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
Once Upon A Time
The Pogues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm wlaking home just kicking stones
I waited at the depot you never showed
You missed the last bus hours ago
I remember the first time
I saw you on the street
You looked so pretty my heart skipped a beat
I can't wait any longer but I still feel the heat
I walked on down by the old fairground
Up from the docks blew al lonely sound
I sat for a while on the cold hard ground
Watched the stars slowly turn as the earth spun around
As the past fails behind up ahead there's a crack
Of light shining bright through the night so black
Like a runaway train rolling down the track
From here there's no turning back
Listen to me baby
Once upon a tim
My heart was an ocean
You swam against the tide
The timeis past for grieving
My tears have all run dry
I'll leave you with my love
And now I say goodbye
The bottles broken. the glasses are cracked
The cards are al dealt and the chips have been stacked
The lamp shades busted and the curtains are torn
The door keeps knocking but there's nobody home
I stood by the road brushed a tear from my eye
Cursed the cars and the rain and the rolling grey sky
I turned around, turned my back on that town
And I never looked back again
The lyrics in The Pogues' song "Once Upon a Time" tell a story of a love that never came to fruition. The song begins with the singer walking home and kicking stones after waiting for their love interest at the depot, who never showed up. The singer remembers the first time they saw their love interest and how pretty they looked. The singer can't wait any longer for their love interest to show up but still feels the heat.
The singer then walks by the old fairground and hears a lonely sound coming from the docks. The singer sits on the cold hard ground and watches the stars turn as the past fails behind them. The lyrics indicate that there's no turning back from this moment, almost as if the singer has finally realized that the love they were waiting for would never come. The refrain "Listen to me baby, once upon a time, my heart was an ocean, you swam against the tide," implies that the singer's love interest never reciprocated their feelings. The song ends with the singer leaving the town and never looking back.
The song's lyrics offer a melancholic tone that becomes more apparent in the second half of the song. The guitar and harmonica sounds complement the lyrics' tone and create a sense of longing for something unattainable.
Line by Line Meaning
The hour's late and the lights are low
It's late at night and the streetlights are dim
I'm wlaking home just kicking stones
I'm walking home alone, sad and aimless
I waited at the depot you never showed
I waited for you at the station, but you didn't come
You missed the last bus hours ago
You missed the last bus, and it's been hours since then
I remember the first time
I remember the first time I met you
I saw you on the street
I saw you walking on the street
You looked so pretty my heart skipped a beat
You looked so beautiful that my heart skipped a beat
I can't wait any longer but I still feel the heat
I can't wait any longer to see you, but I still feel the passion
I'm down but I'm still on my feet
I'm sad, but I'm still standing
I walked on down by the old fairground
I walked past the old abandoned fairground
Up from the docks blew al lonely sound
I heard a sad and lonely sound coming from the docks
I sat for a while on the cold hard ground
I sat down on the cold hard ground for a while
Watched the stars slowly turn as the earth spun around
I watched the stars slowly move as the earth rotated
As the past fails behind up ahead there's a crack
As I leave the past behind, I see a crack of light up ahead
Of light shining bright through the night so black
A bright light shining through the dark night
Like a runaway train rolling down the track
Like a train moving quickly and uncontrollably
From here there's no turning back
I've made my decision and there's no going back
Listen to me baby
Listen to me, my love
Once upon a tim
Once upon a time
My heart was an ocean
My heart was full of love
You swam against the tide
You went against my love
The timeis past for grieving
It's no longer the time for mourning
My tears have all run dry
I've shed too many tears to cry anymore
I'll leave you with my love
I'll leave you with my love, even though it hurts
And now I say goodbye
And now I'm saying goodbye forever
The bottles broken. the glasses are cracked
The bottles are broken, the glasses are shattered
The cards are al dealt and the chips have been stacked
The game is over, and the chips are put away
The lamp shades busted and the curtains are torn
The lamp shades are broken, and the curtains are ripped
The door keeps knocking but there's nobody home
Someone is knocking at the door, but there's no one inside
I stood by the road brushed a tear from my eye
I stood by the road and wiped away my tears
Cursed the cars and the rain and the rolling grey sky
I cursed the cars, the rain, and the gloomy sky
I turned around, turned my back on that town
I turned around and left that town behind
And I never looked back again
And I never turned back or looked back again
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ragrautstuck1
Brilliant!! One of the best songs from one of the best bands ever!
@rustymackemingrancanaria6360
Always loved this song .
@peterregan339
20 years since I heard this. Great tune x
@arahawkins6187
Such a great band and song. Loved the Pogues since my high school days in the 80s
@bodamyan_bg
Ara Hawkins mmmhmmm!
@skandicci
I love this song!!!
@petratyrasa8298
Total genial!!!! Habe diesen Song vor kurzem zum allerersten Mal im Radio gehört. Kannte ich vorher gar nicht... Ging sofort ins Ohr....
@seanmclenaghen4296
my favorite song of all times
@HuaynaPotosi
The Pogues, you are so great, I love you!
@livmurray1958
He was, still, a Genius in Irish Music, Literature, History in his Music, great new Program on him celebrating his 60th.. awarded a HARP from the Irish President 🇮🇪☘️💚🇮🇪☘️💚 forever Loved, he saved Irish Music ..they say..