Freedom is merely privilege extended, unless enjoyed by one and all.
BILLY BRAGGI think if you’re going to make political art, you have to engage at some level. You can’t just write about politics, you have to try and be politics as well.
More Billy Bragg Quotes
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I never met a politician who didn’t want to be a guitar player in a rock band. I’ve got the opportunity to say what I believe in.
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Being spokesman for a generation is the worst job I ever had.
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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.
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Never trust anyone who has no doubts. And I’m not talking about scepticism either: scepticism can be a healthy thing.
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If you’ve got a blacklist, I want to be on it.
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I’d like to think that in a generation or two we’ll have politicians whose life experience reflects that of the people who are voting for them.
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I’ve had songs written during the Falklands war, and during the first Gulf war I got letters from soldiers saying they were listening to these songs, like Island of no return.
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Part of the problem with some elements of the European debate is that they hanker for the days when we were a great power. Those days are gone, and they went a long time ago.
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I think that ultimately Trump will lose the election and in the process destroy the Republican party – but then I’m an optimist, ha ha ha! So he might not lose. He might be in charge of the largest nuclear arsenal in the world!
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We’ve heard so much about the American dream: well, Trump is the American nightmare made flesh.
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You have to recognise your responsibility to your community for your actions. Liberty doesn’t mean that you are not held accountable.
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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.
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All musicians start out with ideals but hanging on to them in the face of media scrutiny takes real integrity. Tougher still is to live up to the ideals of your dedicated fans.
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You have to believe that if the majority of people had their way, they would make a society that would be fair for everyone. If you don’t believe that, and if you think that the glass is always half empty, then you’re never going to have that sensibility.
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You can have an argument with someone who’s a sceptic. When I say ‘cynic’, I mean someone who has given up, and they want you to give up too, so it makes them feel better about themselves.
BILLY BRAGG