I saw this video once on a telly in 1987, instantly fell in love with it, and then I spent next 6 years trying to find an album with it, which was not an easy task in socialist Yugoslavia. I eventually did find it in Italy in a small record store in Bologna. Now, almost 35 years later, I still love it like the first time I heard it.
I left home young, married young, had my heart ripped out more than I would have thought possible. Music is always my emotional support. It has been my most constant companion for 40 years. This song is an old friend.
Hey girl,you ain't alone, I am a 50 something, that has been hurt by life but music has and always will be my go to therapy and support to deal with it all. It's MAGIC LOL
Spot on. My fave is 'days like these"-people get hurt when free speech is the cover for an opinion held by some,,, who would never date someone with diametrically opposed views. Words matter always!
Oh boy can Billy Bragg play a guitar , acoustic or electric ...so underrated ! Not many out there who can play to lyrics of purpose , Guthrie ? Dylan ? Bragg ... all underrated guitarists who gave space to the lyric
My mum founded and ran what used to be called a battered wives home back in the early 1970's, grew up being sadly aware of what men can do, everything about this song reminds me of the women my mum used to help sadly
Muss meine Meinung revidieren. Der Merchandising Shop macht mich sprachlos. Keine ideale Nix geblieben. Nur Gier . Ich hoffe dass es für deine Rente reicht.
I know you gotta move on, grow your repertoire, collaborate with folks-but I still cherish these early solo songs the most. Not to flatter you with outrageous praise, but you can acknowledge Dylan’s work with the Band as part of his creative peak…and still recognize that it was those first 3-4 “urban troubadour” records that made him what he was, and what made such a deep impression on music and culture. This is your most impactful work, always will be.
This spoke to me as a 15 year old boy growing up in the North East of Ireland in the 80s. I’m 50 now and like to turn the lights out, lie down and let this invade my soul.
You have no idea what this song meant to me in a small town in Italy when I was 22. It's really amazing how a singer and a song of a distant country could touch my life...
I lost my baby a year and a half after I had my human baby. That Billy Bragg song, “When the world falls apart, some things stay in place,” always felt like it was about him. He was my one thing that always stayed in place no matter how bad things got. I miss him so freaking much.
@@stephenwoodroffe5490 , thank you. I just reread this comment and realized it might not be entirely clear that I’m referencing a cat, my baby, my best friend, my soulmate cat, but a cat, and I thought maybe I should specify. I do appreciate your kindness though. ❤️
The lyrics are amazing right out of the gate "With the money from her accident. She bought herself a mobile home. So at least she could get some enjoyment. Out of being alone." That opens enough loose ends to write a novel and somehow Billy Bragg ties it together in under 3 minutes.
Listening to this repeatedly to try and make myself cry proof before seeing Billy Bragg live this week. Its not working. Over 30 years of listening and it still gets me in the heart.
You won't be disappointed. Saw him in Belfast last week and he was first class. Sounded magnificent, still relevant and his new songs were spot on.great gig.Hail hail BB
Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong Are here to make everything right that's wrong Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too Are here to make it all okay with you..... Brilliance
I love this song so much. The lyrics are so perfect, such great turns of phrase. “He was one of those blokes that war takes away/when there wasn’t a war, he left anyway”…goosebumps
This is one of those songs that makes you stop what you’re doing. What can you say about Billy Bragg. Every bit as good as Dylan. I also discovered the Dave Stewart/gaskin cover which is every bit as moving
That's exactly what I mean. I was cooking for my family (Christmas 2024), listening to some TH-cam mix and when it started this one I stopped doing what I was doing...
When irrelevance begins to take me over this song pulls me back and reminds me life matters, how people treat each other matters, and peoples rights matter, each and every one of us. Thank you Billy Bragg for reminding us xx
Remember seeing Billy Bragg on legendary Channel 4 music show the TUBE circa 1984 first saw him January 1986 @ Connolly Hall Cork have seen him many times since LEGEND 😎 ...... "Levi Stubbs tears" his tribute to 4 tops legendary singer 👍✌️😎 ........
I bought a cassette, travel in Canada, in 1987, at a Record Store “greetings to the new brunette” that had “Levi Stubbs tears” on it. It was suggested by the store staff, in Windsor to be “cool” new music. I bought Midnight Oil’ “diesel and dust” two. I was 18 years, and my mind was changed by the social activism of those two albums.
Recently got his 3rd LP on vinyl , to be exactly a weird east german version only entitled "Billy Bragg". It's just bloody awesome. The former owner probably has not listened to it very often. Still sounds great.
