96 Quotes by Billy Bragg

My theory is this; I'm not a political songwriter. I'm an honest songwriter.

I'm trying to make a case for those people who don't have a sense of belonging that they should have, that there is something really worthwhile in having a sense of belonging, and recasting and looking at our modern history.

I'm still batting away on my politics for the Labour Party. I'm much further to the left of them than I used to be, but that's because they've moved, not me.

Were it not for the Clash, punk would have been just a sneer, a safety pin and a pair of bondage trousers.

So, in some ways, the political songs tend to be a bit more like reportage, whereas the love songs tend to be like novels, you can pick them up off the shelf and go into them any time.

The most important thing for anyone, I think, is to be engaged, whether you're an artist or a journalist is to be engaged in the process at some level.

There are quite a few honest songwriters out there writing about relationships and their own personality traits. But for some reason, once they step out of the bedroom, their honesty doesn't seem to come with them.

I came into this whole business by going to see Rock Against Racism gigs with the Clash.

All the great political music was made at the height of political confrontations.