his home country.

I doubt I could've become so enamored with the man's music if it had been only politically-minded. I need the human element in my music, the personal struggle and all the emotional baggage that comes with it. Luckily, Bragg provided that in spades. Relationship woes were a constant source of material for his lyrics, especially in the early days.

Shirley,
It's quite exciting to be sleeping here in this new room
Shirley,
You're my reason to get out of bed before noon
Shirley,
You know when we sat out on the fire escape talking
Shirley,
What did you say about running before we were walking

Sometimes when we're as close as this
It's like we're in a dream
How can you lie there and think of England
When you don't even know who's in the team

Shirley,
Your sexual politics have left me all of a muddle
Shirley,
We are joined in the ideological cuddle

I'm celebrating my love for you
With a pint of beer and a new tattoo
And if you haven't noticed yet
I'm more impressionable when my cement is wet

Politics and pregnancy
Are debated as we empty our glasses
And how I love those evening classes

Shirley,
You really know how to make a young man angry
Shirley,
Can we get through the night without mentioning family

The people from your church agree
It's not much of a career
Trying the handles of parked cars
Whoops, there goes another year
Whoops, there goes another pint of beer

Here we are in our summer years
Living on ice cream and chocolate kisses
Would the leaves fall from the trees
If I was your old man and you were my missus

Shirley,
Give my greetings to the new brunette


The times they were a' changin' and Bragg changed with them. He kept faith with his ideals, but his life-view had to change when fatherhood came knocking. This is most in evidence upon his mid '90s William Bloke album which explores his new role as caregiver while still coming to grips with his political leanings. It's a very reflective album on the whole and second in pop accessibility only to Accident Waiting to Happen.

One detraction from the A Lover Sings reading experience was that I was given a reader's copy poorly formatted for Kindle. The type was extremely small and hard to read. I believe they just scanned the proofs and made digital files directly from them. But that's a mark against the publisher, not the book or its author. If you know you're giving a reader's copy to a reviewer, why would you give them something that's going to negatively impact their reading experience? That's the sound of somebody dropping the ball right there.

But aside from that, this was a nice behind the scenes look into the writing process of one of my favorite songwriters. Any fan rabid looking for a more intimate knowledge of Bragg should grab themselves a copy. Non-fans and new initiates should listen to some of his music first. Here's a sampler:


A New England

Greetings to the New Brunette

Help Save the Youth of America

Brickbat

Waiting For the Great Leap Forwards

[☀️CJ☀️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s great to be able to read his lyrics as poetry and gain insight to what he was feeling and thinking about when he wrote them. He’s truly one of a kind.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:

“Woody (Guthrie) never wrote a cynical song... he hated songs that made ordinary people feel they were worthless...I came to see cynicism as the true enemy of all of us who wish to create a fairer society and vowed to keep mine in check”

I had to read this on the day of receiving the eagerly purchased hardback beauty, unwittingly timed for my February theme of analyses of love - claret and blue cover with each page on perfectly smooth fresh paper - too enticing before I’d even considered the non pessimistic words of the political pop poet of Bragg. A listening party for two with husband during Covid lockdown evening, neither of us familiar with every back catalogue song, but could sing along with faux accents to the hits, and listen with intrigue and heartache to the unknowns - tell me the truth about love indeed...

‘In a perfect world we’ll all sing in tune but this is reality so give me some room’ (Waiting for the Great Leap Forward). I ironically bought my first Bragg album (Back to Basics) whilst living in Essex, but the distant love affair with the music started way before then. Kirsty MacColl was a top 5 female role model for me, a town kid growing up on a aural diet of 60s Motown and 70s punk, with 80s dreams of breaking free from reality but acknowledging predictability isn’t a bad thing either. Her cover version of New England (which I liked so much I taped it off the radio - high praise indeed for 1985) was a casual call to arms - yes, you can be a young mom with choice but that’s not what I want - I’m looking for another girl, and that’s ok if I don’t want to fit the mould and make a change - dichotomy of personality means ownership. I listened to my treasured radio version so much that, even to this day, I still know where there was an imperfection in the tape and the song jumped (between the aaaahs and the empowering line ‘my dreams were full of strange ideas, my mind was set despite my fears’). I wanted the long coat and the felt, wide brim hat uniform to walk through the park being a bit moody and reflecting on changing life paths available to me... and she was a beautiful red head so how could it not have been love at first music video viewing? But hold on, this perfect reality check song, that recognises that sometimes the promise from potential shooting stars, the momentary connection ideal, is easily shattered being only space hardware, wasn’t written by my new kickass feminist hero...? That’s very kind of her to share her immense song with an Essex wide boy with a guitar but it really won’t mean the same (sniggers in pity at the boy trying to take on this behemoth of a shy but confident girls anthem)...

