THE BEASTLY BARD FROM BARKING! (weekly poem)

THE BEASTLY BARD FROM BARKING!

Billy Bragg recently appeared on BBC TV’s ‘Question Time’

dispensing his usual ‘lefty’ half-baked pearls of wisdom.

The beastly bard from Barking town,

Musician Billy Bragg;       

Bangs on in the same genre that,

Appears to be his ‘bag’.

His so-called ‘revolution’ needs,

A Bolshie balladeer;

And ‘wicked Tories’ to promote,

His musical career.

A-chording to our minstrel man, 

This 3-chord coup d’état;

Is plucked from many sources on,

Eclectic folk guitar!

Our Silly-Billy draws a lot,

From Punk philosophy;

Which eruditely means at best,

“Duff up the BNP”!

The punch-ups that he advocates,

At many of his gigs;

Are far superior to that,

Of all the Fascist pigs.

His “Patriotism for the Left

to be won from the Right”;

Consists of imbecilic thoughts,

And shovelfuls  of shite!

That’s why in ’81 he was,

An Army raw recruit;

But peeling spuds for Queen and State, (1)

Somehow did not compute.

Our Billy’s keen on all ‘Home Rule’,

The ‘Independence’ fib;

That for such ‘liberated’ folk,

Is a complete damp squib.

He’s swung from Labour to the Libs,

And last played for the Greens; (2)

The Sally Army waits in turn,

And tunes its tambourines!

(1) Joined the Army in 1981 but bought himself out after 3 months.

(2) In 2010, long-term Labour member Bragg, supported the Lib-Dems.

In 2015, he supported the Greens. He now supports Corbyn.

© Richard Layton