Pogues protest song in mega election thread? February 20, 2017 8:15 AM Subscribe
In one of the December election threads, someone made a passing reference to a Pogues song, and I can't find it. If memory serves, the comment didn't mention them by name, but said something to the effect of "I never thought I'd be singing xxxxx, but it's relevant again." The only things I can recall were that it was from one of the 1980s albums and it wasn't "Fairytale of New York". If anyone can help jog my memory, I'd be much obliged. Thanks!
It was not. If memory serves, the song had the word "roses" in it.
posted by pxe2000 at 9:08 AM on February 20, 2017
posted by pxe2000 at 9:08 AM on February 20, 2017
In one of these threads, someone mentioned "Thousands Are Sailing", I think in reference to the lines
Thousands are sailing
Across the western ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
There's a Pogues album called Red Roses For Me but I can't think of a song which is itself about roses.
Although "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" is the one that's fit for the times:
McCormack and Richard Tauber are singing by the bed
There's a glass of punch below your feet and an angel at your head
There's devils on each side of you with bottles in their hands
You need one more drop of poison and you'll dream of foreign lands
When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt and got syph down in cologne
And you heard the rattling death trains as you lay there all alone
Frank Ryan brought you whiskey in a brothel in Madrid
And you decked some fucking blackshirt who was cursing all the yids
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the devil's in the chair
And in the Euston tavern you screamed it was your shout
But they wouldn't give you service so you kicked the windows out
They took you out into the street and kicked you in the brains
So you walked back in through a bolted door and did it all again
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the devil's in the chair
You remember that foul evening when you heard the banshees howl
There was lousy drunken bastards singing billy is in the bowl
They took you up to midnight mass and left you in the lurch
So you dropped a button in the plate and spewed up in the church
Now you'll sing a song of liberty for blacks and paks and jocks
And they'll take you from this dump you're in and stick you in a box
Then they'll take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground
But you'll stick your head back out and shout "We'll have another round"
At the graveside of Cuchulainn we'll kneel around and pray
And god is in his heaven, and billy's down by the bay
posted by Frowner at 10:09 AM on February 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
Thousands are sailing
Across the western ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
There's a Pogues album called Red Roses For Me but I can't think of a song which is itself about roses.
Although "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" is the one that's fit for the times:
McCormack and Richard Tauber are singing by the bed
There's a glass of punch below your feet and an angel at your head
There's devils on each side of you with bottles in their hands
You need one more drop of poison and you'll dream of foreign lands
When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt and got syph down in cologne
And you heard the rattling death trains as you lay there all alone
Frank Ryan brought you whiskey in a brothel in Madrid
And you decked some fucking blackshirt who was cursing all the yids
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the devil's in the chair
And in the Euston tavern you screamed it was your shout
But they wouldn't give you service so you kicked the windows out
They took you out into the street and kicked you in the brains
So you walked back in through a bolted door and did it all again
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the devil's in the chair
You remember that foul evening when you heard the banshees howl
There was lousy drunken bastards singing billy is in the bowl
They took you up to midnight mass and left you in the lurch
So you dropped a button in the plate and spewed up in the church
Now you'll sing a song of liberty for blacks and paks and jocks
And they'll take you from this dump you're in and stick you in a box
Then they'll take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground
But you'll stick your head back out and shout "We'll have another round"
At the graveside of Cuchulainn we'll kneel around and pray
And god is in his heaven, and billy's down by the bay
posted by Frowner at 10:09 AM on February 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
I could have sworn that someone said something about Thousands are Sailing being relevant again and feeling like a bit of a dolt, because I didn't see it as being directly relevant. But now I can't find the comment.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:10 AM on February 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:10 AM on February 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
It was "Thousands are Sailing". THANK YOU SO MUCH.
posted by pxe2000 at 10:28 AM on February 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by pxe2000 at 10:28 AM on February 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
Woo!
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:31 AM on February 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:31 AM on February 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
I feel that the Trump - Henry VIII analogy holds more water, but in case you feel he's more of an Oliver Cromwell, there's always Young Ned of the Hill (lyrics).
posted by ambrosen at 12:40 PM on February 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by ambrosen at 12:40 PM on February 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
The question's been answered so let me just leave my favorite Pogue's protest song here: Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six (forward to about 1:50 for the start of Birmingham Six to hear what rage sounds like).
posted by Edward L at 4:45 PM on February 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Edward L at 4:45 PM on February 20, 2017 [5 favorites]
Bastard Landlord is a good song for Trump times too
Greed knows no boundaries, greed does not feel,
I'm damned if I'll die for a property deal,
The woman next door she just passed away,
For the rent grew so high that she just couldn't pay,
And there in her bed she closed up her eyes,
The last time she gazed on this world of lies,
With nowhere to go and nothing saved,
She went to the next world and the Bastard he smiled.
Bricks and mortar, kingdom of stone,
When you go you're all alone,
They'll carve your name where you lie,
And I for one no tears will cry.
posted by queenofbithynia at 7:14 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
Greed knows no boundaries, greed does not feel,
I'm damned if I'll die for a property deal,
The woman next door she just passed away,
For the rent grew so high that she just couldn't pay,
And there in her bed she closed up her eyes,
The last time she gazed on this world of lies,
With nowhere to go and nothing saved,
She went to the next world and the Bastard he smiled.
Bricks and mortar, kingdom of stone,
When you go you're all alone,
They'll carve your name where you lie,
And I for one no tears will cry.
posted by queenofbithynia at 7:14 AM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
Thousands Are Sailing is a f***ing masterpiece. They ought to teach it in school.
posted by philip-random at 11:33 PM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 11:33 PM on February 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
Cromwell was terrifying because he was ruthless, innovative, zealous and competent. Trump is none of those.
posted by Diablevert at 3:41 AM on February 22, 2017
posted by Diablevert at 3:41 AM on February 22, 2017
Slightly different take on war from the Pogues
Lorca's Novena
Ignacio lay dying in the sand
A single red rose clutched in a dying hand
The women wept to see their hero die
And the big black birds gathered in the sky
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The years went by and then the killers came
And took the men and marched them up the hill of pain
And Lorca, the faggot poet they left till last
Blew his brains out with a pistol up his arse
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The killers came to mutilate the dead
But ran away in terror to search the town instead
But Lorca's corpse, as he had prophesied, just walked away
And the only sound was the women in the chapel praying
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:12 AM on February 22, 2017
Lorca's Novena
Ignacio lay dying in the sand
A single red rose clutched in a dying hand
The women wept to see their hero die
And the big black birds gathered in the sky
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The years went by and then the killers came
And took the men and marched them up the hill of pain
And Lorca, the faggot poet they left till last
Blew his brains out with a pistol up his arse
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The killers came to mutilate the dead
But ran away in terror to search the town instead
But Lorca's corpse, as he had prophesied, just walked away
And the only sound was the women in the chapel praying
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:12 AM on February 22, 2017
Not the Pogues, but the Dropkick Murphys' Boys on the Dock seems pretty relevant, too.
posted by Zalzidrax at 8:48 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Zalzidrax at 8:48 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
For me, right now, no song speaks to my sense of.... well it doesn't mince words, is what I'm trying to say. I wish I had a dozen different covers of it, one for every level of anxiety I move through every day. :)
There Is No Time
This is no time for Celebration
this is no time for Shaking Heads
This is no time for Backslapping
this is no time for Marching Bands
This is no time for Optimism
this is no time for Endless Thought
This is no time for my country Right or Wrong
remember what that brought
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
This is no time for Congratulations
this is no time to Turn Your Back
This is no time for Circumlocution
this is no time for Learned Speech
This is no time to Count Your Blessings
this is no time for Private Gain
This is no time to Put Up or Shut Up
it won't no time to come back this way again
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
This is no time to Swallow Anger
this is no time to Ignore Hate
This is no time to be Acting Frivolous
because the time is getting late
This is no time for Private Vendettas
this is no time to not know who you are
Self knowledge is a dangerous thing
the freedom of who you are
This is no time to Ignore Warnings
this is no time to Clear the Plate
Let's not be sorry after the fact
and let the past become out fate
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
This is no time to turn away and drink
or smoke some vials of crack
This is a time to gather force
and take dead aim and Attack
This is no time for Celebration
this is no time for Saluting Flags
This is no time for Inner Searchings
the future is at head
This is no time for Phony Rhetoric
this is no time for Political Speech
This is a time for Action
because the future's Within Reach
This is the time
this is the time
This is the time
because there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
Songwriters: Lou Reed
posted by ezust at 9:26 AM on February 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
There Is No Time
This is no time for Celebration
this is no time for Shaking Heads
This is no time for Backslapping
this is no time for Marching Bands
This is no time for Optimism
this is no time for Endless Thought
This is no time for my country Right or Wrong
remember what that brought
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
This is no time for Congratulations
this is no time to Turn Your Back
This is no time for Circumlocution
this is no time for Learned Speech
This is no time to Count Your Blessings
this is no time for Private Gain
This is no time to Put Up or Shut Up
it won't no time to come back this way again
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
This is no time to Swallow Anger
this is no time to Ignore Hate
This is no time to be Acting Frivolous
because the time is getting late
This is no time for Private Vendettas
this is no time to not know who you are
Self knowledge is a dangerous thing
the freedom of who you are
This is no time to Ignore Warnings
this is no time to Clear the Plate
Let's not be sorry after the fact
and let the past become out fate
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
This is no time to turn away and drink
or smoke some vials of crack
This is a time to gather force
and take dead aim and Attack
This is no time for Celebration
this is no time for Saluting Flags
This is no time for Inner Searchings
the future is at head
This is no time for Phony Rhetoric
this is no time for Political Speech
This is a time for Action
because the future's Within Reach
This is the time
this is the time
This is the time
because there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
There is no time
there is no time
Songwriters: Lou Reed
posted by ezust at 9:26 AM on February 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'll second Birmingham Six: "May the judged be the judges when they rot down in hell" and "May the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds / And sweat as they count out the sins on their heads."
posted by Shane at 8:28 PM on February 24, 2017
posted by Shane at 8:28 PM on February 24, 2017
there is no time
Songwriters: Lou Reed
Hell yeah. My personal anthem from around the time of the run up to the first Gulf War (summer 1990 onward) -- stuff was pretty dire then as well. Thanks for the reminder
posted by philip-random at 6:40 PM on February 25, 2017
Songwriters: Lou Reed
Hell yeah. My personal anthem from around the time of the run up to the first Gulf War (summer 1990 onward) -- stuff was pretty dire then as well. Thanks for the reminder
posted by philip-random at 6:40 PM on February 25, 2017
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:04 AM on February 20, 2017