Song · Billy Bragg
“A New England” by Billy Bragg
From the album Life’s a Riot With Spy vs Spy (1983)
“A New England” by Billy Bragg appears on 13 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1983 and 2024. It was first released in 1983 on the album Life’s a Riot With Spy vs Spy. Its best result is #7 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1983. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #51 alternative song of 1983 and #2,778 alternative song of all time.
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"A New England" comes from Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy, Billy Bragg's 1983 album, and it's just Bragg and his guitar, recorded and produced by Oliver Hitch. It has stayed a signature song from the start of his career, and it's a magpie's nest of borrowings: the opening couplet is lifted from Paul Simon's "Leaves That Are Green", and Bragg has said he pinched the melody from Thin Lizzy's "Cowboy Song".
The spark came from the sky. Bragg watched two satellites moving side by side and, hunting for something romantic to write about, settled for space hardware. The result is a raw, bittersweet love song, all heartache and wry humor, and it runs to only two verses. It sounds like a busker who wandered into a punk club and decided to stay.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 7 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1983 | 50 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 145 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) | 200 |
| 1991 | 96 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1999 | 422 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) | 500 |
| 1999 | 469 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 410 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2009 | 56 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Essential Songs | 913 |
| 2016 | 199 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2019 | 288 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2021 | 770 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 77 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2023 | 607 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
| 2024 | 780 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
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