Billy Bragg, the outspoken leftie singer/songwriter from London, isn’t usually at a loss for words.
For more than 20 years now, the folk-punk rocker has been pumping out political messages, using his distinctive voice and a guitar.
In the ’80s, he was a fixture at political rallies and benefits. He immerses himself in national issues as well as the local politics of his new home in Dorset, on the southwest coast of England. But even Bragg needed some downtime to consider the events of Sept. 11 before he could even think of putting pen to paper.
He realized, “I shouldn’t write about this straight away, I should wait to see how I felt,” he says. “You leave the first draft of history to the journalists,” he told The Post from a tour stop in Ottawa.
But by the time the anniversary rolled around he was ready.
The Boss helped.
Bragg was driving in his car listening to Bruce Springsteen’s album, “The Rising,” when he realized he was ready to think about how he felt about the bombing of the World Trade Center.
“I thought, it’s OK to approach this now,” he said.
The Springsteen album is so popular in his household, his wife didn’t let him take the disc on tour with him. But that’s OK, Bragg planned to buy another copy in Canada.
Bragg’s on tour for his latest “England, Half English,” his first album of original work since 1996, but he’s written some 9/11-related songs, such as “The Wolf Covers His Tracks” (inspired by Bob Dylan’s “With God On Our Side”) and “The Price of Oil,” and is attempting to finish a third before he gets to New York tomorrow, when he plays at Irving Plaza.
The third, still a work in progress, “Day of Empathy” seems to encapsulate how Bragg felt – and feels – about 9/11. “Beyond the shock, grief and anger, I feel a very strong sense of empathy [for the victims and their families]” he says.
Despite the six-year gap between discs of original tunes, Bragg, 44, has been keeping busy with his family – he has a 9-year-old boy – as well as the “Mermaid Avenue” projects – two albums worth of songs based on the unsung lyrics of Woody Guthrie.
Bragg, selected by Guthrie’s daughter Nora to set Guthrie’s lyrics to song, chose the midwestern band Wilco to collaborate with him on the effort. Usually a solo artist, he enjoyed bouncing ideas off others so much – and having others bounce ideas off him – he put together his own permanent band – The Blokes -for his latest album.
“I didn’t want to go back to knitting in the dark by a stove with a candle,” he says.
On this U.S. tour stop, however, he’ll only have one Bloke with him – Ian McLagan – the legendary keyboards player from the Small Faces.
$30, Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, on the corner of 15th Street and Irving Place, (212) 777-6800.