Billy Bragg has once again turned to song as a form of political and humanitarian protest, releasing a new track in support of Palestine titled ‘Hundred Year Hunger’. The song arrives in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, which this week launches an attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Bragg announced the release through his social media channels, making clear the connection between the music and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
“In solidarity with the @GlobalSumudFlotilla which launches this week in a bid to break the Israeli naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, I’m releasing this new song for Palestine,” he wrote.
According to Bragg, ‘Hundred Year Hunger’ reflects on the famine conditions currently unfolding in Gaza, a crisis he attributes to deliberate deprivation. “The song looks at the current famine that Israel has created in Gaza through the lens of a century of enforced food insecurity and malnutrition imposed on the Palestinian people, firstly by British imperialism, then as a weapon of mass displacement by the state of Israel,” he explained.
The title references the book The Hundred Year Hunger by author E Mark Windle, which similarly examines the historical and ongoing use of food scarcity as a political tool in Palestine.
Bragg also used his statement to highlight the cultural and political concepts at the heart of Palestinian resistance. “Sumud is an Arabic word which translates into English as steadfastness or perseverance. It is used by Palestinians to describe their nonviolent everyday resistance against Israel’s occupation,” he said. “Sumud emphasises the commitment of the Palestinian people to remain on their land despite hardship and oppression, elevating their everyday existence into a form of resistance.”
The track concludes with the words “Sumud! Sumud! Lan narhal” – the latter phrase translating to “we will not leave”. Bragg said the combined refrain captures “the determination of the Palestinian people to refuse to be displaced.”
‘Hundred Year Hunger’ was recorded at Echo Town Studio in Dorset with Bragg on guitar and vocals and JJ Stoney contributing keyboards and backing vocals. It was engineered, recorded and mixed by Jamie Parker.
The new track joins a long catalogue of political music from Billy Bragg, who has consistently used songwriting to amplify causes of social justice, anti-racism, and workers’ rights since the early 1980s.
His 1983 debut album Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy announced him as a sharp and uncompromising voice, with songs such as ‘To Have and To Have Not’ dissecting class inequality. By 1985’s Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, he was already recognised as a folk-punk protest singer for a new generation.
In the 1980s he became a prominent figure in the Red Wedge movement, a collective of musicians supporting the Labour Party in the UK. During this period he released ‘Between the Wars’, one of his most enduring protest anthems, speaking to the struggles of working people against economic and political oppression.
Bragg’s political songwriting has also extended into international causes. ‘Help Save the Youth of America’ (1986) was a blunt commentary on American foreign policy, while his work with Wilco on the Mermaid Avenue albums (1998, 2000) helped bring new attention to the radical folk legacy of Woody Guthrie, himself a master of the protest song.
More recently, Bragg’s albums such as Tooth & Nail (2013) and The Million Things That Never Happened (2021) have blended personal storytelling with social commentary, addressing themes of truth, misinformation, and resilience in turbulent political times. His live shows often feature updated lyrics, spontaneous commentary, and calls to action, reminding audiences that music and politics remain inseparable in his work.
With ‘Hundred Year Hunger’, Bragg continues a four-decade commitment to aligning art with activism, positioning the song within his long-standing tradition of responding to injustice through music.
Born Stephen William Bragg in Barking, Essex in 1957, Billy Bragg emerged in the post-punk era with a distinctive voice that combined raw electric guitar, folk protest traditions, and punk energy. His stripped-down style – often just voice and guitar – allowed the political weight of his lyrics to come to the forefront.
Across his career he has released more than a dozen studio albums, beginning with Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy in 1983 through to The Million Things That Never Happened in 2021. His work has consistently balanced politics with matters of the heart, producing love songs such as ‘New England’ that sit comfortably alongside protest anthems.
Bragg has also been an outspoken activist outside of music, campaigning on issues including anti-racism, trade union rights, voting reform, and international solidarity causes. His 2019 book The Three Dimensions of Freedom explores political accountability in the age of populism and misinformation.
Over 40 years since his first release, Billy Bragg remains one of the UK’s most outspoken musical activists. With ‘Hundred Year Hunger’, he reaffirms his belief that songs can be weapons of empathy and solidarity, connecting struggles across borders and generations.
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