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The
Parting Glass: |
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The title "Crock of
Gold" likely comes from the novel
by Irish poet and writer James Stephens
(1882-1950). If you're interested in the work, the
link provides the complete text; if you need some
further encouragement besides Shane's
recommendation before diving in, try
this
review). |
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Shane "borrows" the melody for this one from Hoyt Axton's "Lightning Bar Blues," originally released on his "Joy to the World" lp (1971; thanks Tommy for the heads up). Click here to open a window with the full lyrics. Just to put me in the nick..." Not sure if this needs to be noted, but the "funny farm" would refer to a mental institution. To be put "in the nick" would mean to be incarcerated. Just to crush me on the dole..." "The hole" is prison slang for solitary confinement. In the UK, to be "on the dole" would be akin to being on welfare here in the States (or at least what's left of welfare since Clinton and the Republican b*stards who control Congress removed most of the safety net). |
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As I lay blasted in my room A small bird sang on an ivy branch And the song he sang was the jug of punch..." The melody for this verse is borrowed from the same traditional tune as the last two lines -- "Jug of Punch." Click the link to get a window with the lyrics. The opening line of the trad tune is "very early in the month of June." I'm not sure if this is coincidental or not, but 23 June is the date that "Fox" the "third policeman" in the book of the same name by Flann O'Brien (see Streams of Whiskey) goes insane and disappears for 25 years (the reference is found in Chapter X [page 154 of the Dalkey Archive edition of the book]). Thanks to Patrick for the heads up. Just dig me a six foot hole With a candle at my head and feet And a jar of alcohol" This verse quotes from the final verses in both "Jug of Punch" and "Lightning Bar Blues": |
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"Here's to Gino here's to Eddy The references here I think could split in a couple of directions. On the one hand, "Gino" may refer to Gino Lupari. He was the lead singer and bodhraín player for the trad band "Four Men and a Dog" (they released two cds -- "Barking Mad" and "Shifting Gravel" -- on the Green Linnet label) and he did a guest shot on the Popes' "Holloway Boulevard" release. "Eddy" may refer to lap steele guitarist Ed Deane (he also did a guest shot on "Holloway Boulevard"). The "Big O" may refer to Irish singer Oliver Mulligan, originally from County Monaghan in the Republic but relocated to London. He was a regular at the Favourite, the pub on Holloway Boulevard owned by Tom McManamon's dad (the banjo/mandolin player in the Popes). In A Drink with Shane MacGowan (p. 210-11) Shane speaks quite approvingly and with some familiarity of the music being played at the pub: "Tom's parents' pub, The Favourite, was a mighty pub for Irish music, and the sessions there were recorded by Topic. They sold out three editions. Not just pressings. There's one today, still selling. It's called Paddy in the Smoke. And you can hear a fifteen-year-old Tom on it, and other great Irish musicians of the day." Big Tom is a Galway born Irish Country artist, popular on the "ballroom" circuit of Ireland throughout the 1960s and beyond. On the other hand, with the reference to the King in the third line, Gino and Eddy may refer to 1950s rock pioneers Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran, with the Big 0 then referring to pop singer Roy Orbison (a box set of his singles was called "The Big O: Roy Orbison Singles Collection;" thanks Tom and Mike for suggesting that read). Also, in A Drink with Shane MacGowan (2001, Grove Press, ISBN 0-821-3790-3, p. 58) Shane relates that his mother liked Roy Orbison, so it's an artist he heard growing up, and from the rest of the interviews in the book, we know how influential those years were on his musical development. |
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Musically, the song is based on the traditional (I think; although it might be by The Irish Rovers) Irish rebel ballad "Pat from Mullingar" or "The Man from Mullingar" (click here for the version recorded by the Wolfe Tones; big thanks to Per for the heads up). If you'd like an mp3 file of the song to compare for yourself, email me. Lyrically, this song is probably based on/inspired by the life and death of Dominic McGlinchy (dubbed "Mad Dog" by the British tabloid rags; if you go to the above link, scroll about half way down the page for info). In August 1971 McGlinchey (then aged 17) was arrested and tortured over a five day period by British security forces. Upon release he joined the IRA (not having been a member before the arrest. He did, however, participate in civil rights marches, which is likely what prompted the arrest). The IRA they kicked him out while he was still in jail..." He was later arrested in the Republic and served a five year sentence for stealing a police car and possessing weapons. During his prison time, the IRA began to explore the possibiilities of a two-track approach to a united Ireland -- i.e., one using both bullets and ballots. It's not clear whether McGlinchy was "kicked out" of the IRA or whether he quit (a bit like Shane's departure from the Pogues), but by 1982 following his release from Portlaoise prison, McGlinchy left the IRA and joined the newly formed Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and quickly established himself as the movement's leader. He shouted up the IRA And the papers called him Paddy Public Enemy No. 1..." "Up the IRA" would be a slogan of support for the IRA (shorthand for something like "uphold the IRA") rather than one of derision ("up yours, IRA"). McGlinchy boasted of either carrying out or ordering a rather high execution rate on behalf of a united Ireland, and his time at the top of the INLA coincided with one of the more brutal periods of the "Troubles." From November 1982 through March 1983 McGlinchy was the most wanted man in the struggle. |
