The Poxy Boggards are a Pasadena-based folk band, founded in 1994 at the So… Read Full Bio ↴The Poxy Boggards are a Pasadena-based folk band, founded in 1994 at the Southern CA Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Since this time, they have achieved success in the re-burgeoning of the Irish-folk movement, playing with bands such as the Fenians. Currently comprised of 14 members, all of them singers and most of them instrumentalists, the Poxy Boggards have a richly layered sound.

My Last Night in Baltimore
The Poxy Boggards Lyrics

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We were fresh from the sea,
Our pockets full of money
When me and me mateys
We headed for the bar
No sooner had we 'rrived
Than one pint turned to five
And a lassie grabbed me by the belt
And dragged me toward the stairs!

Oh, Mother, don't wake me,
Don't jostle or shake me
I spent all night drinkin'
With the ladies by the shore.
And if I never wake,
Don't cry and don't shriek,
Just sing the glorious tales of
my last night in Baltimore!

There were redheads, there were blondes
Brunettes of which I'm fond.
We plied 'em with cheap alcohol
so they wouldn't leave our side.
Before the night was through,
We each had one or two.
By midnight our cabin boy
Had found himself a bride!

We drank fifteen kegs of beer,
Whiskeys from far and near.
We ate up all their venison,
We choked down all their stew.
And when we were run dry,
We would not just stand by
A raiding party went next door
To liberate more brew!

Things started to go queer
When Pat stole Kelly's beer
So he put his face into Pat's face
And started up a fight
Well, the brawl raged all around
And we tore that tavern down,
But we rescued all the kegs
So we could drink another night!

Now me head is sore and achey
And me bones are bruised and creaky,
And I don't truly expect that I
Should live to see the light,
So tell me girl in Leicester,
'Till she dies I'll miss her,
But in the mornin', if I'm livin',
I'll be back tomorrow night!

Overall Meaning

The Poxy Boggards's song "My Last Night in Baltimore" is a humorous ballad, recounting the wild night of drinking experienced by the singer and his crew in Baltimore, all while painting a vivid picture of the atmosphere in the bar. The opening lines describe their arrival in Baltimore, fresh from the sea and with pockets full of money before they embark on a drinking spree, leaving them with only hazy memories of the night. The lyrics describe their exploits with various women, plying them with cheap alcohol to ensure they remained by their side while they drank fifteen kegs of beer and whiskeys from far and near. The chorus declares the singer's intention to live forever in the glorious tales of his last night in Baltimore and urges his mother not to wake him if he doesn't make it through the night.

As the night wears on, the lyrics describe a bar brawl that results from a stolen beer and the singer's crew tearing down the tavern, all while on a mission to liberate more brew. The song ends with the singer's head aching and his body bruised, but still determined to return to the bar the following night, leaving his mark on Baltimore forever.

Overall, the song is a lighthearted tribute to the wild and chaotic experience of a night of heavy drinking, with a tongue-in-cheek humor that makes it a favorite among fans of humorous and upbeat music.

Line by Line Meaning

We were fresh from the sea, Our pockets full of money
We had just come off a ship and had plenty of cash

When me and me mateys We headed for the bar No sooner had we 'rrived Than one pint turned to five And a lassie grabbed me by the belt And dragged me toward the stairs!
As soon as we got to the bar, we started drinking and a girl pulled me upstairs

There were redheads, there were blondes Brunettes of which I'm fond. We plied 'em with cheap alcohol so they wouldn't leave our side. Before the night was through, We each had one or two. By midnight our cabin boy Had found himself a bride!
We drank with girls of every hair color and convinced them to stay with us. By the end of the night, even our cabin boy got lucky

We drank fifteen kegs of beer, Whiskeys from far and near. We ate up all their venison, We choked down all their stew. And when we were run dry, We would not just stand by A raiding party went next door To liberate more brew!
We drank a lot of beer and whiskey, ate all their food, and when we ran out, we went to the bar next door to get more

Things started to go queer When Pat stole Kelly's beer So he put his face into Pat's face And started up a fight Well, the brawl raged all around And we tore that tavern down, But we rescued all the kegs So we could drink another night!
A fight broke out when Pat stole Kelly's beer, which led to us destroying the bar. But we managed to save the beer so we could keep drinking

Now me head is sore and achey And me bones are bruised and creaky, And I don't truly expect that I Should live to see the light, So tell me girl in Leicester, 'Till she dies I'll miss her, But in the mornin', if I'm livin', I'll be back tomorrow night!
I'm pretty beat up and don't expect to live, but if I do, I'll be back at the bar tomorrow night

Contributed by Madison F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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