The Pogues - Night Train To Lorca

Across the dark and dusty plain
Where scars of old dry rivers run
Night unfolds, a coal black shroud
Across the hard and stony ground

Distant stars shining bright
In the cavern of the night
All is still and silence screams
To the thunder of the Lorca train

Flaming steal swift as wind
Wires hum the rails ring
Smokestack burning fiery sparks
Rise up to the stars

Towns asleep by empty roads
Churches rise from crooked roofs
Cloaked in darkness nothing stirs
Grow smaller darker disappear

See the moon so still and cold
A million stars that shed no warmth
Your nightmares all come out to play
In the silver light

Wait for sunrise in the east
Long shadows crawl across the plain
The ghosts of night will disappear
And lay your fears to rest

Steam hissed up, the hot coals glowed
The furnace blazed, the wheels they rolled
On tracks of iron, straight and cold
The silver moonlight danced

The flames are in the fireman's eye
Orange in the engines glow
Gleaming pistons whirling cranks
Wait for dawn the rooster's crow

The Pogues - When The Ship Comes In

Oh the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
'Fore the hurricane begins
The hour when the ship comes in

Oh the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking

Oh the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in

And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean

A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat that drifts on to the shore line
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in

Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'

Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're still dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeel
And know that it's for real
The hour that the ship comes in

Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath they'll be conquered

The Pogues - The Ghost of a Smile

You gotta walk that mile Honeychild
You gotta walk that mile Honeychild
Well I'll show you what is hip
As we walk down Leeson strip & I'll do it for the ghost of a smile
Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile
Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile
You can't take it with you when you go
You can't take it with you when you go
You gotta walk, walk that mile
& I'll be with you Honeychild
& I'll do it for the ghost of a smile
Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile
Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile

Don't wait too long
Don't wait too long
Don't wait too long or I'll be gone

Don't wait too long
Don't wait too long
Don't wait too long
Or I'll be gone

Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile
Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile
Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile
Just the ghost, the ghost of a smile

The Pogues - Billy's Bones

Billy ran around with the rare old crew
And he knew an Arsenal from Tottenham blue
We'd be a darn sight better of if we knew
Where Billy's bones are resting now
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six foot to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper won't be having any family

Hey Billy son where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

Billy went away with the peace-keeping force
'Cause he liked a bloody good fight of course
Went away in an old khaki van to the banks of the river Jordan
Billy saw the Arabs and he had 'em on the run
When he got 'em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the Israelis in his sights, went a ra-ta-ta
And they ran like Shiites

Hey Billy son where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

One night Billy had a rare old time,
Laughing and singing on the Lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the Holy City
Now Billy's out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And there's mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls

Hey Billy son where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

Have a Billy holiday
Born on a Monday
Married on a Tuesday
Drunk on a Wednesday
Got plugged on a Thursday
Sick on a Friday
Died on a Saturday
Buried on a Sunday

The Pogues - Dark Streets Of London

I like to walk in the summer breeze

Down Dalling Road by the dead old trees

And drink with my friends

In the Hammersmith Broadway

Dear dirty delightful old drunken old days

Then the winter came down and I loved it so dearly

The pubs and the bookies where you'd spend all your time

And the old men that were singing

"When The Roses Bloom Again"

And turn like the leaves

To a new summertime

Now the winter comes down

I can't stand the chill

That comes to the streets around Christmas time

And I'm buggered to damnation

And I haven't got a penny

To wander the dark streets of London

And every time that I look on the first day of summer

Takes me back to the place where they gave ECT

And the drugged up psychos

With death in their eyes

And how all of this really

Means nothing to me

Now the winter comes down

I can't stand the chill

That comes to the streets around Christmas time

And I'm buggered to damnation

And I haven't got a penny

To wander the dark streets of London

And every time that I look on the first day of summer

Takes me back to the place where they gave ECT

And the drugged up psychos

With death in their eyes

And how all of this really

Means nothing to me

And now the winter comes down

I can't stand the chill

That comes to the streets around Christmas time

And I'm buggered to damnation

And I haven't got a penny

To wander the dark streets of London

To wander the dark streets of London

To wander the dark streets of London

The Pogues - White City

Here a tower shinning bright
Once stood gleaming in the night
Where now there's just the rubble
In the hole here the paddies and the frogs
Came to gamble on the dogs
Came to gamble on the dogs not long ago

Oh the torn up ticket stubs
From a hundred thousand mugs
Now washed away with dead dreams in the rain
And the car-parks going up
And they're pulling down the pubs
And its just another bloody rainy day

Oh sweet city of my dreams
Of speed and skill and schemes
Like Atlantis you just disappeared from view
And the hare upon the wire
Has been burnt upon your pyre
Like the black dog that once raced
Out from trap two

