"I'm sad to say I must be on my way
So buy me beer or whiskey, 'cause I'm going far away"
Farewell Shane.
My first concert was the Pogues in late 1986 or early 1987. "Boys from the county hell", "Dirty old town" and "Waltzing Matilda" (the last two, he didn't write, but made his) are some of my favorite songs ever.
I managed to see him perform several times around that era.
One concert I recall Shane managed to sing only three or so songs. He fell backwards, and was eventually dragged off stage. The rest of the band carried on.
Another, Shane made it about half way, but noticeably inebriated, and then just disappeared. The rest of the band just carried on.
The concert with the Popes, Shane had to carry the show, so he made it all the way through a couple of hours.
There are very few artists that have the gift of writing great songs and reinterpreting the songs of others in such a way that they make the song their own.
Shane MacGowan was one of those artists. When I first heard the Pogues in the late 1980's, I knew that "Dirty Old Town" was a Ewan MacColl song and "Waltzing Matilda" was an Australian bush ballad. It didn't matter because his interpretations stamped those songs with his personality. And it's hard to believe that "Fairytale of New York" was written on a bet. It's a song that has so much life and spirit; I could listen to it hundreds of times and never get tired of it.
Comments
"I'm sad to say I must be on my way So buy me beer or whiskey, 'cause I'm going far away"
Farewell Shane.
My first concert was the Pogues in late 1986 or early 1987. "Boys from the county hell", "Dirty old town" and "Waltzing Matilda" (the last two, he didn't write, but made his) are some of my favorite songs ever.
I managed to see him perform several times around that era.
One concert I recall Shane managed to sing only three or so songs. He fell backwards, and was eventually dragged off stage. The rest of the band carried on.
Another, Shane made it about half way, but noticeably inebriated, and then just disappeared. The rest of the band just carried on.
The concert with the Popes, Shane had to carry the show, so he made it all the way through a couple of hours.
RIP Shane.
There are very few artists that have the gift of writing great songs and reinterpreting the songs of others in such a way that they make the song their own.
Shane MacGowan was one of those artists. When I first heard the Pogues in the late 1980's, I knew that "Dirty Old Town" was a Ewan MacColl song and "Waltzing Matilda" was an Australian bush ballad. It didn't matter because his interpretations stamped those songs with his personality. And it's hard to believe that "Fairytale of New York" was written on a bet. It's a song that has so much life and spirit; I could listen to it hundreds of times and never get tired of it.