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in the deadly power game He said fuck them all and left the INLA..." McGlinchy was arrested again in the Republic and became the first Republican to be extradited to the British forces in the Northern counties where he faced charges of murder stemming from the death of a 67 year old postmistress during an armed robbery. He was freed on appeal and re-extradited back to the Republic on 11 October 1985, and reimprisoned in Portlaoise on charges stemming from the same incident he was indicted for in the North. While serving this sentence, his wife was executed in cold blood in front of their two children at the family home. McGlinchy was released from Portlaoise in March 1993 and the assassination of his wife apparently led him to withdraw from the movement to take care of the children. When he hung away his gun he became the hunted one He went into a phone box to make a local call They shot him in the phone box, splashing blood upon the wall..." McGlinchy was shot to death in Drogheda in the Republic while walking with his son (also named Dominic) on 10 February 1994. At this time (2004), no convictions or indictments have been made in the case. And while McGlinchy blamed a previous attempt on his life (one in June 1993) on British agents, both the Irish police and colleagues of McGlinchy's generally believe that he was killed by former comrades. As to which set of ex-comrades did the deed, that depends on whether one believes McGlinchy's turn away from violence and politics in general was sincere. If it was, he probably ran afoul of the INLA. According to its Constitution volunteers swear allegiance for life; and Standing Order Number One states: "No volunteer will be able to obtain release from the Irish Liberation Army after that person has been afffirmed/sworn..." So McGlinchy, as an ex-leader, could not have been permitted to retire (otherwise discipline across the board would have disappeared. In a perverted sense, an example had to be set for the rank and file that no one was above the group). However, if one does not believe McGlinchy's "conversion" was sincere, then the killers may have been from the IRA. At the time of the killing, Sinn Fein were engaged in secret negotiations with both the British and the IRA about the conditions and possibility of a cessation to the violence. McGlinchy, a well known gun man, on the loose could have posed a destabilizing force in the talks. Much of this summary comes from Tim Pat Coogan's The Troubles (Rinehart publishers, ISBN#1-57098-092-6); the quote from the INLA constitution is found in Bendan O'Brien's The Long War (Syracuse University Press, ISBN #0-8156-03193). |
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The title for this one echoes the classic Pogues track, "Boys from the County Hell." In Shane's vocabulary, "County Hell" is shorthand for London. The chorus for this one draws from the Kris Kistofferson/Fred Foster tune (made most famous perhaps by the version recorded by Janis Joplin) "Me and Bobby McGee." (Click the link to get a window with the lyrics). The Pogues covered it in concert occasionally. |
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A "bower" is a cottage. of O'Neill and O'Donnell Lord Lucan of old and immortal O'Connell" "Where Brian chased the
Danes Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (c. 1540-1616) and Red Hugh O'Donnell (c. 1571-1602), Irish chieftain, led the Irish resistance to England in the early 1600s. Both were defeated at the Battle of Kinsale (1601) which lead to their eventual departure to the European continent -- the "flight of the earls" -- a move which effectively allowed for English ascendance on the island in the next decades. |
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Patrick
Sarsfield, earl of Lucan
(d. 1693, no reliable date is known about his birth)
led Irish resistance against William of Orange in
Brian Boru was the eleventh century King of Ireland who defeated the Danes at the Battle of Clontarf, 23 April 1014. Unfortunately, the 88 year old king was himself killed in the battle and did not live to see his army carry the day. St. Patrick, one of the three patron saints of Catholic Ireland, is reputed to have driven the snakes from the island. |
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In Gaelic, a "céilídh" (sometimes spelled "céilí" and pronouced "kay-lee") is a big informal dance party. I've been banished from my home..." The good Father with his king dong is a recurring character in Shane's repertoire (see "Donegal Express," and "B & I Ferry"). The floor beneath me starts to burn..." The "Siege of Ennis" is a traditional ceili dance. Groups are arranged in lines of 4 across, like this: | | | | After a series of basic dance steps the members of one line raise their arms with the next line passing underneath and the sequence of steps repeating, but with new dance partners. |
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The title for this one is
taken from a short story collection (published in
1934, still in print from Grove Press, ISBN:
0-8021-5137) by Samuel
Beckett (1906-1989).
