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
House Of The Gods
The Pogues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sipping Singha Beer on Pattaya Beach
Singha Beer, don't ask no questions
Singha Beer, don't tell no lies
Singha Beer, don't ask no questions
Singha Beer, don't tell no lies
Buy's me Mekong Whiskey just the same
Singha Beer, don't ask no questions
Singha Beer, don't tell no lies
Singha Beer, don't ask no questions
Singha Beer, don't tell no lies
I'm just a wally
Hanging out on Pattaya Beach
I'm just a wally
Hanging out on Pattaya Beach
Met a girl, said she's really going to blow my mind
She says she don't mean sex and I say alright
Turns out, she's a bloke, tries to give me head
I have to run out screaming to the street instead
She's just a wally
Hanging out on Pattaya Beach
I'm just a wally
Hanging out on Pattaya Beach
Singha Beer, don't ask no questions
Singha Beer, don't tell no lies
In the house of the Gods
Where no mongrels preach
I watched the sun going down
On Pattaya Beach
I'm just a wally
Hanging out on Pattaya Beach
I'm just a wall
Hanging out on Pattaya Beach
The song House Of The Gods by The Pogues tells a story about the singer who has finally found a place where he can escape the rest of the world. He is on Pattaya Beach, drinking Singha Beer, and feeling free until he meets a guy who buys him Mekong Whiskey. Singha Beer, as he mentions in the chorus, doesn't ask any questions and doesn't tell any lies, making it the perfect drink for his hiding place. However, things get complicated when the singer meets a girl who turns out to be a boy, and the singer has to flee from the situation.
The last verse is where the true meaning of the song comes to light. The singer talks about the House Of The Gods where no mongrels preach (mongrels being people of mixed race). The beauty of Pattaya Beach and the peacefulness of the place make him feel like he is in a spiritual sanctuary. House Of The Gods can be interpreted as a metaphor for that sanctuary of peace and freedom where the singer can hide from the world and its complications.
Overall, House Of The Gods is a song about finding a peaceful hiding place amidst chaos.
Line by Line Meaning
Finally found a place they could never reach
The singer has found a place where nobody can judge or negatively affect them.
Sipping Singha Beer on Pattaya Beach
The singer is relaxing on Pattaya Beach and drinking Singha Beer.
Singha Beer, don't ask no questions
Singha Beer does not judge or ask the drinker uncomfortable questions.
Singha Beer, don't tell no lies
Singha Beer does not deceive or misrepresent itself in any way.
There's a guy next to me, won't tell me his name
The singer is sitting beside a stranger who refuses to share their name.
Buy's me Mekong Whiskey just the same
The stranger buys the singer a type of whiskey called Mekong Whiskey.
I'm just a wally
The singer recognizes that they may seem foolish or naive.
Hanging out on Pattaya Beach
The singer is spending time on Pattaya Beach.
Met a girl, said she's really going to blow my mind
The singer meets a person who claims to be able to greatly interest them.
She says she don't mean sex and I say alright
The singer agrees to spend time with this person, despite not knowing their intentions.
Turns out, she's a bloke, tries to give me head
The person who the singer thought was female is actually male and makes unwanted sexual advances towards them.
I have to run out screaming to the street instead
The singer is overwhelmed and frightened by the situation and runs away in terror.
In the house of the Gods
The singer references a location that is sacred or revered.
Where no mongrels preach
The singer is in a place where vulgar, unrefined people do not lecture or speak.
I watched the sun going down
The singer observes the sunset on Pattaya Beach.
I'm just a wall
The singer repeats their feeling of foolishness or insignificance.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SHANE MACGOWAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Behind The Counter
Wonderfully produced by the late great Joe Strummer. RIP.
Ekim Rogregy
Spent the whole of 1990 thinking the chorus was "Sea of green don't ask no questions, etc" Mind you, I spent the whole of 1990 so drunk that I didn't think to look at the lyrics on the inner sleeve. I'm sober (ish) now & have finally seen my error.
terry blake
Was living in Thailand when this CD came out. If i was sitting around having a beer my 5 year old son would come up to me sing "Daddy! Singha beer don't tell no lies".
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KR EEP
lol, that's great
A Newer World
Beautiful nation. I'm about to head back for the third time.
Victor Waddell
terry blake I owned this CD when I was a Navy MP in Yokosuka Japan in 1991. One night I rode along with our dispatcher in his Toyota Skyline and I put this CD in his car stereo . We jammed out as we drove around the the area of Yokosuka and Yokohama . I visited Thailand a couple of years later. This song was on my mind when I was there . I didn't pay for girls , I just ate Thai food and drank Singha Beer. I also visited Phuket. Tiger Beer was the standard in Singapore. Australia is a different story. LOL !
Weepyun
Excellent! Now one of my new top 3 Pogues songs. :) Like Springsteen, I've never even heard this before.
Daniel Cook
Weepyun my favourite 😊
Bogdan F
Fine tune, I definetly love Pogues. They along with other bands like Flogging Molly really manage to give me an Irish feeling. :D
Chris F
if only i was lying on pattaya beach with a singha right now