"A hot day, the smell of hairspray & the sound of a shower....kissing on the carpet & your tights around your ankles. Late at night a lover thinks of these things."
This is one of my favourite Billy Bragg songs, and this a great performance of it. The guitar work is magnificent - so sparse, inventive, unique and expressive. I think it's this guitar work and the inventiveness of his songcraft that I miss from later Bragg albums. The lyrics are just incredible; astute observations, powerful reminiscences which transport me back to the 80s ("A hot day, the smell of hairspray and the sound of a shower running softly"), witty and poetic lessons and insightful metaphors. ("You're the kind of girl who wants to open up a bottle of pop too early in the journey. Our love went flat, just like that.")
Incredible.