The song is banned in Ireland, as Christy Moore was found to be in contempt of court; the lyrics could be construed as blaming the tragedy squarely on the nightclub owners. Fire exits were padlocked and the building was not evacuated in time.
wiki entry
They Never Came Home
Christy Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All our thought turn to love as the day it draws near,
When sweethearts and darlings, husbands and wives,
Pledge love and devotion for the rest of their lives.
As day turns to evening soon nighttime does fall,
Young people preparing for the Valentine's Ball,
As the night rings with laughter some people still mourn
The 48 children who never came home.
CHORUS
Have we forgotten the suffering and pain
the survivors and victims of the fire in Artane,
the mothers and fathers forever to mourn
the 48 children who never came home.
Down to the Stardust they all made their way
The bouncers stood back as they lined up to pay
The records are spinning there's dancing as well
Just how the fire started sure no one can tell.
In a matter of seconds confusion did reign
The room was in darkness fire exits were chained
The firefighters wept for they could not hide,
Their anger and sorrow for those left inside.
CHORUS
All around the city the bad news it spread
There's a fire in the Stardust there's 48 dead
Hundreds of children are injured and maimed
And all just because the fire exits were chained.
Our leaders were shocked, grim statements were made
They shed tears in the graveyard as the bodies were laid
The victims have waited in vain for 4 years
It seems like our leaders shed crocodile tears.
CHORUS
Half a million was spent on solicitor's fees,
A fortune to the owner and his family
It's hard to believe not one penny came
To the working class people who suffered the pain.
Days turn to weeks and weeks turn to years
Our laws favour the rich or so it appears
A woman still waits for her lads to come home
Injustice breeds anger and that's what's been done.
CHORUS
"They Never Came Home" by Christy Moore is a poignant song that pays tribute to the victims of the fire that occurred at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, on February 14, 1981. The song takes us through the tragedy that befell the victims and their families on St. Valentine's Day, a day that should be celebrated with love and joy but became a day of loss and sorrow. The song starts by describing how the day turned into evening and how young people got ready for the Valentine's Ball. While some people were laughing and enjoying themselves, others were mourning the loss of 48 children who never came home.
As the song progresses, Christy Moore describes the events of that fateful night at the Stardust nightclub. He talks about how the bouncers stood back as the young people lined up to pay, and how the records were spinning, and people were dancing. Then, suddenly, the room was plunged into darkness, and confusion reigned as the fire spread, and the fire exits were chained. The firefighters wept for they could not hide their anger and sorrow for those left inside. The devastation caused by the fire was immense, and the city was plunged into mourning.
The song ends with a call for justice for the families of the victims. Christy Moore highlights the fact that the survivors and victims of the fire in Artane have been forgotten, and the families of the victims have waited in vain for 4 years, and it seems like our leaders have shed crocodile tears. He talks about how hard it is to believe that not one penny came to the working-class people who suffered the pain. Injustice breeds anger, and that's what's been done.
Line by Line Meaning
St. Valentine's day comes around once a year,
Every year on Valentine's day, people celebrate love.
All our thought turn to love as the day it draws near,
As Valentine's day approaches, people focus their thoughts on love.
When sweethearts and darlings, husbands and wives,
Valentine's day is celebrated by couples, including boyfriends/girlfriends and married couples.
Pledge love and devotion for the rest of their lives.
Couples make promises to love and be devoted to each other for the rest of their lives.
As day turns to evening soon nighttime does fall,
As the day progresses to evening, it gets darker.
Young people preparing for the Valentine's Ball,
Young people are getting ready for a Valentine's Day dance.
As the night rings with laughter some people still mourn
While some people are celebrating and having fun, others are grieving.
The 48 children who never came home.
48 children died in a tragic fire at a nightclub.
Have we forgotten the suffering and pain
The singer is asking if people have forgotten about the pain and suffering caused by the nightclub fire.
the survivors and victims of the fire in Artane,
The fire in Artane refers to the tragic fire at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin, Ireland.
the mothers and fathers forever to mourn
The parents of the 48 children who died in the fire will always be grieving.
the 48 children who never came home.
48 children lost their lives in the tragic nightclub fire.
Down to the Stardust they all made their way
The people who died at the nightclub all went to the Stardust on the night of the fire.
The bouncers stood back as they lined up to pay
The bouncers allowed the people to enter the club after they paid for their tickets.
The records are spinning there's dancing as well
There was music playing and people were dancing at the nightclub before the fire started.
Just how the fire started sure no one can tell.
It is still unknown how the fire started in the nightclub.
In a matter of seconds confusion did reign
In just a few seconds, people became confused.
The room was in darkness fire exits were chained
The nightclub was in darkness and the fire exits were locked, preventing people from escaping.
