Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish American celtic punk band that formed… Read Full Bio ↴Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish American celtic punk band that formed in Los Angeles, in 1997 and is currently signed to SideOneDummy Records. The band consists of Dave King (vocals, guitar, banjo, bodhrán), Bridget Regan-King (fiddle, uillean pipes, vocals), Dennis Casey (guitar, vocals), Matt Hensley (accordion, concertina), Nathen Maxwell (bass, vocals), Bob Schmidt (mandolin, banjo) and Mike Alonso (drums, percussion).

Flogging Molly has released six major studio albums, Swagger, Drunken Lullabies, Within a Mile of Home, Float, Speed of Darkness, and Life is Good as well as an independent live album entitled Alive Behind the Green Door. Also, they released a CD/DVD combo entitled Whiskey On A Sunday, which included a CD with acoustic tracks of many of the band's songs and a brand new studio track, "Laura". They have toured with the Warped Tour and Larry Kirwan's American Fléadh Festival. They also contributed to the Rock Against Bush project. Also, as of late they have done extensive touring with the self proclaimed Gypsy punk band, Gogol Bordello, which is also signed under SideOneDummy Records.

Their music is heavily influenced by such bands as The Pogues,The Dubliners, Johnny Cash and ranges from boisterous punk rock like the pirate-themed "Salty Dog" and "Seven Deadly Sins," or the defiant "What's Left of the Flag" and "Rebels of the Sacred Heart" to more somber songs like "Far Away Boys", "The Sun Never Shines (On Closed Doors)", or "Death Valley Queen". In the Whiskey On A Sunday DVD King describes the band's music as a '21st century version of The Dubliners.'

The driving forces behind the music tend to be Dave King's gravelly voice and Bridget's manic fiddling. Prior to forming Flogging Molly, Dave King was the vocalist for Fastway, a late 80s-early 90s heavy metal band, featuring guitarist Eddie Clarke of Motörhead.

The band released a DVD and a full-length album entitled "Whiskey on a Sunday" on July 25th 2006.

The DVD "Whiskey on a Sunday" contains a two hour documentary that gives viewers insight into how the band members found each other and also talks about the members' attitude towards life, events that have shaped their lives and their motivation for making music.

The band released "Float" on March 4, 2008. It includes the band's first two chart hits: "Requiem for a Dying Song" (#35 Billboard Modern Rock) and "Float" (#40 on the same chart). During the tour for the album, vocalist Dave King married the band's fiddle player Bridget Regan in Tokyo, Japan.

The Speed of Darkness Songfacts says the band's fifth album, Speed of Darkness was released on May 31, 2011 by the band's own record label, Borstal Beat Records.The set was recorded at Echo Mountain, an old church building turned recording studio in Asheville, North Carolina. It was produced by Ryan Hewitt, who has also worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Avett Brothers.

Life Is Good is the name of the sixth studio album by Flogging Molly that was released on 2 June 2017. Their first studio album in 6 years (following 2011's Speed of Darkness), it is also their first album to feature drummer Mike Alonso.

http://www.floggingmolly.com

Cruel Mistress
Flogging Molly Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace
But I've known since the day that we sailed for santiago
Her dry embrace would kiss my face no never, no more

The sea is a cruel mistress
Yeah the sea is a cruel mistress

Many moons to the day that I threw her love away
Now every whale spouts, go to hell
As the wind laughs in my face
I've grown harder on the eyes and salty on the taste
My pride has gone with the wake as I wait a cold wet grave
I rose to the smell of a wet desert hell
And I thought to myself how'd I wind up in this jail
Till a voice called to me from deep within the sea
Dry your eyes my dear fisherman your ass belongs to me

The sea is a cruel mistress
Yeah the sea is a cruel mistress

The earth will rest my bones lord I know, lord I know
But I'll see you when I get home from the cold, yeah from the cold

No her love never set me free so I set off for the ocean
Now in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace
But I've known since the day that we sailed for santiago
Her dry embrace would kiss my face no never, no more

The sea is a cruel mistress
The sea is a cruel mistress

Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For I don't want my final jig in the belly of a squid

Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace

Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For I don't want my final jig in the belly of a squid

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Flogging Molly's song "Cruel Mistress" showcase the harsh and unforgiving nature of the sea. The singer speaks of his love for a woman who he left behind to set off for the ocean, seeking freedom from her "dry embrace." The sea, however, proves to be an even crueler mistress, putting him through trials and hardships that have left him salty and hardened. He yearns for soil to bury him when he dies, rather than having his epitaph be a gruesome fate of being consumed by a squid. Despite the difficulties he faces, his love still visits him in his dreams, whispering of peace.

