Whoops, There Goes Another Year
Reconnecting with a lengendary artist in an old church in a small town
Quick note: My latest LP “Split Seconds On Earth” is still available on swirly blue and white vinyl, but we’re down to the last few copies! Grab one on Bandcamp or my site before they’re gone. And if vinyl isn’t your thing, follow me on Bandcamp here. Lots of new stuff coming soon, including new Expanda Fuzz.
*****
“The Polaroids that hold us together will surely fade away, like the love that we spoke of forever, on St. Swithin’s Day”
I was surprised what was happening. Why was I having such a visceral reaction to this song? As I sang along under my breath to ‘St. Swithin’s Day’, all of a sudden I could feel my eyes welling up.
We recently went to see Billy Bragg, the legendary punk troubadour in a church in Kingston, Ontario. We arrived early in hopes of getting a good seat, only to find long lines outside, already weaving their way through the large ornate doors. Once inside we realized it was packed to the belfry, so to speak. Though the temperature was sweltering in there, we chose the balcony and settled in for the show.
Maybe my visceral reaction was caused by the vibe of the old church or maybe it was the sweltering heat, but I’m pretty sure it was because it hit me hard: I’d been singing along with some of Billy’s songs for nearly 40 years now.
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“You know when we sat out on the fire escape talking”
Not long into his set, Billy broke into ‘Greetings to the New Brunette’ and I caught myself thinking about how long these songs have been embedded in the soundtrack of my life.
As I sang along, I could feel my chest swelling with emotion. Slightly embarrassed, I gingerly wiped my eyes as I kept up with the lyrics that I know so well.
As Billy rolled through the song, so many memories came racing back to me. I remembered learning to play Greetings to the New Brunette on my cheap acoustic guitar when I was at Concordia University in Montreal. I recalled clumsily strumming it in a residence stairwell, perhaps hoping I might get a chance to impress some friends.
I thought about how I played it at open mics and around campfires throughout the years and not long ago, I chose the song as one I’d sing at a funeral for a friend.
As Billy played through the bridge of the song, he belted out, “Whoops there goes another year…” before stepping back from the mic, his cue for us to chime in for the next line:
“Whoops there goes another pint of beer!” The church crowd sang back to him.
Chills ran through my body. I discretely wiped my stinging eyes again and smiled at the sheer joy of the moment.
I could see the smile on Billy’s face as well.
******
“Here we are in our summer years, living on ice cream and chocolate kisses.”
For some reason, now I have much more of a visceral response to songs I’ve grown up with, especially when I hear the artist play them live. I’ve been trying to figure out why. Was it simply a result of growing older and being much more aware of the passage of time? I do know these feelings are cathartic and more difficult to explain than the ones I had when I experienced live music as a youngster.
So I wondered how I reacted to Billy Bragg’s songs when I first saw him play in 1988. I tried to imagine myself as a teen, singing along with a beer raised to the ceiling of whatever club I happened to be in. Back then I was simply along for the live music ride, happy to be in the presence of an artist I admired.
While I still feel like I’m 21, I’m admittedly much older now and so is the Bard of Barking. Yet here we are, still sharing this communal experience I might have taken for granted so many years ago.
But on this night in the church, I meticulously absorbed every minute and savoured every emotion.
*****
“Is it wrong to wish on space hardware?”
Towards the end of the set, “Uncle Bill” as he referred to himself at one point, let the audience sing the chorus of ‘A New England’. He walked back and forth across the stage and pointed to the church balconies like Mick Jagger would in a giant stadium.
“I don’t want to change the world, I’m not looking for a new England!” we all sang back to him, responding to his outstretched finger, as he grinned up at us while gripping his Fender Tele.
“The choir!” he shouted back as we continued singing his most well known chorus: “I’m just looking for another girl!”
We also figured ‘A New England’ was likely a reminder to Billy he was missing his beloved England football team who were, in that very moment, in a knockout match in the World Cup. This was a fact he continually reminded the audience throughout the evening, often joking about his angst about missing the game. There might have been a small part of the legendary entertainer that was eager to end the set and catch the match, but we all knew better1. We knew we could count on this seasoned vet to never let down his captivated audience and cut the set short. (The next day I was pleased to learn that England had won and Billy had caught a good chunk of the end of the match).
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“Mixing pop and politics, he asks me what the use is”
As he has done since I can remember, Billy ended his encore by leading the crowd in an upgraded version of ‘Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards’. I couldn’t help but think to myself: We are, aren’t we? We are still waiting for that great leap forwards.
But the ever encouraging, optimistic and empathic Billy Bragg still leads by example. He continually reminded his audience with wonderful anecdotes of why we still very much need to be active with the activists. And I don’t think his points were lost on any of us.
As my stinging eyes welled up once again, one of my favourite songwriters waved goodbye and walked off the stage, presumably to catch the end of England’s important match.
I feel lucky to have once again been in the presence of the greatest punk troubadour, someone who has gifted me so much inspiration on my own musical journey.
*****
“All winter long while I was locked in my room”
Epilogue of sorts: Truth be told, the little kid in me daydreamed about meeting Billy Bragg on that evening in the church, thinking a smaller venue in a smaller town might allow for such a thing. I brought a 7” record my band The Stand GT made in 1993, with a little sticky note inside, thanking Billy for his music, letting him know it has been a huge inspiration to me over the years. The Stand GT had covered one of Billy’s songs ‘Strange Things Happen’ on the record. Incidentally, about 20 years ago, I submitted an mp3 copy of the song to his website when he put out a call for covers of his songs. Our version was hosted on a ‘covers of Billy Bragg songs’ web page along with many others, so it was quite possible he’d heard our garage rock version before.
In my daydream, I’d break the ice a la Nardwuar with this story and a small gift of an old indie record… as opposed to just babbling on about how much his music has meant to me for 40 years. But with the packed Kingston crowd, the sweltering heat and the fact Billy was keen to get backstage to watch the end of the World Cup match, I knew the handshake and small gift would have to wait.
*****
“Whoops there goes another pint of beer!”
You can hear the crowd sing in this clip of Billy Bragg playing Greetings To The New Brunette in Kingston, Ontario, July 5th, 2026. Thanks to meltingplastic for having her phone ready for this one!
Finally, from KRAK zine, McGill University, Montreal, 1987. I dug this out of my archives for the occasion. I just realized my old pal France (who I wouldn’t have known in 1987!) transcribed this. I’m going to ask her if she remembers. :)
As a long suffering fan of a certain hockey team, I can certainly empathize with his situation!
I almost bought a Roland cube 60 amp because of Billy. Almost.
Such a great recounting of your experience Chris! We can all feel tears welling up just reading this. Truthfully, this is why music is so important in our lives from the creative push it provides to the emotional release and therapy. As always, a wonderful share!