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Article published In:
The Politics of Sound: Intersections of Music, Discourse and Political Communication
Edited by Lyndon C.S. Way
[Journal of Language and Politics 18:4] 2019
► pp. 491–508

Transcending the moment

Ideology and Billy Bragg

ORCID logo | University of Limerick
| University of Limerick

Our paper argues that British singer Billy Bragg performs protest songs that cleverly draw upon musical forms underpinning his positioning as a voice of, and for, the ordinary person, ultimately disenfranchised by governmental adherence to neoliberal policies. While political songs are a product of their time, many of them can also transcend that historical moment and have a longer shelf-life in terms of their capacity to inform political thinking and action. Our song(s) of choice in this paper do so not just in terms of the relevance of their ‘literal’ message but also in how they draw upon traditional structures of feeling and generic elements of folk song to underpin this sense of ‘grass-roots’ critique via a modified, acoustic ballad form and a performance style. This serves to authenticate and legitimate the singer and his message and, in turn, allows Bragg to accumulate political and cultural capital.

Keywords: Billy Bragg, ideology, protest songs, performance
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The politics of social protest
  • 3.Music and politics: Song as a mechanism of protest
  • 4.Billy Bragg
  • 5.Ideology & the clash of ideologies: A reading
  • 6.Texts and contexts
  • 7.Broadsides and ballads
  • 8.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 29 May 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.18060.pow
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