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
Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six
The Pogues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And farewell you streets of pain
I'll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
Through the last six years I've lived through terror
And in the darkened streets the pain
Oh how I long to find some solace
In my mind I curse the strain
So farewell you streets of sorrow
And farewell you streets of pain
No I'll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
There were six men in Birmingham
In Guildford there's four
That were picked up and tortured
And framed by the law
And the filth got promotion
But they're still doing time
For being Irish in the wrong place
And at the wrong time
In Ireland they'll put you away in the maze
In England they'll keep you for seven long days
God help you if ever you're caught on these shores
The coppers need someone
And they walk through that door
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and the stinking cell
From wall to wall, and back again
A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused
For the price of promotion
And justice to sell
May the judged by their judges when they rot down in hell
May the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds
And sweat as they count out the sins on their heads
While over in Ireland eight more men lie dead
Kicked down and shot in the back of the head
The first two stanzas bid farewell to the streets of sorrow and pain that the singer has experienced over the last six years, filled with terror and violence. The streets have inflicted great pain on him and he does not wish to return to witness young men getting killed anymore. He curses the strain in his mind, which hints towards the emotional trauma he has undergone in the past six years. The repetition of the phrase 'farewell you streets of sorrow, And farewell you streets of pain' emphasizes the finality of his decision to leave these streets behind for good.
The rest of the song talks about the injustice suffered by six Irish men from Birmingham, who were falsely accused and tortured by the police. The lyrics are a commentary on the injustice that Irish citizens faced in England during the period of violence in the late 20th century known as 'The Troubles'. The line 'For being Irish in the wrong place, And at the wrong time' encapsulates the poor treatment the Irish faced in England in the past. The song laments the lack of justice and the cruelty of the police officers who brutalize prisoners in their custody. The song ends with a curse on the judges, the cops, and screws for selling justice for promotions and for all the sinners who continue to propagate the cycle of violence and hatred against the Irish in England.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh farewell you streets of sorrow
I'm bidding goodbye to the streets full of pain and sadness
And farewell you streets of pain
I'm also saying goodbye to the streets which caused me immense pain
I'll not return to feel more sorrow
I don't intend to come back and face more sadness
Nor to see more young men slain
I cannot bear to witness more young people dying
Through the last six years I've lived through terror
I've been through a phase of experiencing great fear and trauma for the past six years
And in the darkened streets the pain
The pain and misery around me has only grown more intense in the dark streets
Oh how I long to find some solace
I crave some peace and comfort in my life
In my mind I curse the strain
I cannot help but curse the distressing situation I'm in
No I'll not return to feel more sorrow
It's certain that I won't be revisiting the streets that bring me sadness
There were six men in Birmingham
In Birmingham, England, six men suffered great injustice
In Guildford there's four
Similarly, four men in Guildford also faced a similar fate
That were picked up and tortured
The six men in Birmingham, and four in Guildford, were detained and tortured
And framed by the law
They were falsely accused and framed by the authorities
And the filth got promotion
The guilty authorities responsible for framing them received promotions
But they're still doing time
Meanwhile, the innocent men are still languishing in jail
For being Irish in the wrong place
Their only mistake was being Irish in the wrong place at the wrong time
And at the wrong time
They were caught at a time when the authorities were highly prejudiced against the Irish
In Ireland they'll put you away in the maze
In Ireland, if you're arrested, there's a high chance that you'll end up in a terrifying and inescapable prison called 'the maze'
In England they'll keep you for seven long days
If you're arrested in England, the maximum initial period of detention is seven days
God help you if ever you're caught on these shores
This line indicates that getting arrested in either Ireland or England is a very traumatic experience
The coppers need someone
The police force is always on the lookout for scapegoats
And they walk through that door
The police will seize any opportunity they get to arrest someone
You'll be counting years
If you're arrested and convicted, you're going to have to struggle with a lengthy sentence
First five, then ten
Initially, you might be given a five-year sentence, but you'll end up serving much longer than that
Growing old in a lonely hell
Your life is ruined, and you'll live in a miserable and solitary existence
Round the yard and the stinking cell
The only places you'll get to see for a long time are the prison yard and your smelly cell
From wall to wall, and back again
Life will be routine and monotonous, going from one wall of your cell to the other
A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
The artist wishes a curse on the judges, the law enforcement officers, and the prison guards responsible for the lives the innocent men are leading
Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused
The officials are accused of causing great suffering to the people who are actually innocent
For the price of promotion
They worked towards promotions and other perks by convicting the innocent
And justice to sell
The authorities have any sense of justice and fairness has been sacrificed for their own selfish personal gain
May the judged by their judges when they rot down in hell
