If Billy Bragg

If Billy Bragg was Mary
In Bethlehem that night
When he got turned away from the inn
Would he have been so polite
Heavily pregnant and grumpy
Would he have quietly moved along
Or would he have stayed and stood his ground
And written a protest song

"No room at the inn my arse
No room at the inn
So you're telling me if I was famous
I still wouldn't get in
I know that you guys keep rooms free
That you put aside for VIPs
It's not that there's no room at the inn
There's just no room for me"

If Billy Bragg was Pilate
Would he have let things ride
When they dragged the messiah before him
And called out for regicide
Would BB have simply washed his hands
In front of the bloodthirsty throng
Or would he have shown them who's the really the boss
By writing a protest song

"Don't kill him he's just a bloke
He ain't done nothing wrong
If having ideas is such a crime
They'd stick me up for writing this song
Just because his ideas are strange
Is that any reason to exhulrange
It's not that you want to kill Jesus
You're just petrified of change"

If Billy Bragg was Jesus
At the sermon on the hill
When he found that there weren't enough fishes or loaves
For the crowd to eat their fill
Would he have performed a miracle
Fed the crowd 10,000 strong
Or would he have just made them angrier
By writing a protest song

"The Romans took our homes from us
The Romans took our pride
Who cares about loaves and fishes
When your country is occupied
You do, The answer is, You do
And I' m sorry i can't provide
As far loaves and fishes go
I could organize some sort of benefit concert
But by the time I've printed the leaflets
You'd 'ave probably starved and died"