One of my all time favorites! Hits me deep in the feels! Like many others, brings me back to my youth, and still adore. Thank you, Billy for sharing your gift and voice with us! ❤️
I saw this video when it first came out. I was immediately blown away by the raw power it had. Great lyrics and a passionate performance. This video also sounds like a live recording. Not sure if it is but it sure seems that way.
Some records grab you and simply say "Listen" .There are some wonderful yet achingly sad lyrics and as an ex ( and desperately average, ) brass player in my youth I love the trumpet at the end...
Hey Billy, I just saw this on a reaction video! I don’t know what your label(s) think of it but PLEASE let those creators use your videos for their reactions. They really bring music to whole new groups and generations. And I love seeing people discover the music I already love, for the first time. It’s todays tape trading-technically illegal but so good for music culture.
Still remember a gig in Halifax in early 2000's .Lady beside me told to stop singing she was trying to understand the song. I just smiled and kept singing. Thank you Billy for being someone I'll always sing with and find beautiful stories between the lines.
never forget this tune. at a billy bragg concert during this song i kissed the love of my life the first time. ;-) the trumpet-solo is so heartbreaking.
Fantastic song. Love trying to play it (badly) on my guitar. Remember seeing him in the Olympia theatre about 30 years ago, great gig. Thanks for the music!
I love this video, but I can't find anything about who shot it and why they chose it shoot it that way. A great and inspiring single take, but with various framings and changes in lighting--somebody put a LOT of work into it.
I saw this video once on a telly in 1987, instantly fell in love with it, and then I spent next 6 years trying to find an album with it, which was not an easy task in socialist Yugoslavia. I eventually did find it in Italy in a small record store in Bologna. Now, almost 35 years later, I still love it like the first time I heard it.
What a great story ,thank you xxxxx
What a great story, my late step dad introduced me to Billy and strengthened my love in punk. I hope you still have the album! What a treat! :)
I saw in on tv in Australia, taped it onto a top loading vcr (the 1/2 hr tape, that came with the recorder, we had just got).
@@ErnestTheElephant I do!
Good for you. Enjoy pal
I left home young, married young, had my heart ripped out more than I would have thought possible. Music is always my emotional support. It has been my most constant companion for 40 years. This song is an old friend.
Hey girl,you ain't alone, I am a 50 something, that has been hurt by life but music has and always will be my go to therapy and support to deal with it all. It's MAGIC LOL
I'm sorry
I cry every time I hear this song it’s insane
And you are not the only one...
can we have a moment for just how good billy's playing is.
Spot on. My fave is 'days like these"-people get hurt when free speech is the cover for an opinion held by some,,, who would never date someone with diametrically opposed views. Words matter always!
And about an hour for his song writing…..
he describes himself as a 'average rhythm guitarist'... but I agree with you
Oh boy can Billy Bragg play a guitar , acoustic or electric ...so underrated ! Not many out there who can play to lyrics of purpose , Guthrie ? Dylan ? Bragg ... all underrated guitarists who gave space to the lyric
My mum founded and ran what used to be called a battered wives home back in the early 1970's, grew up being sadly aware of what men can do, everything about this song reminds me of the women my mum used to help sadly
Possibly 1 of the greatest songs ever written. Still as fresh now as it was the 1st time I heard it.
Muss meine Meinung revidieren. Der Merchandising Shop macht mich sprachlos. Keine ideale Nix geblieben. Nur Gier . Ich hoffe dass es für deine Rente reicht.
One of the greatest lyrical songs ever
Of his many masterpieces, this is the most... masterful. Reaches places other writers can only dream of.
Have no idea who Levi Stubbs is but this is truly heartfelt.
I know you gotta move on, grow your repertoire, collaborate with folks-but I still cherish these early solo songs the most. Not to flatter you with outrageous praise, but you can acknowledge Dylan’s work with the Band as part of his creative peak…and still recognize that it was those first 3-4 “urban troubadour” records that made him what he was, and what made such a deep impression on music and culture. This is your most impactful work, always will be.
Agree!
The 1st three albums are essential
I was lucky enough to get to see him loads in the 80s, pure class x
@@nerom68 me too! Interviewed him twice.
Yes
This spoke to me as a 15 year old boy growing up in the North East of Ireland in the 80s. I’m 50 now and like to turn the lights out, lie down and let this invade my soul.
Well said
You have no idea what this song meant to me in a small town in Italy when I was 22. It's really amazing how a singer and a song of a distant country could touch my life...
Billy owns a very special corner of my soul
I used to live in an emotional and physical abusive home and that middle verse always gets to me everytime.
