Cricklewood
Christy Moore Lyrics


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Come all you true born Irishmen and listen to my song
I am a bold buck navvy and I don't know right from wrong
Of late I've been transported from Ireland's holy shore
My case is sad my crime is bad I was born poor

Chorus:
Cricklewood Cricklewood
You stole my youth away
I was young and innocent
You were old and grey

If you are born poor me lads it is a shocking state
The judge will sit upon your crime and this he will relate
I find the prisoner guilty and the law I must lay down
Let him be transported straight away to Camden Town

Chorus

Take him down to Cricklewood and leave him in the pub
Call the barman landlord then propose to him a sub




Leave him down in Cricklewood mid mortar bricks and lime
Let him rot in Cricklewood until the end of time.

Overall Meaning

The first verse of Christy Moore's "Cricklewood" opens with the singer addressing his audience, calling upon "true born Irishmen" to pay attention to his story. The singer is a "bold buck navvy", which is a reference to an Irish laborer or construction worker who would often work on the canals or other large-scale infrastructure projects in the UK. He laments that he has been "transported" from Ireland's holy shore - a reference to being forcibly sent to the UK against his will.


The second verse further emphasizes the singer's lamentable situation; he believes that because he was born into poverty, his fate was predetermined. The singer goes on to describe a judge's verdict, which pronounces his guilt and orders him to be transported to Camden Town - a poor, working-class district of north-west London.


The chorus of the song centers around the place where the singer was taken: Cricklewood. It was here that his youth was stolen from him, and where he was unfairly incarcerated amongst other similarly poor and desperate people. The final verse underscores his misery, as the singer is left to rot in a dingy pub in the midst of "mortar bricks and lime." The lyrics describe an unfair and unjust system, where people are punished simply for being poor and where their only option is to suffer in silence.


Line by Line Meaning

Come all you true born Irishmen and listen to my song
The singer calls on his fellow Irishmen to hear his story.


I am a bold buck navvy and I don't know right from wrong
The singer identifies himself as a construction worker with no understanding of morality.


Of late I've been transported from Ireland's holy shore
The singer has been exiled from his homeland.


My case is sad my crime is bad I was born poor
The singer's poverty is the root of his misfortune.


Chorus: Cricklewood Cricklewood You stole my youth away I was young and innocent You were old and grey
The chorus alludes to Cricklewood as a place of corruption and the source of the singer's troubles.


If you are born poor me lads it is a shocking state
The singer laments the injustice of being born into poverty.


The judge will sit upon your crime and this he will relate
The singer describes the inevitability of being tried and sentenced for crime as a poor person.


I find the prisoner guilty and the law I must lay down
The judge finds the singer guilty and must impose the sentence.


Let him be transported straight away to Camden Town
The singer is to be exiled to Camden Town.


Chorus
Repeats the same message as before.


Take him down to Cricklewood and leave him in the pub
The singer is to be abandoned in a pub in Cricklewood.


Call the barman landlord then propose to him a sub
The person who leaves the singer in the pub is to bribe the barman.


Leave him down in Cricklewood mid mortar bricks and lime
The singer is left stranded in the midst of construction.


Let him rot in Cricklewood until the end of time.
The singer is to be left to suffer in Cricklewood forever.




Contributed by Alexis F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@tonydeller7595

Lived in both Cricklewood &Kilburn for years as a kid now 71

@jassensummogum

Me too Tony! Ahh good to hear

@otumoetaipat

When I first moved to London from NZ as 20 year old. I got taken to the Crown (or lucky 7) by the lads I played rugby with. I love my Irish brothers, and I love the music, but I'll never call myself Irish (like a lot of people do).

@ceolnaghra

The Galtymore Was a great place,I spent my youth here in the 70's!

@CultOfBananas

I spent most of my youth in a neighborhood called Cricklewood Circle. This song is literally speaking to me, love it :)

@annhynes6279

God be with the great nights in the Cricklewood

@hamrzlawnlake

Knows where tunes come from. Tks Christy.

@clarrisina

Christy we love you!!! great man and make us proud!

@irishfield1

Great song ever Christy amazing ever thank you

@TONYIRISHPROUD

christy as good as ever mo chara ! BELFAST SALUTES YOU

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