I know that he can be an acquired taste - "Shouldn't he be Irish?" - Kara, Brooklyn NY 6/10/06 - but I caught a brilliant performance by Billy Bragg Thursday night/Friday morning on the 'Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'. Performing on electric guitar - with accompaniment from Ian McLagan on piano - he played a reworded version of 'Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards' as part of his promotional tour to plug his book, 'The Progressive Patriot', and Volume II of his 'Billy Bragg' boxset.
As it is one of my favourite songs* of his, I thought I would reproduce below the reworded lyrics** from last night's perfomance. I know that Bragg is a dyed in the wool reformist, and the editorial committee of the Socialist Standard would no doubt use up a box of red pens, going through the lyric line by line, but the fact remains that he is one of the best songwriters of the last twenty years and I'll give kudos to anyone who takes the time out to heckle from the stage the Ashbourne Court Group, like he did a few years back when he was performing at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival.
And on the subject of acquired tastes and all things Irish, I was in my natural state of cringing embarrassment when watching the risible Craig Ferguson - one upon a time the Dennis Leary to Gerry Sadowitz's Bill Hicks - but it was especially excruciating the other night when, at the end of the perfomance from Bragg, he swept up to Billy to gladhand him with the words: "Billy, it's always a pleasure", only to turn around as an afterthought to Ian McLagan, and mumble "Thanks Mate" as if he was some sort of nobody. That would be THE Ian McLagan, the bloke who played keyboards on 'Itchycoo Park', 'All or Nothing', 'Maggie May', and 'You're Wear It Well', amongst countless other bona fide classics.
Christ, it's 'cos of Craig that I tell people in the States that I'm Irish.
* Other favoured songs of Bragg include 'Levi Stubbs Tears', 'Greetings to the New Brunette', 'She's Got A New Spell', 'Valentine's Day is Over', 'Accident Waiting to Happen', 'Body of Water' & his version of 'The Red Flag' with Dick Gaughan.
**An earlier alternative version of 'Waiting For The President Elect'', performed at The Bottom Line, New York on 01/01/01, can be found here.
UPDATE
Some kind soul on has posted a clip of the performance on YouTube.
'WAITING FOR THE GREAT LEAP FORWARDS
(Alternative version performed on 'The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson', Los Angeles, 5/10/06).
It may have been Camelot for Jack and Jacqueline
But on the Hugo Chavez highway filling up with gasoline
Little Donald Rumsfield spies a rich lady who's crying
Over luxury's disappointment, so he goes over and he's trying
To sympathise with her but he thinks that he should warn her
To prepare to be bombed back into the Stone Age
In the former Soviet Union the citizens demand
To know why they are still the target of Strategic Air Command
And they shake their fists in anger and respectfully suggest
We take the money from our missiles and spend them on our hospitals instead (yeah)
The Cold War now is over but the stakes are getting higher
I'm frightened of collateral damage and of friendly fire
And I don't think we can defeat no Axis of Evil
By putting 'smart bombs' in the hands of dumb people
Mixing Pop and Politics they ask me what the use is
I offer them my acupuncturist and massueuses
While looking down the corridor
Out to where my ego is waiting
I'm looking for the New World Order (yeah)
Jumble sales are organised, all my mates got fat
Even after all this time you know you can still send me a fax
You can be active with the activists or sleeping with the media
While you're waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Oh, one leap forward, two leaps back
Will YouTube give MTV the sack?
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Well here comes the future and you can't run from it
If you've got a website I want to be on it
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality not American Idol
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards (yeah)
So join the struggle while you may
The Revolution's just an ethical haircut away
When you're waiting for the Great Leap Forwards
Words & Music : Billy Bragg
4 comments:
Three things:
1. Craig Ferguson is hot.
2. You misquoted me, like usual.
3. If you're gonna pretend to live in the States, you should know that 6/10/06 means June 10, 2006.
Three replies:
1. The bloke looks like he's got a head made out of rubber, and he's so unfunny that me shouting 'chuckles' over and over again is comedic genius by comparison.
2. I paraphrased you . . . to save your blushes.
3. Noted.
My three replies:
1. Craig Ferguson is an OK comedian, nothing special, and some of his humour has a pretty conservative bent politically.
2. Bragg may be a reformist, as am I.
But, unless the various revolutionary parties in the US, UK, etc, actually start busying themselves on getting enough money, people and resources, plus getting those into place, to take power, who's a reformist or a revolutionary doesn't much.
Just ends up being a kind of left-wing version of a junior high or high school "My dick's bigger'n yours" contest.
3. No need for you to tell people in NYC that you're Irish.
Tell 'em you're Scots.
If they say, "Oh, just Craig Ferguson,", tell 'em, "Nah. Like Sean Connery or Billy Connelly. Ferguson's a wanker."
Unless, that is, you also dislike Connery and Connelly, then my suggestion's completely useless.
Hell, it's probably completely useless, anyway.
Be seeing you.
I have VERY fnod memories of great Leap Forwards and loved reading the new version.
When I finished my 2nd year OU examination I came home, slapped on Worker's Playtime (the album it comes from: a work of veritable genius) and promptly, ceremoniously, tore down my revision poster while riotously singing along to Great Leap Forwards.
I then ran into town to Selectadisc and nobbled mr B to sign my copy of the album, had my pic took with him and then saw him play Rock City that night. Which was where he sang Dee-Lite's "Groove is in the heart". An awesome day!
PS you really need to be able to cite better Scottish role-models. you MUST be able to think of some...
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