Beckett was born in Dublin, but like James Joyce
(see "Transmetropolitan"),
spent much of his life in France and is considered
one of the heavyweights in twentieth century
literature (he was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize for
Literature). As for the title itself, a "prick"
here is not a phallus but rather a sharp pain (as
would be felt when stabbed with a needle or
something). The collected stories follow the
generally depressing life -- one full of more
hardship than happiness -- of one Belacqua Shuah.
Shane's lyrics here don't really parallel any of
the plots in the stories, but they do share the
general idea. Thanks to Hoddle for the
heads up. |
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"The howling wind sings a lonesome
tune "CB" refers to Citizens Band radio. Here in the United States, the airwaves are considered public domain and are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. While most of the frequencies have been allocated for assorted commercial ventures, part of the band was reserved for radio-to-radio communication free of commercial restraint (hence "citizen's band"). The devices were wildly popular in the late 1970s/early 1980s... of course this was back in the ice ages before cell phones. Also there's probably a typo on the lyric sheet in that the name (or "handle" to use CB jargon) should be capitalized as "Twilight Error," unless of course it was e.e. cummings' alias, but I have a hard time picturing the poet engaging in the behavior described here. Mack trucks are a relatively popular fixture on American highways. Heck, most of my neighborhood worked in one or the other of the plants they had running here in the Lehigh Valley before the corporate bigwigs decided to bust the union and skulk off to South Carolina. The trucks at one time had a reputation for solid construction, with "Built like a Mack Truck" being the corporate slogan and local shorthand for something substantial. |
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I said my name is Forrest Gump Then I blew his arm off with my twelve gauge pump" In CB slang, "bear" refers to a police officer, usually a state trooper. To have a "bear on your tail" is to be followed by a state trooper on the highway, which is usually not a good thing. Not sure if this needs to be noted, but "Forrest Gump" was the title character in the novel by Winston Groom and the film by Robert Zemeckis starring Tom Hanks. The film has proven to be wildly popular, but I've never been a big fan. If you haven't seen the flick, it's basically Peter Seller's "Being There" shtick done for a mass audience... the idiot savant succeeding despite his mental deficiencies (I hate it when intelligent people make movies or write books celebrating the virtues of being an idiot). At any rate, for the purposes of this song, note that in the book and the movie, it's pointed out that Forrest is related to and named after the nonfictional General Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate General better known for starting the Ku Klux Klan, a bunch of bed sheet wearing white supremacist yahoos responsible for countless acts of violence and murder throughout the American south and midwest. For you folks in more civilized areas of the globe, a "12 gauge pump" refers to a particularly powerful shotgun. In the States, thanks to quisling Congressmen and the good folks of the National Rifle Association, you can pick one up at your local Walmart or KMart and then go blow away your co-workers, classmates, friends, and family. 3 Niggers messin' with the white man's kind..." In a "classic" lynching the victims are usually strung up over a tree limb while the local sadists gawk. "Land of the free, home of the brave" indeed. The root of the word is sometimes traced to the story of a Mayor of Galway City in Ireland who hanged his own son over some sexual indiscretion, if memory serves. When I visited Galway I remember the tour book mentioning the details, but they escape me now. I'm not certain about this, but I believe Shane may have been inspired by a Roger McGuinn/Gram Parsons tune called "Drugstore Truck Drivin' Man ." It was performed at Woodstock by Joan Baez and Jeffrey Shurtleff, and is in the same vein (Click the link to get a window with the lyrics). Of course Shane pushes the envelope a bit more. |
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In concert before "Crock" was released, this song was introduced as "Spider's in America." "Joey" may refer to Shane's long-suffering manager, Joey Cashman, although I'm not sure what would have prompted the name change in the song. |
