Of the Nicaraguans, he says, "They were very, very warm. They are very open to foreigners coming in and helping them. There were loads and loads of Americans, far more than anything else, and it's great because it allows them to be objective about who their enemy is. They can clearly see it's the American government, the CIA and the Pentagon and not the American people."

But however reassuring Bragg's politics, there's nevertheless something slightly nettlesome about being preached to. One fortunate side of Bragg is that he anticipates all of the complaints--even the ones about how chick it seems to have become for rock stars (Bono of U2, Jackson Browne, and so on) to go down to see what's really going on down there--and he's ready to deal forthrightly with the complaints.

He'll also admit that it's "quite right" for audience members to yell out about Northern Ireland; he readily acknowledges the colonial sins of his own motherland. And though he listens to all the hecklers, he doesn't let negative reactions deter his speechifying; Bragg seems to thrive on response of any and every sort. Ultimately, Bragg has a soapbox and he's going to use it.

Bragg even has one song called "Help Save The Youth of America," but the sheer wit of the lyrics lifts the patronizing air somewhat:

When the lights go out in the rest of the World

What do our cousins say

They're playing in the sun and having fun fun fun

Till Daddy takes the gun away

Bragg has several messages--ranging from "Take responsibility for your nation's foreign policy," to "Every story has (at least) two sides," to his favorite: "and it's something that I've repeated around the world and it's remained the same, and that is: Buy My Records!'"

Yes, Billy Bragg admits to being ideologically impure. With glee. Furthermore, he dismisses those people who pursue him, particularly in Great Britain urging him to stop "messing around with all this love shit."

For those songs, tunes like "Greetings to the New Brunette" and "Levi Stubbs' Tears," are what Bragg knows he does best. Like the catchy Smokey Robinson classics, they show off a real eye for the details of true-love-gone-sour.

"On the other hand," Bragg adds, "there are people who come to gigs who say, "Bill, for fuck's sake, give the politics a rest, and sing us some more love songs.'" Of course, Bragg sees no reason why either set--"the politicos" or "the soppy ones"--should stop coming to his shows and buying his records.

He say that he is caught up with both politics and personal relations but "most intrigued in the area where the two cross over, where personal relationships are molded by political and economic circumstances." In any case, his rule of thumb remains, "If you can't love someone, you can't be a Socialist."

But more than "Buy My Records," the best Bragg slogan is his cheerful smirk, "You'd be surprised." He applies it to the marketability of political pop music as well as to a mischievous fantasy about how easily the Lone Star State could turn into the Red Star State.

But the saying fits him pretty well, too. Politically, personally and musically, Billy Bragg is surprisingly entertaining.