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
Lullaby Of London
The Pogues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One evening in the spring
Heard a long gone song
From days gone by
Blown in on the great North wind.
Though there is no lonesome corncrake's cry
Or sorrow and delight
You can hear the cars
And the laughter and the fights.
May the ghosts that howled
Round the house at night
Never keep you from your sleep
May they all sleep tight
Down in hell tonight
Or where ever they may be.
As I walked on with a heavy heart
Then a stone danced on the tide
And the song went on
Though the lights were gone
And the North wind gently sighed
And an evening breeze coming from the east
That kissed the riverside
So I pray now child that you sleep tonight
When you hear this lullaby.
May the wind that blows from haunted graves
Never bring you misery
May the angels bright
Watch you tonight
And keep you while you sleep.
The Pogues's song Lullaby of London is a haunting lullaby filled with echoes of bygone days and ghosts from the past. As the singer walks by the riverside, he hears a long-forgotten song carried on the wind, and he contemplates the passage of time and the changing of the world around him. The sounds of modern life mix with memories of the past, creating a sense of nostalgia and sorrow.
The song is filled with images of the past, both real and imagined. The singer hears the sounds of cars and bars mixed with the shouts and laughter of people, but he also remembers the lonesome cry of the corncrake, a bird that was once common in the British Isles but is now almost extinct. He also invokes the ghosts that once haunted his home, hoping that they will rest peacefully in the afterlife.
Despite the sadness and longing in the song, there is also a sense of comfort and protection. The singer wishes for the child who will hear this lullaby to be safe from the ghosts and the winds that blow from haunted graves. He wishes for the angels to watch over the child and keep them safe while they sleep.
Overall, Lullaby of London is a deeply emotional and evocative song that captures the essence of a changing world and the longing for safety and security in the face of uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
As I walked down by the riverside
The singer walks by a river.
One evening in the spring
The time of day is evening and the season is spring.
Heard a long gone song
The singer hears an old, forgotten song.
From days gone by
The song is from a past time.
Blown in on the great North wind.
The wind carries the song to the artist.
Though there is no lonesome corncrake's cry
There is no natural sound to be heard.
Or sorrow and delight
There are no sounds of happiness or sadness.
You can hear the cars
The artist hears the sound of cars.
And the shouts from bars
The artist hears people shouting from bars.
And the laughter and the fights.
The artist hears people laughing and fighting.
May the ghosts that howled
The singer wishes for the ghosts to not disturb the listener.
Round the house at night
These ghosts haunted the artist's house at night.
Never keep you from your sleep
The ghosts should not disturb the listener's sleep.
May they all sleep tight
The singer wishes for the ghosts to rest peacefully.
Down in hell tonight
The singer hopes the ghosts are in hell and not causing harm.
Or where ever they may be.
The artist hopes the ghosts are unable to disturb the listener.
As I walked on with a heavy heart
The artist continues walking, feeling sad.
Then a stone danced on the tide
The singer sees a stone moving in the water.
And the song went on
The old song continues playing.
Though the lights were gone
It is dark now, but the song remains.
And the North wind gently sighed
The wind blows softly from the north.
And an evening breeze coming from the east
A breeze blows in from the east.
That kissed the riverside
The breeze touches the river.
So I pray now child that you sleep tonight
The artist wishes for the listener to sleep well.
When you hear this lullaby.
The song the singer heard earlier is the lullaby the listener should hear now.
May the wind that blows from haunted graves
The singer wishes for the wind from the graveyards to not bring harm.
Never bring you misery
The wind should not cause the listener pain.
May the angels bright
The artist hopes angels will look after the listener.
Watch you tonight
The angels should protect the listener while they sleep.
And keep you while you sleep.
The singer wishes for the listener to sleep peacefully, protected by angels.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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