2:30
Talking With the Taxman About Poetry, 1986
Written by Billy Bragg
In this song, the socialist songbird paints a scenario in which the narrator pines for an unnamed "you," presumably a lost love. Each day, he wishes it was the day after ("On Monday I wished it was Tuesday night / So I could wish for the weekend to come"), apparently so he can see her. But it's not clear; she's also sending letters, which he finds wanting in some way. And this being Bragg, the narrator also has politics on his mind: Lenin Shipyards is busy, but it seems as though he isn't. He should put on his stinking working clothes, but for some reason, he's hanging fire in the Hammersmith Hotel. I don't think that's a literal hotel; see Elvis Costello's "Fish 'n' Chip Paper" reference: "If you've got something to hide, if you've got something to sell / If you've got somebody's bride she might kiss and tell / Or wind up with a fight fan in the Hammersmith Hotel." Google is of no help here.
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