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

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.