A New England
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A New England
| "A New England" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Billy Bragg from the album Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy | |
| Released | November 1983 |
| Recorded | 2–4 February 1983 Chappell Music, Park Street, London |
| Length | 2:14 |
| Label | Utility |
| Writer | Billy Bragg |
| Producer | Oliver Hitch |
| Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy track listing | |
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"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.
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Contents
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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. In 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 says 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".[1] He told a BBC interviewer that he "stole" the melody from Thin Lizzy's Cowboy Song.[1]
Kirsty MacColl version
| "A New England" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Kirsty MacColl | ||||
| B-side | "Patrick" "I'm Going Out with an 80 Year Old Millionaire" |
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| Released | December 1984 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, 12" picture disc | |||
| Genre | Pop, New Wave | |||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | Stiff | |||
| Writer(s) | Billy Bragg | |||
| Producer | Steve Lillywhite | |||
| Kirsty MacColl singles chronology | ||||
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Kirsty MacColl recorded the song the year after its release by Bragg, produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite.[2] It was her biggest solo hit - reaching number 7 in the UK Singles Chart[3] and number 8 in the Irish Singles Chart.[4]
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.[5]
Track listing
7" and picture disc
| Side A | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "A New England" | Billy Bragg | |||||||
| Side B | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 2. | "Patrick" | Kirsty MacColl | |||||||
12"
| Side A | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "A New England (Extended Version)" | Bragg | |||||||
| Side B | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 2. | "Patrick" | MacColl | |||||||
| 3. | "I'm Going Out with an Eighty Year Old Millionaire" | MacColl | |||||||
Other versions
Melodic hardcore punk band Lifetime covered the song for the 1994 compilation album Music Does a Body Good.[6] The Groovie Ghoulies recorded a version of "A New England" for their 1996 album World Contact Day.[7] The song also appears on Too Much Joy's album ...Finally (1996).[8] The song has been covered acoustically by Jamie T (2006),[9] Jonah Matranga (2006)[10] and The King Blues.
The song was sung by Mackenzie Crook and Gemma Arterton in the 2008 film Three and Out whilst walking home together from a pub in the Lake District after mistaking a satellite for a shooting star in the night sky.
References
- "Billy Bragg - Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy (Vinyl, Album)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/470371. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ a b "Billy Bragg in an interview with Alan Thompson". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/indepth/newengland.shtml. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- ^ "Freeworld - Kirsty MacColl: Official Releases". http://kirstymaccoll.com/music/discog/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Kirsty MacColl - A New England". http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=11968. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- ^ "irishcharts.ie search results for A New England". http://www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- ^ "Freeworld - Kirsty MacColl: singles". http://kirstymaccoll.com/music/singles/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
- ^ "Lifetime (2) - Somewhere In The Swamps Of Jersey (CD)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1259072. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ "Groovie Ghoulies - World Contact Day (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1581418. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ "Finally - Too Much Joy". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/finally-r231892. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ "Jamie T - If You Got The Money (Vinyl)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1474907. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ "Jonah Matranga / Frank Turner - Jonah Matranga/Frank Turner Split (Vinyl)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/1311025. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
External links
- "A New England" at Discogs (list of releases)
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