The lyrics are a testament to the intense relationship between humans and the sea. It reflects the all too common reality of sailors who leave behind their loved ones and endure the unpredictable and perilous nature of the sea. The symbolism of the sea as a mistress is used to convey the sense of abandonment and betrayal that the singer feels, while the personification of the sea as cruel highlights the unpredictable and deadly nature of the ocean. The lyrics also use vivid imagery, such as the "salty taste" and "cold wet grave," to convey the harshness of the sea.

Line by Line Meaning

Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
I don't want to die at sea and be eaten by a squid, so bring enough soil to bury me when I die.

For I don't want my final jig in the belly of a squid
I don't want to be eaten by a squid when I die at sea, so please bring soil to bury me.

Take my trousers take my shirt just give me that sweet dirt
I don't care about my clothes or anything else, just give me soil to be buried in when I die at sea.

For the water's cold and grim and I never did learn to swim
I'm not comfortable with the cold and difficult conditions of the sea, and I can't swim either.

No her love never set me free so I set off for the ocean
I couldn't find freedom in my romantic relationship, so I left to find it on the sea.

Now in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace
Even though I left her, I still dream of my lover and she brings me comfort.

But I've known since the day that we sailed for santiago
I've always known that my lover's love would never be satisfying and I needed to leave.

Her dry embrace would kiss my face no never, no more
My lover's cold, unaffectionate 'embrace' will never touch me again.

The sea is a cruel mistress
The sea is a difficult and unforgiving force that I have to battle and endure.

Many moons to the day that I threw her love away
It's been a long time since I left my lover behind and set off to sea.

Now every whale spouts, go to hell
Everything about the sea reminds me of my failed relationship and makes me angry.

As the wind laughs in my face
The natural elements seem to mock and taunt me as I struggle to survive at sea.

I've grown harder on the eyes and salty on the taste
The harsh conditions of the sea have taken a toll on my physical appearance and taste buds.

My pride has gone with the wake as I wait a cold wet grave
The sea has humbled me and I'm aware that I could die at any moment in these conditions.

I rose to the smell of a wet desert hell
The sea smells terrible like a wet desert and is like a hellish environment.

And I thought to myself how'd I wind up in this jail
I wonder how I ended up in this miserable and limiting situation at sea.

Till a voice called to me from deep within the sea
I heard a voice from the sea, perhaps a supernatural one, that spoke to me.

Dry your eyes my dear fisherman your ass belongs to me
The voice is reminding me that I'm at the mercy of the sea and fate, and I need to accept that.

The earth will rest my bones lord I know, lord I know
I'm aware that when I die, I will be buried in the earth and find rest there.

But I'll see you when I get home from the cold, yeah from the cold
I believe that there's an afterlife where I'll be reunited with my loved ones, away from the cold and harshness of the sea.

The sea is a cruel mistress
The sea can be unforgiving and merciless, especially to those who are unprepared or unwary.

Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
I don't want to end up in the belly of a squid or be lost at sea, so bring soil to bury me if I die.

For in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace
Although I'm at sea and away from my lover, I find comfort and peace in my dreams where she visits me.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BRIDGET A REGAN, DAVID R KING, DENNIS CASEY, GEORGE EDWARD SCHWINDT, MATTHEW A HENSLEY, NATHEN MAXWELL, ROBERT ANTHONY SCHMIDT

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Kilaci27

Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For I don't want my final jig in the belly of a squid
Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For I don't want my final jig in the belly of a squid
Take my trousers take my shirt just give me that sweet dirt
For the water's cold and grim and I never did learn to swim
No her love never set me free so I set off for the ocean
Now in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace
But I've known since the day that we sailed for santiago
Her dry embrace would kiss my face no never, no more
The sea is a cruel mistress
Yeah the sea is a cruel mistress
Many moons to the day that I threw her love away
Now every whale spouts, go to hell
As the wind laughs in my face
I've grown harder on the eyes and salty on the taste
My pride has gone with the wake as I wait a cold wet grave
I rose to the smell of a wet desert hell
And I thought to myself how'd I wind up in this jail
Till a voice called to me from deep within the sea
Dry your eyes my dear fisherman your ass belongs to me
The sea is a cruel mistress
Yeah the sea is a cruel mistress
The earth will rest my bones lord I know, lord I know
But I'll see you when I get home from the cold, yeah from the cold
No her love never set me free so I set off for the ocean
Now in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace
But I've known since the day that we sailed for santiago
Her dry embrace would kiss my face no never, no more
The sea is a cruel mistress
The sea is a cruel mistress
Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For I don't want my final jig in the belly of a squid
Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For in my dreams she comes to me whispering of peace
Next time out to sea bring enough soil to bury me
For I don't want my final jig in the belly of a squid