“St. Swithin’s Day” by Billy Bragg
“St. Swithin’s Day” is a holiday in the UK that reads like one of those whereas you’d have to be a resident of the country to truly understand. And it may be at the beginning of the song that Billy Bragg is giving sort of a roundabout shoutout to Saint Swithun, the 9th century historical figure upon whom the holiday is based.
But the rest of the song is clearly about some type of interpersonal relationship the vocalist is in, which by the second verse comes off as a romance.
Now the aforementioned St. Swithin’s Day is proverbially connected to the weather. So that would likely be why the vocalist relies on a related motif in the second verse, referring to rain and what have you.
Also, referencing St. Swithin’s Day in a colloquial sort of way points to the idea of a particular event, let’s say an ideologically one, never coming to pass. And that notion may also intentionally be part of the narrative, as the story most clearly centers on the singer lamenting over his relationship with the addressee falling apart, apparently irreconcilably, though it’s not abundantly clear exactly why.
But that said, he also literally states that the two of them more or less committed to staying together forever “on St. Swithin’s Day”. So not only is this the case of a broken heart, but it is also one of those whereas the vocalist was originally under the impression that such a thing could never happen.
Quick Facts about “St. Swithin’s Day”
The artist himself (Billy Bragg), who is an English song-writer and left-wing activist penned down this song.
“St. Swithin’s Day” was released in the year 1984.
“Brewing Up with Billy Bragg” is the album in which “St. Swithin’s Day” first appeared. Songs from this album belong to the following genres:
- British folk rock
- Folk punk
Billy Bragg’s “Brewing Up with Billy Brag” Album
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg is Billy Bragg’s second studio album. It was recorded in July of 1984 at the London-based Berry Street Studio, produced by Edward de Bono and officially released in November 1984.
The album peaked at number 16 on the UK albums chart and ranked as the 6th best among NME’s 1984 “Albums of the Year” list.
Brewing Up with Billy Bragg is a politically charged album. Island of No Return, for instance, is purely an anti-war anthem, whereas It Says Here satirically attacks the British tabloid press. The album’s title was derived from the singer’s tank patrol experiences with the British Army where soldiers would brew some tea.
Most of the lyrics were penned by Bragg himself except a few such as Which Side Are You On which was co-written by Florence Reece.
While the initial release of the album in 1984 was done on vinyl, with eleven songs, it was released again in 1987 with Billy’s first album “Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy” and the EP titled “Between the Wars”. The album was reissued solely in 1997 and again in 2006.
Below are some of the official singles produced by “Brewing Up With Billy Bragg”:
- “It Must be a River”
- “It Says Here”
- “A Lover Sings”
Bishop Swithun of Winchester’s Death, Burial and Reburial
St Swithun was one of the chief advisors of King Egbert of the West Saxons. Born in the ‘800s, he was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and later became the patron saint of the Winchester Cathedral.
In 862, before his death, while his health deteriorated, the saint requested that his remains be buried outside the cathedral for pedestrians to walk over and raindrops to spill over his grave.
Bishop Swithun made this request because it was customary for the dead bishops to be buried inside the cathedral. His request was granted but lasted for a very short period.
He was dug up and buried in 931 within the walls of the cathedral at the orders of Bishop Ethelwulf. Rumors of miracles occurring at his grave spurred. St Swithun, in 1093 during a great memorial held in his honor was again dug up and reburied in the new Cathedral that was built by Bishop Walkelin.
In 1538 when the cathedrals and religious shrines were being destroyed by King Henry VIII, the saint’s remains appeared dug up but due to the desolation could not be buried safely.
Though much importance has been placed on his reputation for posthumous miracle-working, St Swithun’s bones are scattered in unknown places.
