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
Blue Heaven
The Pogues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And branches snap at your brain
If I ever get through this swamp alive
I'll nevermore pray for rain
This must be the place
And still it somehow don't seem right
Something in the moon could change
These endless days to lonely nights
I take a stroll down by the sea
And walk along the pier
Then I slip and hit my head
Now's the time to fear
I see the surface, see the rocks
See my past fly swiftly by
I feel the water in my lungs
And wake up screaming for my life
In my blue heaven
There's a bottle of Pontchartrain
Chalmette by moonlight
To take away the pain
Card sharks and blue harps
And dolphins who leap
In my blue heaven
Where I can laugh and I can weep
Black shapes zip into corners
The big lads start to crawl
To holes of their own making
In the cracks within the wall
Snakes and rats and spiders
I know that they're still there
I pray to God that I may sleep
Without a hope, without a care
In my blue heaven
There's a bottle of Pontchartrain
Chalmette by moonlight
To take away the pain
Felines and sea lions
And rain on the beach
In my blue heaven
With angels who aren't out of reach
In my blue heaven
There's a bottle of Pontchartrain
Chalmette by moonlight
To take away the pain
Nightingales sing
And the bells they will ring
In my blue heaven
The bells of Hell
Go ding a ling a ling
The opening lines of ‘Blue Heaven’ gives listeners a picture of a swamp and its potential hazards. The lyrics describe alligators snapping at ankles and branches snapping at brain. Through the lines “If I ever get through this swamp alive, I'll nevermore pray for rain” it's clear the swamp is not an easy place to survive, and even when someone makes it out alive, they know better than to wish for something that could lead to them ending up in the swamp again.
The song's chorus sings of ‘Blue Heaven,’ which is a sanctuary, a place where the singer can escape the dangers and harsh reality of the swamp. It's described as being by the sea, along the pier where the singer is seeking refuge. The lyrics present it as somewhat of an ideal place, except that it doesn't feel right. There's a sense that the singer is always looking over their shoulder, expecting something terrible could happen at any time. Even the moon, which is usually a source of comfort, is somewhat threatening, capable of turning endless days into lonely nights.
The later verses continue to paint a bleak and hazardous world that the singer is trying to escape from, depicting dangers like snakes, rats, and spiders. Yet, despite all the harshness, the singer has an idea of a place that could ease their pain. ‘Blue Heaven’ appears to be a place of sanctuary and sanctuary, where there's a bottle of Pontchartrain to take away the pain where he can laugh and cry all he wants.
Line by Line Meaning
Alligators snap at your ankles
Dangerous alligators are trying to harm you
And branches snap at your brain
Sharp branches pose a threat to your head
If I ever get through this swamp alive
I doubt my ability to survive this hazardous environment
I'll nevermore pray for rain
I will never wish for bad situations as they can lead to worse circumstances
This must be the place
I am unsure of my location
And still it somehow don't seem right
Something appears off or not as expected
Something in the moon could change
The power the moon holds can impact one's life
These endless days to lonely nights
Time is very difficult to pass and is leading to despair
I take a stroll down by the sea
I go for a walk along the seaside
And walk along the pier
I move close to the edge of the platform extending over the water
Then I slip and hit my head
I fall and hit my head hard
Now's the time to fear
This moment could be dangerous or harmful
I see the surface, see the rocks
I catch a glimpse of the surface and the obstacle of the rocks below
See my past fly swiftly by
Memories of my life pass quickly before my eyes
I feel the water in my lungs
The water fills up my lungs
And wake up screaming for my life
I wake up in terror and shouting for help
In my blue heaven
My personal idea of a perfect place
There's a bottle of Pontchartrain
I have access to a bottle of alcohol named 'Pontchartrain'
Chalmette by moonlight
I can see 'Chalmette' illuminated by the lunar glow
To take away the pain
To cope with the emotional pain
Card sharks and blue harps
People who trick others with cards and play music with a blue harp
And dolphins who leap
Dolphins that jump up from the water's surface
Where I can laugh and I can weep
A place where I can feel and express my emotions genuinely
Black shapes zip into corners
Dark objects move abruptly and hide in corners
The big lads start to crawl
'Big lads' begin to move on all fours in distress
To holes of their own making
They run into self-created burrows for safety
In the cracks within the wall
Small spaces between the walls
Snakes and rats and spiders
Dangerous creatures lurking within the walls
I know that they're still there
I am aware that they have not left
I pray to God that I may sleep
I am pleading for peaceful sleep
Without a hope, without a care
To not have any worries, fears, or concerns
Felines and sea lions
Cats and aquatic mammals found in the water
And rain on the beach
Rainfall on the sandy shore
With angels who aren't out of reach
I can connect with ethereal beings who are accessible
Nightingales sing
Birds known as nightingales make beautiful melodies
And the bells they will ring
The bell towers will chime
The bells of Hell
The bells of the underworld
Go ding a ling a ling
They make a distinctive ding sound
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind