(So it’s been a very long time (almost six months!) since we’ve seen a post in this series and the band featured today is the very reason why. The death of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan last November hit me hard, perhaps harder than any other musician’s death in recent memory. When I saw that this song was the next on the list, I wondered whether I should use this space to commemorate how much MacGowan’s songwriting meant to me and how special he was to so many and I wondered whether I was up to the task. In the end, I decided to keep this post about the song at hand and of course, about the (entire) band that wrote and performed it.)
The Pogues were originally named Pogue Mahone when they formed in 1982, which is an anglicized play on a phrase in Gaelic meaning ‘kiss my arse’. The band sanitized and shortened it to their more popular name just as they were releasing their first album, “Red roses for me”, in 1984. The band and their unique celtic folk-infused punk sound drew international attention and success with their next two albums, 1985’s “Rum, sodomy, and the lash” and 1988’s “If I should fall from grace with god“. After which, the band began to fall to pieces due to the unreliability of the aforementioned founding member and frontman, Shane MacGowan, and his penchant for drinking. He made only cursory contributions to 1990’s “Hell’s ditch” and was finally sacked in 1991. The band carried on without him for a while, without the same success, but called it a day 1996.
The Pogues are still considered one of the more influential bands of the eighties. They practically invented the Celtic punk genre by fusing politically-charged lyrics and punk ethos with the use of traditional Celtic instruments and song structures. Without their existence, we likely wouldn’t have bands today like The Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, and The Mahones. And this song here is a perfect example of the template those other bands use.
“Sally MacLennane” was the second single released off “Rum, sodomy, and the lash” and incidentally, the second of the band’s singles to crack the UK singles charts. It is a drinking song that was reportedly inspired by a bar owned by MacGowan’s uncle. It’s upbeat with a machine gun drum line that punctuates each line, a hammering bass drum pace, swirling accordion and tin flute, and MacGowan’s inimitable debauched delivery that is oft answered with shouting backing vocals. It tells the story of a promising young man that leaves a home that he feels is impeding his potential. After years of absence, he realizes he misses his home but then, it isn’t the same upon returning. It’s about memory and loss and nostalgia, all things that often surface after a few pints.
Original Eighties best 100 position: n/a
Favourite lyric: “I’m sad to say I must be on my way / So buy me beer or whiskey cause I’m going far away.” It’s not so much the words, as cool and heavy as they are, but the way they are sung or shouted and make for meaningful drunken memories with friends.
Where are they now?: In 2001, The Pogues re-formed, including Shane MacGowan, and toured sporadically until 2014, but there was never any new music released. MacGowan’s death seems to have put an end to any talk of another reunion for now.
For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.
My (life in) music lists 