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Rating: When it comes to Billy Bragg, words matter more than the music. And the essence of the themes in this work can already be guessed from the cover, from that half of the English flag, the white one with the red cross. “England Half English” is a concept first coined by Colin McInnes (author of the novel “Absolute Beginners”, among others) to describe the England of the 1950s, which was becoming increasingly multicultural and culturally rich. And this is the English identity that Bragg claims, without allowing the term “englishness” to be stolen by poor nationalist idiots. But Bragg, an activist of Red Wedge and the most politicized English singer-songwriter with his folk roots, manages to tackle the issues of today's discontents: “I grew up in a company town/And I worked real hard/‘til that company closed down/They gave my job to another man/On half my wages in some foreign land/And when I asked how could this be/Any good
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 St. Monday (03:03)
Monday and the afternoon is bearing down on me
I m watching the clock and the clock is watching me
Don t have to be cool but you know I am
Don t have to be here but you know that
I m a hard worker but I ain t working on a Monday
I m a hard worker but I ain t working on a Monday
A hard working fellow but I ain't working on a Monday
St. Monday s still the weekend to me
Two dozen enquiries are on hold for me
My shift supervisor is staring hard at me
Nobody can say what the matter is
I m trying to recharge my batteries
I m a hard worker but I ain t working on a Monday
I m a hard worker but I ain t working on a Monday
A hard working fellow but I ain't working on a Monday
St. Monday s still the weekend to me
Somewhere out on the road, I just wanna be free
I don't wanna do as I m told
Don t wanna work 4, 5, 6 days and turnaround
Want to get high on life but first I got to get me back home
Nobody can say what the matter is
I m trying to recharge my batteries
05 NPWA (05:31)
I grew up in a company town
And I worked real hard ‘'til that company closed down
They gave my job to another man
On half my wages in some foreign land
And when I asked how could this be
Any good for our economy?
I was told nobody cares
So long as they make money when they sell their shares
Can you hear us? Are you listening?
No power without accountability!
I lost my job, my car and my house
When ten thousand miles away some guy clicked on a mouse
He didn’t know me, we never spoke,
He didn’t ask my opinion or canvass for my vote
I guess its true, nobody cares
'Til those petrol bombs come spinning through the air
Gotta find a way to hold them to account
Before they find a away to snuff our voices out
Can you hear us? Are you listening?
No power without accountability!
The ballot box is no guarantee that we achieve democracy
Our leaders claim their victory when only half the people have spoken
We have no job security in this global economy,
Our borders closed to refugees but our markets forced open
The World Bank says to Mexico,
We’ll cut you off if you don’t keep your taxes low
But they have no right to wield that sword
‘Cos they take their orders from the chairman of the board
IMF, WTO,
I hear these words just every place I go
Who are these people? Who elected them?
And how do I replace them with some of my friends?
Can you hear us? Are you listening?
No power without accountability!
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