This line implies that the guilty authorities will be punished in the afterlife
May the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds
The line refers to the high-ranking officials in the government as 'whores', and it's wished that they have sleepless nights due to the guilt of their actions
And sweat as they count out the sins on their heads
They are tormented by the sins they committed on their deathbeds, as they reflect on their past actions
While over in Ireland eight more men lie dead
The same fate awaits eight more men in Ireland, who will be falsely accused and unjustly punished, leading to their death
Kicked down and shot in the back of the head
These eight men will be kicked and shot in the back of their heads, adding to the already great terror and misery in Ireland caused due to injustice
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@richardcronin1647
Oh farewell you streets of sorrow
Oh farewell you streets of pain
I'll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
Through the last six years I've lived through terror
And in the darkened streets the pain
Oh how I long to find some solace
In my mind I curse the strain
So farewell you streets of sorrow
And farewell you streets of pain
No I'll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
There were six men in Birmingham
In Guildford there's four
That were picked up and tortured
And framed by the law
And the filth got promotion
But they're still doing time
For being Irish in the wrong place
And at the wrong time
In Ireland they'll put you away in the Maze
In England they'll keep you for seven long days
God help you if ever you're caught on these shores
The coppers need someone
And they walk through that door
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and the stinking cell
From wall to wall, and back again
A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused,
For the price of promotion
And justice to sell
May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and a lousy cell
From wall to wall, and back again
May the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds
And sweat as they count out the sins on their heads
While over in Ireland eight more men lie dead
Kicked down and shot in the back of the head
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a freezing hell
Round the yard and a lousy cell
From wall and back again
Counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and a lousy cell
From wall to wall and back again
@peterregan339
One word. Powerful. Grew up on rebel songs and this stands out the best. Love you Shane McGowan
@markkelly2261
This is no propaganda rebel song. This is truth and Shane and the Pogues released it when they were a hugely successful band and probably to their detriment. It was banned by the BBC and guess who turned out on the right side of justice. They are tough to watch but there's videos with the people who this song is about and they give a lot credit to Shane and the Pogues for their campaign and release and yes, it's a great song. Lyrical masterpiece.
@slaterslater5944
@@markkelly2261
Well said. I'm no IRA supporter (for what it's worth, I'm British) but I can see why they came to be.
But this has nothing to do with the IRA. It has to do with a racist, corrupt British establishment and 10 innocent men losing years of their lives. For being in the wrong place at the wrong time as the man says.
And frankly, the establishment here is still just as bad, just maybe a little less harsh on the Irish as we've found other people to persecute. Like 15 year old children who somebody thinks might smell of weed...
And this song is a powerful example of how music can actually make a difference..
@danielcampbell8854
This ain’t a rebel song it’s a protest song
@mikegallagher4388
It's not a rebel song at all.
@jellybreath420
its songs like this that make the pogues legends in irish music.
@Unotuchable
The pain in Wood's voice juxtaposed with the righteous fury in McGowen's makes this song so beautiful to me.
@christopherhughes2211
Heard this so many years ago. Still brings tears to my eyes. McGowen is one of the greatest lyricist mankind has produced.
@richardcronin1647
Oh farewell you streets of sorrow
Oh farewell you streets of pain
I'll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
Through the last six years I've lived through terror
And in the darkened streets the pain
Oh how I long to find some solace
In my mind I curse the strain
So farewell you streets of sorrow
And farewell you streets of pain
No I'll not return to feel more sorrow
Nor to see more young men slain
There were six men in Birmingham
In Guildford there's four
That were picked up and tortured
And framed by the law
And the filth got promotion
But they're still doing time
For being Irish in the wrong place
And at the wrong time
In Ireland they'll put you away in the Maze
In England they'll keep you for seven long days
God help you if ever you're caught on these shores
The coppers need someone
And they walk through that door
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and the stinking cell
From wall to wall, and back again
A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused,
For the price of promotion
And justice to sell
May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and a lousy cell
From wall to wall, and back again
May the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds
And sweat as they count out the sins on their heads
While over in Ireland eight more men lie dead
Kicked down and shot in the back of the head
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a freezing hell
Round the yard and a lousy cell
From wall and back again
Counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and a lousy cell
From wall to wall and back again
@Chaosthemighty
I think the one line is "In England they keep you for Seven long days" . The British had passed a law to hold someone under the terror act for 7 days without charging them. This was best Illustrated in the Movie "In the Name of the Father" based on the true story of the Guilford Four. Daniel Day Lewis played Gerry Conlon who was tortured for 7 days into confessing being part of a London Pub Bombing which he had no part in. The original law was passed in 1939 in response to an IRA campaign launched in England. Just FYI...