A New England

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"A New England"
Song by Billy Bragg from the album Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy
Released November 1983
Recorded 2–4 February 1983 Chappell Music, Park Street, London
Length 2:14
Label Utility
Writer Billy Bragg
Producer Oliver Hitch
Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy track listing
  1. "The Milkman of Human Kindness"
  2. "To Have and To Have Not"
  3. "Richard"
  4. "A New England"
  5. "The Man in the Iron Mask"
  6. "The Busy Girl Buys Beauty"
  7. "Lovers Town Revisited"

"A New England" is a song written and recorded by Billy Bragg, included on his album Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy, released in 1983. It became a hit single when covered by Kirsty MacColl the next year.

Contents

[edit] Background and composition

The opening lines of the song ("I was 21 years when I wrote this song/I'm 22 now, but I won't be for long") are identical to the opening lines of Paul Simon's song "Leaves that are Green," which appears on Simon and Garfunkel's 1966 album Sounds of Silence. In concert, in Winnipeg, Canada, on 27 September 2006, Bragg stated that Simon and Garfunkel had a strong influence on him, and that he took the line from their song intentionally.

Bragg says that the song had its origins in seeing two satellites flying alongside each other. Searching for romantic inspiration, he had to make do with "space hardware".[1] He told a BBC interviewer that he "stole" the melody from Thin Lizzy's Cowboy Song.[1]

[edit] Kirsty MacColl version

"A New England"
Single by Kirsty MacColl
B-side "Patrick"
"I'm Going Out with an 80 Year Old Millionaire"
Released December 1984
Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, 12" picture disc
Genre Pop, New Wave
Length 3:49
Label Stiff
Writer(s) Billy Bragg
Producer Steve Lillywhite
Kirsty MacColl singles chronology
"Terry"
(1983)		 "A New England"
(1984)		 "He's on the Beach"
(1985)

Kirsty MacColl recorded the song the year after its release by Bragg, produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite.[2] It was her biggest solo hit - reaching number 7 in the UK Singles Chart[3] and number 8 in the Irish Singles Chart.[4]

Bragg's original version of the song had only two verses. MacColl thought the song was too short, and so Bragg wrote a further two verses for her, which she consolidated into one. Since MacColl's death, Bragg has included the additional verse in performances of the song as a tribute.[5]

[edit] Track listing

[edit] 7" and picture disc

Side A
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "A New England"   Billy Bragg  
Side B
No. Title Writer(s) Length
2. "Patrick"   Kirsty MacColl  

[edit] 12"

Side A
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "A New England (Extended Version)"   Bragg  
Side B
No. Title Writer(s) Length
2. "Patrick"   MacColl  
3. "I'm Going Out with an Eighty Year Old Millionaire"   MacColl  

[edit] Other versions

Melodic hardcore punk band Lifetime covered the song for the 1994 compilation album Music Does a Body Good.[6] The Groovie Ghoulies recorded a version of "A New England" for their 1996 album World Contact Day.[7] The song also appears on Too Much Joy's album ...Finally (1996).[8] The song has been covered acoustically by Jamie T (2006),[9] Jonah Matranga (2006)[10] and The King Blues.

The song was sung by Mackenzie Crook and Gemma Arterton in the 2008 film Three and Out whilst walking home together from a pub in the Lake District after mistaking a satellite for a shooting star in the night sky.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Billy Bragg in an interview with Alan Thompson". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/indepth/newengland.shtml. Retrieved 2011-02-14. 
  2. ^ "Freeworld - Kirsty MacColl: Official Releases". http://kirstymaccoll.com/music/discog/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-14. 
  3. ^ "Chart Stats - Kirsty MacColl - A New England". http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=11968. Retrieved 2011-02-14. 
  4. ^ "irishcharts.ie search results for A New England". http://www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2011-02-14. 
  5. ^ "Freeworld - Kirsty MacColl: singles". http://kirstymaccoll.com/music/singles/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-14. 
  6. ^ "Lifetime (2) - Somewhere In The Swamps Of Jersey (CD)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1259072. Retrieved 2010-02-14. 
  7. ^ "Groovie Ghoulies - World Contact Day (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1581418. Retrieved 2010-02-14. 
  8. ^ "Finally - Too Much Joy". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/finally-r231892. Retrieved 2010-02-14. 
  9. ^ "Jamie T - If You Got The Money (Vinyl)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1474907. Retrieved 2010-02-14. 
  10. ^ "Jonah Matranga / Frank Turner - Jonah Matranga/Frank Turner Split (Vinyl)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1311025. Retrieved 2010-02-14. 

[edit] External links

Billy Bragg
Studio albums
Compilations,
and boxsets
Singles and EPs
  • "Between the Wars EP"
  • "Days Like These"
  • "Levi Stubbs' Tears"
  • "Greetings to the New Brunette"
  • "She's Leaving Home"
  • "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards"
  • "She's Got a New Spell"
  • "Won't Talk About It"
  • "Sexuality"
  • "You Woke Up My Neighbourhood"
  • "Accident Waiting to Happen EP"
  • "Upfield"
  • "The Boy Done Good" / "Sugardaddy"
  • "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" (with Wilco)
  • "She Came Along to Me EP" (with Wilco)
  • "England Half English" / "St Monday" (with The Blokes)
  • "Take Down the Union Jack" (with The Blokes)
  • "We Laughed" (Rosetta Life feat. Billy Bragg)
  • "I Keep Faith"
  • "The Beach Is Free" / "I Almost Killed You"
  • "Never Buy The Sun"
Live albums
  • "Help Save the Youth of America"
  • "No Pop, No Style, Strictly Roots"
  • "Mermaid Avenue Tour"
  • "Going to a Party Way Down South"
  • "Live at the Barbican"
Related articles
Kirsty MacColl
Studio albums
Notable singles
With The Pogues
Related articles
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