The Pogues were founded in King's Cross, a district in north London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone - "pogue mahone" being the Anglicisation of the Irish póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse". The band specialised in Irish folk music, often playing with the energy of the punk rock scene from which several of the members had their roots.
Their politically-tinged music was reminiscent of The Clash, with whom they played (Joe Strummer produced one of their albums and even joined the group briefly), and used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, cittern, mandolin, accordion, and more. In the later incarnations of the band, after the departure of Shane MacGowan, electronic instruments such as the electric guitar would become more prominent. The first of The Pogues' albums, Red Roses for Me, borrows much from the punk tradition of MacGowan's previous band The Nipple Erectors (later dubbed The Nips).
Band history
Shane MacGowan (vocals), James Fearnley (accordion) and Spider Stacy (tin whistle) were the original members of the Pogues, in the days when they busked on the streets of London. Before the rest of the group formed, MacGowan and Stacy were rumoured to have played impromptu performances on street corners and city buses which attracted local interest to their talent. They later added Jeremy 'Jem' Finer (guitar, banjo), Cait O'Riordan (bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). The band rapidly developed a reputation, started releasing independent work, and ended up opening for The Clash on tour in 1984. Shortening their name to "The Pogues" due to lack of radio play for the curse in their name, they released their first album Red Roses for Me that October.
Phil Chevron (guitar) joined the group soon after, then with the aid of punk and new wave forefather Elvis Costello they recorded the follow up, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, in 1985 (The album title is a famous comment attributed, probably falsely, to Winston Churchill and others in describing the traditions of the British Royal Navy). The album cover featured The Raft of the Medusa, though the faces on the characters in Géricault's painting have been replaced with those of the band members. While the first album had featured a higher percentage of traditional songs, Shane MacGowan came into his own as a songwriter with this disc, offering up poetic story-telling, such as "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" and "The Old Main Drag," as well as definitive interpretations of Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda," the latter of which has become more popular than the original recording.
The band failed to take advantage of the momentum created by the strong artistic and commercial success of their second album. They first refused to record another album (offering up the 4 track EP Poguetry in Motion instead); O'Riordan married Costello and left the band, to be replaced by bassist Darryl Hunt; and they added a multi-instrumentalist in Terry Woods, formerly of Steeleye Span. Looming over the band at this period (as throughout their entire career) was the increasingly erratic behaviour of their vocalist, principal songwriter and creative visionary, Shane MacGowan.
Success & breakup
The band remained stable enough to record If I Should Fall from Grace with God in 1988 (with its Christmas hit duet with Kirsty MacColl "Fairytale of New York") and 1989's Peace and Love. The band was at the peak of its commercial success, with both albums making the top 5 in the UK (nos. 3 and 5 respectively), but MacGowan was spiralling out of control. Following their next album, Hell's Ditch, MacGowan and the band parted company in 1991.
With his departure, the band was thrown into a state of flux. Without their singer, vocal duties were for a time handled by Joe Strummer, before Stacy finally took over permanently. Two politely received albums followed, the first of which, Waiting for Herb, contained the band's third and final top twenty single, "Tuesday Morning" which became their best selling single internationally. In 1996, the Pogues disbanded with just three members remaining.
Post breakup
Shane MacGowan founded Shane MacGowan and The Popes in 1994. They recorded two studio albums in the period up to their split in 2002. MacGowan's autobiography, A Drink With Shane MacGowan, co-written with his journalist girlfriend Victoria Mary Clarke, appeared in 2001. During this time the three other long-term members of the Pogues (Spider Stacy, Andrew Ranken and Darryl Hunt) played together briefly as the Vendettas.
Reunion
The band, including MacGowan, re-formed for a Christmas tour in 2001 and performed 9 shows in the UK in December [2004]. In 2002 Q magazine named The Pogues as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". Also in December 2004, VH1 Conducted a poll to find the best Christmas song ever, with "Fairytale of New York" coming number one with 2,650 of the 10,000 votes cast - over 25%. In early 2005, VH1 conducted another poll to find the 100 greatest number ones that never Were, With The Pogues coming in at number 27.
In July 2005, the band - again including MacGowan - played at the annual Guilfest festival in Guildford before flying out to Japan where they played three dates. Japan is the last place they all played together before MacGowan was originally sacked in 1991, and they have a strong following there. They played a date in Spain in early September. The reunited Pogues played dates in the UK with support from the Dropkick Murphys in late 2005, and re-released their 1987 Christmas classic "Fairytale Of New York" on 19th December, which went straight in at #3 in the UK Singles charts on Christmas Day 2005, showing the song's enduring popularity. On December 22nd 2005 the BBC broadcast a live performance (recorded the previous week) on the Jonathan Ross Christmas show with Katie Melua. "Fairytale of New York" was voted the greatest Christmas Record of all time for the second year running in a poll by UK Music Channel VH1, with "Fairytale of New York" taking in a whopping 39% of the overall vote.
The band was awarded the life-time achievement award at the annual Meteor Ireland Music Awards in February 2006.
In March 2011, the Pogues played a six-city/ten-show sell-out US tour titled "A Parting Glass with The Pogues". In August 2012, The Pogues undertook a 30th Anniversary European Tour.