The firefighters wept for they could not hide,
The firefighters were emotional and upset because they were unable to rescue all of the people who were trapped.
Their anger and sorrow for those left inside.
The firefighters were angry and sad because they were unable to save everyone in the nightclub.
All around the city the bad news it spread
News of the tragic fire quickly spread throughout the city.
There's a fire in the Stardust there's 48 dead
48 people lost their lives in the fire at the Stardust nightclub.
Hundreds of children are injured and maimed
Many children were hurt in the fire and were left with permanent injuries.
And all just because the fire exits were chained.
The reason why so many people couldn't escape and lost their lives is because the fire exits were locked.
Our leaders were shocked, grim statements were made
Politicians were saddened by the tragedy and made serious statements about it.
They shed tears in the graveyard as the bodies were laid,
Officials attended funerals for the victims and were seen crying.
The victims have waited in vain for 4 years
The families of the victims have been waiting for justice for 4 years.
It seems like our leaders shed crocodile tears.
The singer believes that the politicians who made statements about the tragedy were only pretending to care.
Half a million was spent on solicitor's fees,
A large amount of money was spent on legal fees in relation to the tragedy.
A fortune to the owner and his family
The owner of the nightclub and his family made a lot of money from the tragedy.
It's hard to believe not one penny came
None of the money from legal fees went to the families of the victims.
To the working class people who suffered the pain.
The people who were hurt the most by the tragedy were not compensated for their pain and suffering.
Days turn to weeks and weeks turn to years
Time has passed since the tragedy happened.
Our laws favour the rich or so it appears
The justice system appears to favour wealthy people.
A woman still waits for her lads to come home
One of the mothers of the victims is still waiting for her children to come home.
Injustice breeds anger and that's what's been done.
The lack of justice for the victims has caused anger and frustration among the public.
Contributed by Michael Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lauren Dowling
My two aunts were in Stardust, one 18, one 16.
My elder aunt was trampled on and had holes in her arms from all the high heels, but she crawled out and went to hospital and left the same night, especially because of the hundreds of other victims/survivors in the hospitals.
My younger aunt was carried out by a man and was taken to hospital. She was in a coma for 3 months and was in hospital for 6. Her arms were scarce of skin and had the doctors had to get skin from her legs to put on her arms, and her bandages had to be changed every four hours. They're both doing well now, but it's heartbreaking to think of the families who never saw their relatives ever again! Or received any compensation when the owner, Eamon Butterly did! What a disgrace!
R.I.P to the 48 who never came home! <3
We will get justice!
yer man with the mad hair y
we will never let them be forgotten; poor kids out for a dance and the chance of a snog
i was 10 when i heard my friend said did you hear about the fire? i hadn't went home and knew right away there was something wrong (this in the days before 24/7 news and internet) and the radio was on but there was no music no chat just a DJ talking in his normal voice as news came in of the deaths and injuries
even in the school the next few week the teaches were different. i think they were in shocked as was the whole country. remember these are my memories from a 10 year old
then things turned to anger; when i came out that doors were padlocked and so and that (can't say what i really want to say) saying he will rebuild not one bit of sorrow for the kids that died and their families all he thought about was his insurance and how hard done by he was
people still are waiting for the truth to come out
𝕲𝖔𝖑𝖉
Here from Qxir, never heard of this happening, such a horrible ordeal.
Karrier Bag
Me too, what a nasty thing to happen
KezStreams u/Cloud-surfer69
<3
Trollge
same
RubyLazer
same, but what is real scary is that they didnt want people to know about it or atleast this song to fall on deaf ears
BeastyBoy
Same
EmmoF2
The Butterly family and the authorities tried to shut him up as he embarrassed them with the truth, but Christy stood for the people of Artane and Coolock in their fight for justice for the victims of the Stardust and giving two fingers to the ruling class. 40 years since that awful night and yet the families still wait for justice!
Michael Dunne NWGA Mod
Absolute disgraceful that the owners were never proscuted😡
JohninRosc
That one line at 2.32 ("all just because the fire exits were chained") cost Christy Moore the guts of £200K because the owner of the Stardust (Butterly) sued him on the basis that the deaths were not caused "all just" because the fire exits were chained (there were one or two other contributory factors such as shit organisation). Apparently the judge agreed that other people were to blame (the kids - for being there for example). Such a sick reflection on Ireland's bent political system that Butterly (let's face it, the killer) got paid out decades before any of the bereaved got any sort of recognition - not necessarily financial. £200K (punts) nearly ruined Christy in the 1980's for this one line - and while a growing number of people are now realising how sick Ireland's politicians are for rallying behind Butterly for his crime, nobody appears to be prepared to bring down Ireland's UTTERLY CORRUPT political system!
Isaac Fulton
It's like this everywhere and it's fucking rediculous.