Released November 1983 Label Utility Producer(s) Oliver Hitch | Length 2:14 Writer(s) Billy Bragg | |
Recorded 2–4 February 1983 Chappell Music, Park Street, London | ||
"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, and remains a signature song from the early years of Bragg's recording career.
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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. During a 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 has said 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". He told a BBC interviewer that he "stole" the melody from Thin Lizzy's Cowboy Song.
Kirsty MacColl version
Kirsty MacColl recorded the song the year after its release by Bragg, produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite. It was her biggest solo hit - reaching number 7 in the UK Singles Chart and number 8 in the Irish Singles Chart.
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.
Other versions
Melodic hardcore punk band Lifetime covered the song for the 1994 compilation album Music Does a Body Good. The Groovie Ghoulies recorded a version of "A New England" for their 1996 album World Contact Day. The song also appears on Too Much Joy's album ...Finally (1996). The song has been covered acoustically by Jamie T (2006), and Jonah Matranga (2006).