Discography
Albums
Red Roses for Me - 1984, #89 UK
Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash - 1985, #13 UK
Poguetry in Motion (EP) - 1986, #29
If I Should Fall from Grace with God - 1988, #3 UK, #88 US
Peace and Love - 1989, #5 UK
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah (EP) - 1990, #43 UK
Hell's Ditch - 1990, #11 UK
Waiting for Herb - 1993, #20 UK
Pogue Mahone - 1996
The Best of The Pogues - 1991, #11 UK
The Rest of the Best - 1992
The Very Best of The Pogues - 2001, #18
The Ultimate Collection including Live at the Brixton Academy - 2001, #15 UK
Dirty Old Town: The Platinum Collection
Anniversary
The Pogues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sun from his slumber is woken
And the bells are ringing out as the town crier shouts
Words too strong to be spoken
There's a rumble in the ground and the air fills with sound
Trumpets in the wind are a blowing
And the townsfolk peep through the curtains of sleep
The winds may blow
Come rain, come snow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me
The sun wears a smile and the clock winks its dial
Clouds in the sky are unfolding
And the birds on the wing like angels they sing
The heavens are glowing all golden
The crowds all spill out, they cheer and they shout
Banners and flags are a waving
And the flowers all a bloom, blow kisses to the moon
As blossom falls on the paving
The winds may blow
Come rain, come snow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me
The whole world roars a chorus of applause
Strangers from Delhi to Dublin
Are swept off their feet as they kiss on the street
And the waters like champagne are bubbling
The winds may blow
Come rain, come snow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me
The Pogues' song "Anniversary" captures the ecstatic celebration of a couple on their wedding day. The first verse describes the sun rising and the town crier announcing the wedding. There is a sense of excitement in the air, as the townsfolk awaken to the sound of trumpets and roosters crowing. The second verse continues with the same sense of infectious joy, describing the heavens and birds as "glowing" and "like angels they sing." The crowds spill out and cheer, waving flags and banners, while the flowers bloom and blossom falls on the paving.
The chorus, repeated twice, reinforces the couple's commitment to each other, through all seasons and weather. It highlights the importance of the present moment and the unity that they share. The final verse expands the celebration beyond the town, suggesting that the whole world is joining in "roaring chorus of applause." The couple's love is universal, and strangers from faraway places are swept off their feet, as if they were celebrating their own love along with the couple.
Overall, the lyrics of "Anniversary" are a beautiful, poetic expression of the joy of love and the celebration of a union between two people. It is a song that can be appreciated not just by those celebrating their own anniversaries, but by anyone who has experienced the joy of love.
Line by Line Meaning
The dawn shines her light to scare off the night
The sunrise signifies the end of darkness.
The sun from his slumber is woken
The sunrise one wakes up the sun from his sleep.
And the bells are ringing out as the town crier shouts
The bells and the town crier are announcing something significant.
Words too strong to be spoken
The news being announced is so powerful that no words can do it justice.
There's a rumble in the ground and the air fills with sound
The celebration is so intense that it can be felt and heard throughout the town.
Trumpets in the wind are a blowing
The trumpets are adding to the festive sound of the wind.
And the townsfolk peep through the curtains of sleep
Even the people who were asleep are waking up to the celebration.
To the sound of the cocks all a crowin'
The roosters are crowing in the morning.
The winds may blow
No matter what happens.
Come rain, come snow
In any weather.
Today's for you and me
Today is a special day just for us.
I gave my heart to you my love
I give you all of myself, my love.
You gave your heart to me
You also give me all of yourself.
The sun wears a smile and the clock winks its dial
The sun and the clock are personified, both happy for the celebration.
Clouds in the sky are unfolding
The clouds are opening up to show the beauty of the sky.
And the birds on the wing like angels they sing
The birds are singing like angels in celebration.
The heavens are glowing all golden
The sky is illuminated with a golden light.
The crowds all spill out, they cheer and they shout
Everyone in the town is coming out to cheer and celebrate.
Banners and flags are a waving
The town is decorated with festive banners and flags.
And the flowers all a bloom, blow kisses to the moon
The flowers are blooming and adding to the celebratory atmosphere, and they seem to be even sending love to the moon.
As blossom falls on the paving
The flower petals are falling onto the streets as people celebrate.
The whole world roars a chorus of applause
The celebration is so magnificent that it's like the whole world is applauding.
Strangers from Delhi to Dublin
People from all over the world are coming to join the celebration.
Are swept off their feet as they kiss on the street
The celebration is so infectiously delightful that strangers on the streets are spontaneously joining in to kiss and be swept up by the excitement.
And the waters like champagne are bubbling
Fountains and other water sources are so beautiful and well decorated that it looks like they are filled with champagne.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEREMY MAX FINER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
flodah01201
I love Spiders voice !!
B Silva
Definitely Spider, he has a very distinctive voice
miffi jiffi
It´s not shane! It´s spider stacy. This song is at the pogue mahone album and that was released after the departure of shane mac gowan!
Ludovig Ar Rû
Fucking good song ! Gast a gaouenn ! Thanks !
Gary Hall
spider
Mystery Box
It's shane
Stuart Beresford
It’s definitely spider Stacey
Mystery Box
My bad , those Irish guys all sound the same to me.... Lol ya know like that Sinead guy ..
Stuart Beresford
@Mystery Box haha 😂 I would correct you by saying Stacey is English, but the Sinead comment made me laugh so I’ll let it slide 😉
Mystery Box
@Stuart Beresford English huh? oh well.. his bad luck.. Wanna hear about when I met Shane MacGowans cousin in a freight elevator at a stadium at the University of Texas?? he was trying to pick up a college girl that did not know Shane and had never heard The Pogues.. So I gave him some help buy saying "Wow You're Shanes cousin!!! I Love The Pogues!!" I hope it helped him score.. looked like he was failing up to then..