Levi Stubb's would feel proud.
The Four Tops were awesome
AND he plays the most amazibg BURNS Steer guitar! One of thge best ever!
I lost my baby a year and a half after I had my human baby. That Billy Bragg song, “When the world falls apart, some things stay in place,” always felt like it was about him. He was my one thing that always stayed in place no matter how bad things got. I miss him so freaking much.
Sending you love.❤
@@stephenwoodroffe5490 , thank you. I just reread this comment and realized it might not be entirely clear that I’m referencing a cat, my baby, my best friend, my soulmate cat, but a cat, and I thought maybe I should specify. I do appreciate your kindness though. ❤️
@@skeleczar Pets are family.
Love to you.
Always makes me cry, especially when the trumpet plays.
You're not alone there, believe me.
And you're not the only one...
The lyrics are amazing right out of the gate "With the money from her accident. She bought herself a mobile home. So at least she could get some enjoyment. Out of being alone." That opens enough loose ends to write a novel and somehow Billy Bragg ties it together in under 3 minutes.
Brings tears to my eyes every time.
Exquisitely sad, and timeless.
Indeed.
OMG Over thirty years ago and it still is as wonderful as ever.
Absolutely devastating. ❤
Timeless… I loved this as a teenager and love it still.
Did you put it on a oeds
I'm playing it at a charity gig for the Blood Bikes charity next week..... not as good as Billy... obviously
Listening to this repeatedly to try and make myself cry proof before seeing Billy Bragg live this week. Its not working. Over 30 years of listening and it still gets me in the heart.
You won't be disappointed. Saw him in Belfast last week and he was first class. Sounded magnificent, still relevant and his new songs were spot on.great gig.Hail hail BB
Fully agree. It is a very accurate mood tester.
Listening to this in New Zealand and crying because tonight Billy was supposed to be performing here - had to be canceled because of covid 😭
It is a tear jerker song for sure
Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Are here to make everything right that's wrong
Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too
Are here to make it all okay with you..... Brilliance
If ever a song was made to be turned into a film, it’s this
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE Billy Bragg. Always have, and always will...
Das waer eine Offenbarung ein Mann eine Gitarre in der DDR. Grandios
I bought 'Talking' as soon as it hit the shops, and this song stunned me, moved me to tears. Here we are, so many years later, and it moves me still.
I love this song so much. The lyrics are so perfect, such great turns of phrase. “He was one of those blokes that war takes away/when there wasn’t a war, he left anyway”…goosebumps
The sort that only laughs at his own jokes...
What a simple yet complex song …never fails to make the hairs on the back of my head stand up . Thanks Billy for this beautiful song.
Every bit as emotional and powerful as a Four Tops song featuring the lead vocals of the legendary Levi Stubbs himself
Thanks for the comment, I'll be listening to that next. I'm young and stupid and don't know real music yet
Ive watched Levi 's last performance now. They wheeled him out. He was loving the stage and the appreciation of his work
@@nickchap
Check this out.
th-cam.com/video/6kKs3pZLAO4/w-d-xo.html
Cheers!
Love it all, grew up listening to you, 51 and still listening
This is one of those songs that makes you stop what you’re doing. What can you say about Billy Bragg. Every bit as good as Dylan. I also discovered the Dave Stewart/gaskin cover which is every bit as moving
That's exactly what I mean. I was cooking for my family (Christmas 2024), listening to some TH-cam mix and when it started this one I stopped doing what I was doing...
When irrelevance begins to take me over this song pulls me back and reminds me life matters, how people treat each other matters, and peoples rights matter, each and every one of us. Thank you Billy Bragg for reminding us xx
I don’t know nobody could touch that voice in this day and time. Just ASK THE LONLEY❤❤😢
The French horn at the end. I love this
One of the first numbers I ever learned on my Daddy's guitar.
“a hole in a body where no hole should be“ the song’s sheer directness and raw power slice straight to the heart in a manner few artists can approach…
I knew a woman who this happened to.Tears everytime I hear it.
Complete Legend. Fantastic Music for Generations to come ❤❤
OMG. We liking our own Comments now.... Billy Bragg is the Punk/Alternative Dylan, but better...
Still powerful after all these years - great stuff 👏
Agreed.
Ich liebe diesen Song auch nach so langer Zeit..... wunderbar...
Remember seeing Billy Bragg on legendary Channel 4 music show the TUBE circa 1984 first saw him January 1986 @ Connolly Hall Cork have seen him many times since LEGEND 😎 ...... "Levi Stubbs tears" his tribute to 4 tops legendary singer 👍✌️😎 ........
