The Short Answer by Billy Bragg
The Short Answer by Billy Bragg

The Short Answer

Billy Bragg * Track #10 On Workers Playtime

Download "The Short Answer"

The Short Answer by Billy Bragg

Release Date
Tue Sep 20 1988
Performed by
Billy Bragg
Produced by
Joe Boyd & Wiggy (musician)
Writed by
Billy Bragg
About

In this slow, forlorn song, Bragg describes the slow breakdown of his relationship with his long-term lover Mary, the “grey-eyed girl,” “barefoot girl,” and “little time bomb” alluded to in other tracks of the album.

The Short Answer Lyrics

Between Marx and marzipan in the dictionary there was Mary
Between the deep blue sea and the devil that was me
If ever anyone could help me with my obsession with
The young Susannah York, it was Mary

In my pink pyjamas she asked me for something
I gave her the short answer
She read our stars out loud
And I knew then that we should have gone sailing
But we stayed home instead
Fighting on the waterbed
Like the honeymoon couple on drugs
Me and Mary

What happened in the past
Remained a mystery of natural history
She should have been the last
But she was just the latest
If she wanted to be a farmer's wife
I would endure that muddy life
I would dig for victory

And the sound of happy couples
Coupling happily in the dark
While you and I sat down to tea
I remember you said to me
That no amount of poetry
Would mend this broken heart
But you can put the Hoover 'round
If you want to make a start

All my friends from school
Introduce me to their spouses
While I'm left standing here
With my hands down the front of my trousers
I just don't know what's to be done
I wonder sometimes how did dad meet mum
And how did they conceive of me
Tell me Mary

The boys who came to the shop
Always made her laugh much more than I did
When I told her this must stop
She didn't bat an eyelid
She said you know honey it's such a shame
You'll never be any good at this game
You bruise too easily
So said Mary

Her two brothers took me out
Of circulation for the duration
So we went our separate ways, but does she still love me?
She still has my door key
Like a bully boy in a Benetton shop
You're never happy with what you've got
Till what you've got is gone
Sorry Mary

For the tall girl
For the barefoot girl
For the girl with the soap in her mouth and the stars in her hair
For the brown-eyed girl

The Short Answer Q&A

Who wrote The Short Answer's ?

The Short Answer was written by Billy Bragg.

Who produced The Short Answer's ?

The Short Answer was produced by Joe Boyd & Wiggy (musician).

When did Billy Bragg release The Short Answer?

Billy Bragg released The Short Answer on Tue Sep 20 1988.

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