‘Headlines give me headaches when I read them... your laws do not apply to me’ (Sexuality). As an alternative teenager, aware of choice for who I wanted to be this was a very groovy tune and subject song. Oooh, I can see that Kirsty is helping out that funny man again by singing about following urges, and being exactly what you want to be without needing societal permission - how kind of her.

‘Do you ever wish that you were better informed’ (It says here). No, I’m glad that I had MacColl and Bragg for different periods in my life - I started properly listening to the latter in the late nineties and instantly clicked with his positive support for humanity and every man, woman and dog. Milkman of Human Kindness, Richard, A New England (with its completely different take with a male singer), The Man in the Iron Mask, The Busy Girl Buys Beauty, Lovers Town Revisited, You Woke up my Neighbourhood, Tank Park Salute (oh the tears, and the insight from this book just amazing), Brickbat, M for me, January song... so many but all with the underlying socialist and good person mantra of no-one is less equal and that peers travel through life together, not racing ahead and not leaving anyone behind... ‘Just because you’re going forwards, doesn’t mean I’m going backwards’ (To Have and To Have Not)

“I keep faith in the ability of music to make a difference”

[Catriona Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

For decades, Billy Bragg has played great songs, born of pop and laced with politics — but when his son missed a Cold War reference, it reminded him of the importance of context. A Lover Sings, explains and provides back-story to some of his carefully-crafted lyrics.

Bragg explores the roots of his progressive political activism, why he fears music has lost its vanguard role, and how he really feels about cynics (also known as people who have simply "given up").

"The real enemy of all of us who want to make the world a better place is not capitalism or conservatism, it's cynicism."

He also posits that good political songs don't need to spell out solutions, but should still signal a way forward.

Billy Bragg has always been my musical and political true love. Reading these lyrics was more like hearing the music and singing the songs in my head. The introduction is worth reading even if not a Bard of Barking fan.

"Music can draw us out of isolation and connect us with a community where we feel our troubles and concerns are recognised and shared. If music has any real power, it lies in this moment – when we experience the solidarity of song, the cathartic realisation that you’re not the only person who shares the sentiments that are being so forcefully expressed."

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Billy Bragg. I first saw him live over thirty years ago. I saw him again last month. He was as vital and fresh as in the 1980s.

This book makes you realise the depth of his thought, his command of language, his ability to capture the complex is a few well crafted lines. Reading it I sometimes read at the song's pace. Sometimes as if there was no music ever written to accompany.

Billy chats between each song. He says that some bands have spectacular shows, with colour and lights. He just has his words. This book is a collection more spectacular than any lights could ever be.

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This past month I've been listening to a lot of Billy Bragg, especially his early records and his BBC Sessions compilation, so I decided to give this one a try because I'd heard it explains some details about the songs included, which are most of his work up to the point of its publication. It's a quick, easy read and my only complaint is that it doesn't include much detail about each song's inception or meaning, though what it does include in addition to the lyrics is interesting enough. For instance, I never knew where the title to "Greetings From The New Brunette" came from or that he wrote one of his songs based on Kurt Cobain's death.

[Heinz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zuerst schreibt Billy Bragg eine zehnseitige Einleitung, wie es zu seiner Karriere kam. Dann folgen seine gesammelten Werke Wort für Wort - eben wie Gedichte (der Untertitel sagt es ja schon). Abschliessend dann auf 35 Seiten Bemerkungen zu allen Songs. So habe ich beispielsweise erfahren, dass sein Hit "A New England" auf dem Heimweg vom Pub entstand, als er zwei Satelliten am Himmel erspähte. Erst ein Jahr später beendete er den Song, mit Anleihen bei Paul Simon ("The Leaves That Are Green"), das wusste ich natürlich noch nicht. Kompakt und äusserst spannend. Beim Lesen muss man mitsingen!

[Steve Angelkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was driving back from the midlands after showing my daughter around my hometown.
Billy Bragg came on the playlist and I had a little chuckle to myself as I sang along to tunes I'd last heard some 30 years ago.

Now my daughter has impeccable music taste (she likes loads of my stuff at the moment), and was pleasantly surprised by Billy's early stuff (my favourite).

I naturally picked up this book, which is really an ode to the Bard of Barking.

Last part of the book explains thoughts and influences on tracks.

Lovely read, full of nostalgia, political angst and unrequited love.

[Don Roper · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must have for all Billy fans and a delight for anyone looking for poetry in the most unlikely of places. ...