I bought a cassette, travel in Canada, in 1987, at a Record Store “greetings to the new brunette” that had “Levi Stubbs tears” on it. It was suggested by the store staff, in Windsor to be “cool” new music. I bought Midnight Oil’ “diesel and dust” two. I was 18 years, and my mind was changed by the social activism of those two albums.
This song chokes me up every time I hear it 😪
RIP Barrett Strong (1941-2023)
Billy Bragg Still Braggin after all these years ..Kudos to Billy….he is Greatly admired😍
Wow! Great to see Dave Woodhead!! He played on my first two records. Love this Billy!
Cracking song and performance, Bill.
One of the best songs ever written. End of story.
So many memories ❤❤
Recently got his 3rd LP on vinyl , to be exactly a weird east german version only entitled "Billy Bragg".
It's just bloody awesome. The former owner probably has not listened to it very often. Still sounds great.
Saw him in a few years ago in Perth, Australia, he played this, awesome!
Yeah, it's poetry
The staccato chords, the trumpet at the end
Stark, and perfect story telling.
One of those songs of my youth I will never forget....
It didn't get much better for Billy - this is wonderful.
A classic song in my all time top 20
One of my all time favorites! Hits me deep in the feels! Like many others, brings me back to my youth, and still adore. Thank you, Billy for sharing your gift and voice with us! ❤️
Still has that something special. Thanks for sharing
He will be at the Newport Folk Festival this year!
Growing into a beautiful young lady. By your Fathers side and guidance. You will be No 1.Singer.
Billy Bragg,excellent.👍😎🎸
Seen billy a good few times over the years and just seen him again at rebellion festival still fucking got it 👍 still relevant in this shit world
See you in Greensburg PA tomorrow night!
I saw this video when it first came out. I was immediately blown away by the raw power it had. Great lyrics and a passionate performance. This video also sounds like a live recording. Not sure if it is but it sure seems that way.
Stunning song and the zen-like oneness Billy has with his guitar makes this a truly phenomenal moment in music history.
Thanks fella.
Stand free Billy
Legend
Simply put.
FUCKING BRILLIANT
Some records grab you and simply say "Listen" .There are some wonderful yet achingly sad lyrics and as an ex ( and desperately average, ) brass player in my youth I love the trumpet at the end...
for the short time it gets on the track, that fluegelhorn solo adds so much.
Our Billy ❤
I was the 1000th like! Can't get enough of early Billy Bragg. "The Saturday Boy" taught me the meaning of unrequited.
one of the best.
I'm new to Billy Bragg. He's got a unique sound. That's for sure. I especially like the muted bass sound.
Hey Billy, I just saw this on a reaction video! I don’t know what your label(s) think of it but PLEASE let those creators use your videos for their reactions. They really bring music to whole new groups and generations. And I love seeing people discover the music I already love, for the first time. It’s todays tape trading-technically illegal but so good for music culture.
Still remember a gig in Halifax in early 2000's .Lady beside me told to stop singing she was trying to understand the song. I just smiled and kept singing. Thank you Billy for being someone I'll always sing with and find beautiful stories between the lines.
never stop singing
Only just found this channel.
All praise the almighty algorithm!
I've kind of forgotten what a fine song writer Billy Bragg is.
Wonderful upon joyous
never forget this tune. at a billy bragg concert during this song i kissed the love of my life the first time. ;-) the trumpet-solo is so heartbreaking.
Just brilliant
Danke
Top five songs of the 80s for mine
Loved hearing this live a couple of days ago at Folkestone Leas. Terrific concert!
Top 5 for me. Thanks Billy.
Often wondered if that thing on the floor is the end of the line.
I would imagine it's the track the camera moves about on
Too good. The whole album is an absolute rocket.
Great in Guildford on Tuesday Bill
Brilliant song
BILLY!
Fantastic song. Love trying to play it (badly) on my guitar. Remember seeing him in the Olympia theatre about 30 years ago, great gig. Thanks for the music!
👍👍 love it !
Wow!
FAB :)
Kind of proud I had such good taste in music as a teenager. I loved this song when I was 17. It is beautifully melancholy and just perfection.
So much great song, thank you so much for sharing!
Thankyou Billy Bragg!
I love this video, but I can't find anything about who shot it and why they chose it shoot it that way. A great and inspiring single take, but with various framings and changes in lighting--somebody put a LOT of work into it.
“And when there wasn’t a war he left anyway”
I call billy englands patriot because he fought a war for hearts the love of the English he fought to remind people we’re not just machine
❤️