Billy Bragg is a long time musician and political activist of the left wing variety--he had a modicum of success here in the states (including a Grammy nomination) for his work with Wilco wherein they put the unused lyrics of Woody Guthrie to music which became the Mermaid Avenue albums. The bulk of his success has occurred in his native U.K.
Released in 1988, "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" (on his album Workers Playtime) takes as its inspiration China's disastrous economic and social initiative entitled The Great Leap Forward which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese from famine and political retribution--i.e., all too often our better selves are diminished by the reality of human nature. Still, while the song starts as a lament for the disappointments and disillusions of political activism, it ends on a rousing call to arms and an exhortation to keep fighting.
The song also follows one of my favorite patterns in a--a slow musical entrance that grows into a crescendo by song's end. It's basically an old folkie's dream--a little piano, a little guitar, and a political theme. Bragg's vocals are also a treat--from the weariness as he lists the broken ideals of the Kennedys, Fidel Castro, Robert Oppenheimer, and himself to the fuck this, we're gonna keep on keepin' on brashness of its conclusion, Bragg never falters.
And as the man says, the revolution is just a t-shirt away...
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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