Handyman Blues

Album: Tooth & Nail (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Billy Bragg wrote this song about his lack of DIY skills. He explained to Chortle that he penned it "as a way of explaining to my missus why I'm not much good at putting stuff up or taking stuff down. I just about manage mowing the lawn and changing the lightbulbs. Catching spiders as well. If anyone else in my house learns to do that, I'm out probably."
  • The song's music video was directed by Johnny Vegas. It features his fellow comedians Stewart Lee, Ross Noble, Phill Jupitus, Kevin Eldon and Ricky Grover, as well as actors Neil Morrissey and Sam West. The pair hooked up after Bragg gave Vegas permission to use his music in his film Ragged, which is about the comic actor Ricky Tomlinson's fight to overturn his conviction for intimidation on picket lines in the Seventies.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

N.W.A vs. the World

N.W.A vs. the WorldSong Writing

How the American gangsta rappers made history by getting banned in the UK.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

80s Music Quiz 1

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.