"I loved the words you wrote to me
But that was bloody yesterday
I can't survive on what you send
Every time you need a friend.

I saw two shooting stars last night.
I wished on them, but they were only satellites.
It's wrong to wish on space hardware.
I wish, I wish, I wish you'd care."

(extract from 'A New England' by Billy Bragg)

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No...I'm not making a call out to anyone. I just always loved those lyrics.

I was up close and personal with Billy Bragg once.

During my student years, he was a working class hero, a 'People's Poet' - with a recognisable voice and more than a bit of nowse

Rank him alongside Howard DeVoto and Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks) and Hugh Cornwell (Stranglers) for blasting out lyrics which were all about 'me'...or so it seemed then.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love music... and lyrics.
They move me, in a million different ways.

And anyone who can reach me, through their words, deserves some of my time.

I truly can't imagine a world where I can't disappear into a song, to either fortify or melt away an emotion.

When I saw Billy Bragg I was one of maybe 30 people, in a small "inside the actors' studio" type setting.
I had no aspirations to sing, write music, or play the guitar...but I loved him.

And so I went.

I sat there in the old disused church hall (used by the college, as a theatre for the performing arts) and hung on his every word.

He was fascinating.

There was no hidden secret, no magical formula...just a regular guy and his guitar...telling a story that I already knew.

It seems so long ago and a whole other world, but I haven't changed so much.

I still love to hear a distinctive voice sing meaningful lyrics.

I can still laugh, or cry (literally) along with a relative stranger sporting a microphone, a guitar, or a band.

I'll never be a musician...I'd never want to be one...BUT

Don't take away my music... okay?

You can find more Billy Bragg lyrics here

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My soundtrack and favourite Billy Bragg song EVER.

The Man in The Iron Mask.

When he drops you off, I will not say
Who was that who so quickly drove away...
The things you've done and the places you've been
When I open the door for you
I will not let them in...

As long as you come back to me
I will never ask
For you I will be
The Man in the Iron Mask

You said you love me and it broke my heart
I was always your prisoner right from the start
The nights you spend without me,
This house is like a dungeon
And you only return to torture me more

You must have your reasons
I will not ask.
For you I will be
The Man in the Iron Mask