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The British and Irish Steam Packet Company operates ferry service -- known as the B & I Ferry -- across the Irish Sea from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland to Holyhead, Wales (well, it goes in both directions). In "Boat Train" we get the trip from Ireland to the UK. In this one I think the imaginary voyage goes from the UK back to Ireland ("imaginary" since in the last verse the narrator tells how he wakes from a dream and realizes he's still in "Babylon" -- more on that below). Shane's excursion here draws on any number of Jamaican reggae tunes. For instance, the general theme of the boat ride to freedom echoes the songs dedicated to Marcus Garvey's "Black Star Line" which sought to repatriate former slaves in the U.S. and the Caribbean to their African homeland (see, for instance, "Black Starliner Must Come" by the great Jamaican Rastafarian band Culture and available on their classic "Two Sevens Clash" LP). In the context of this song, Ireland takes the place of Africa in general or Ethiopia in particular (for the specifically Rastafarian view) as the homeland. I was alone..." Shane borrows the line and melody here from the cut of the same name on Culture's"Two Sevens Clash." In that song, the solitude is that of the lone Rastaman in Babylon (the white West), and the line is "I am alone in the wilderness..." Gimme Jar! Jar! Mighty Mighty Jar!" A "jar" refers to a glass of whiskey or some other potable. Of course it's also a deft play on the Rastafarian word for God -- "Jah." |
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Drink a gin listening to Mannix Flynn..." Mannix Flynn (b. 1957) is a contemporary Irish author and playwright. His play "Talking to the Wall" was being performed in Dublin in both 1996 and 1997. In A Drink with Shane MacGowan (p. 308) Shane tells us: "Mannix Flynn, now he should be given a film to write, produce and direct. I'd like him to do my film. Mannix Flynn is a great writer, playwright, actor and poet and criminal arsonist and he was put in a hall of correction as a kid then he came out and wrote a Behan-style, borstal-boy [sic] book called Nothing to Say and he's also written lots of plays and acted in lots of plays and you can always find him in some pub in Dublin, holding the floor, reciting in monologue and all the rest of it and demanding people buy him drinks. He is a good friend of mine and a great bloke." For more on Behan, see "Auld Triangle" and "Streams of Whiskey." The Borstal system of juvenile detention lasted in the UK from 1906 until 1982 and was based on the idea that incarceration was itself the punishment and not an excuse for further punishment. That is, the penal institution offered an opportunity to instill in young offenders the codes of citizenship their life up to that point had apparently failed to provide. The list of names through the end of this verse and into the next likely refer to "real" people (my guess is friends of Shane) rather than fictitious characters. For instance, "The Snake" is dedicated, in part, to "Joe Corcoran and all the boys and girls from North West Tipp" ("Tipp" being shorthand for Co. Tipperary, Ireland); and Noel Kenny warrants a "special hello" in the credits on the same cd. in the County Hell..." In Rastafarianism, "Babylon" generally refers to the morally bankrupt nations -- and agents of those nations (especially the police) -- of the west. "County Hell" is Shane's name for London. |
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According to the blurb on its
website, "The Hospitaller Order of St John of God is
dedicated to the care of people who are ill and people in
need and carries out its mission in a christian manner,
based on Gospel values. The mission of St John of God
Hospital is to bring christian love, care The bassline and melody for this one are not so distant cousins of Bob Marley's feel good classic "Stir it Up." At the 6:04 mark in the song, the connection is made explicit when Lucky Dowling (the bass player) quotes directly from the Marley original. The crushed up man With the crushed up Carrolls packet in his hand.." Carrolls is a cancer stick (cigarette); reputed to be yet another of Shane's favorite tools of self destruction (thanks Paul for the inside info). |
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the west of Ireland. His most famous exploits involved the
defense of Limerick (1690) from William's troops (a daring
night time raid on William's ammunition supplies foiled the
attack). His forces, however, eventually succumbed and he
negotiated the "Treaty of Limerick," which, were it not
immediately ignored by the English, would have been a
significant victory for Irish Catholics. The Treaty (signed
on 3 October 1691) at least implied free exercise of
religion on the island, and explicitly stated that those
Irish who took the Oath of Allegiance to William of Orange
would be pardoned and allowed to keep their property,
practice professions and bear arms.
and
compassion to the sick without distinction to race, religion
or social status to people suffering from a psychiatric
illness and others needing counselling and therapy." Shane
spent some detox time there.