A few weeks ago I came across the lyrics to The Broad Majestic Shannon, a Pogues song that is absolutely one of their finest songs and one of Shane's greatest lyrics. Looking at the words on my screen it occurred to me that they work perfectly as just the words, a poem.
The last time I saw you was down at the GreeksThere was whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeksYou sang me a song that was pure as the breezeOn a road leading up Glenaveigh
I sat for a while at the cross at FinnoeWhere young lovers would meet when the flowers were in bloomHeard the men coming home from the fair at ShinroneTheir hearts in Tipperary wherever they go
Take my hand and dry your tears, babeTake my hand, forget your fears, babeThere's no pain, there's no more sorrowThey're all gone, gone in the years, babe
I sat for a while by the gap in the wallFound a rusty tin can and an old hurley ballHeard the cards being dealt and the rosary calledAnd a fiddle playing "Sean Dun Na Ngall"
And the next time I see you we'll be down at the GreeksThere'll be whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeksFor it's stupid to laugh and it's useless to bawl'Bout a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
Take my hand and dry your tears, babeTake my hand, forget your fears, babeThere's no pain, there's no more sorrowThey're all gone, gone in the years, babe
So I walked as the day was dawningWhere small birds sang and leaves were fallingWhere we once watched the row boats landingBy the broad majestic Shannon
Every line Shane writes in The Broad Majestic Shannon, every image he paints, can be seen and felt. That's how it seems to me, written down. The Pogues matched Shane's words with a glorious, swooning, lilting tune and performance.
It took a while to suss out the penultimate line. I couldn't understand why after all these scenes Shane depicts so vividly, flashes of life from his childhood and teens, the tears and optimism of the chorus, and the new day of the last chorus, why Shane was watching robots landing. It made no sense. Was this a War Of The Worlds thing? Why were robots crossing Ireland's longest river? Back in the early 90s, having mentioned this to a friend, I got a postcard from him while he was on holiday in Ireland. He wrote an update of his adventures and places he'd been. The P.S. at the very bottom of the postcard read just this- 'it's row boats, not robots'.
Not long after I saw the lyrics in front of me on my screen and had these thoughts, news of the death of Pogues drummer Andrew Ranken aged 72 appeared on my screen too. RIP Andrew.
6 comments:
Benighted as I am, I had never heard this song. You're right, the lyrics are true poetry. Thanks for featuring it today.
The Cross of Finnoe is stop #5 of the new Unravelling Shane MacGowan Trail. I saw it mentioned recently.
https://www.unravellingshane.com/
It's common to say that songwriters are poets but few actually are. I think Shane was. (along with Leonard Cohen obvs. Dylan would probaby say he is just a song and dance man)
Thanks for writing about this one, Adam. It has long been a favourite of mine and up there with the best Pogues songs. Perfection in under three minutes and I find the last verse incredibly moving. It works as a poem but I cannot read it without hearing Shane singing it! So many great Pogues songs, I think one of the recent flightpath mixes began with 'Summer in Siam'. Cheers
Blureu- that might have been where I saw it, a link to the Shane McGowan Trail is ringing a bell.
TFG- You're right,I played Summer In Siam at the Golden Lion, possibly one of our ALFOS warm up slots.
It is indeed a wonderful song.....but the one on the album that really gets to me is 'Thousands Are Sailing'. Phil Chevron showing that he could, occasionally, match Shane's prose.
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