The Pogues - Sit Down By The Fire

Sit down by the fire

And I'll tell you a story

To send you away to your bed

Of the things you hear creeping

When everyone's sleeping

And you wish you were out here instead

It isn't the mice in the wall

It isn't the wind in the well

But each night they march

Out of that hole in the wall

Passing through on their way

Out of hell

They're the things that you see

When you wake up and scream

The cold things that follow you

Down the Boreen

They live in the small ring of trees on the hill

Up at the top of the field

And they dance on the rain

And they dance on the wind

They tap on the window

When no-one is in

And if ever you see them

Pretend that you're dead

Or they'll bite off your head

They'll rip out your liver

And dance on your neck

They dance on your head

They dance on your chest

They give you the cramp

And the cholic for jest

They're the things that you see

When you wake up and scream

The cold things that follow you

Down the Boreen

They live in the small ring of trees on the hill

Up at the top of the field

They play on the wind

They sing on the rain

They dance on your eyes

They dance in your brain

Remember this place

It is damp and it's cold

The best place on earth

But it's dark and it's old

So lie near the wall

And cover your head

Good night and God bless,

Now fuck off to bed

The Pogues - The Broad Majestic Shannon

The last time I saw you was down at the Greeks
There was whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks
You sang me a song as pure as the breeze
Blowing up the road to Glenaveigh
I sat for a while at the cross at Finnoe
Where young lovers would meet when the flowers were in bloom
Heard the men coming home from the fair at Shinrone
Their hearts in Tipperary wherever they go

Take my hand, and dry your tears babe
Take my hand, forget your fears babe
There's no pain, there's no more sorrow
They're all gone, gone in the years babe

I sat for a while by the gap in the wall
Found a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
Heard the cards being dealt, and the rosary called
And a fiddle playing Sean Dun na nGall
And the next time I see you we'll be down at the Greeks
There'll be whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks
For it's stupid to laugh and it's useless to bawl
About a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball

So I walked as day was dawning
Where small birds sang and leaves were falling
Where we once watched the row boats landing
By the broad majestic Shannon

The Pogues - Repeal Of The Licensing Laws

...

The Pogues - Dirty Old Town

I met my love by the gas works wall

Dreamed a dream by the old canal

Kissed a girl by the factory wall

Dirty old town

Dirty old town

Clouds are drifting across the moon

Cats are prowling on their beat

Springs a girl in the street at night

Dirty old town

Dirty old town

Heard a siren from the docks

Saw a train set the night on fire

Smelled the spring on the smoky wind

Dirty old town

Dirty old town

I'm going to make me a good sharp axe

Shining steel tempered in the fire

Will chop you down like an old dead tree

Dirty old town

Dirty old town

The Pogues - Love you 'Till the End

I just want to see you
When you're all alone
I just want to catch you if I can
I just want to be there
When the morning light explodes
On your face it radiates
I can't escape
I love you 'till the end

I just want to tell you nothing
You don't want to hear
All I want is for you to say
Why don't you just take me
Where I've never been before
I know you want to hear me
Catch my breath
I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end

I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end

I just want to be there
When we're caught in the rain
I just want to see you laugh not cry
I just want to feel you
When the night puts on its cloak
I'm lost for words don't tell me
Cause all I can say
I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end

I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end

All I can say
I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end
It's all I can say
I love you 'till the end
I love you 'till the end

The Pogues - Anniversary

The dawn shines her light
To scare off the night
And the sun from his slumber is woken
The bells are ringing out
As the town crier shouts
Words too strong to be spoken

There's a rumble in the ground
And the air fills with sound
Trumpets in the wind are a' blowing
The townsfolk peep
Through the curtains of sleep
To the sound of the cocks all a' crowin

The winds may blow
Come rain, come slow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me

The sun wears a smile
And the clock winks its dial
The clouds in the sky are unfolding
The birds on the wing
Like angels they sing
The heavens are glowing all golden

The crowds all spill out
They cheer and they shout
Banners and flags are a' waving
The flowers all a' bloom
Blow kisses to the moon
As blossom falls on the paving

The wind may blow
Come rain, come snow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me

The whole world roars
A chorus of applause
Strangers from Delhi to Dublin
Are swept off their feet
As they kiss on the street
And the waters like champaigne are bubbling

The wind may blow
Come rain, come snow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me

The Pogues - A Pair of Brown Eyes

One summer evening drunk to hell
I stood there nearly lifeless
An old man in the corner sang
"Where The Water Lilies Grow"
And on the jukebox Johnny sang
About a thing called love
And it's how are you kid and what's your name
And how would you bloody know?
In blood and death 'neath a screaming sky
I lay down on the ground
And the arms and legs of other men
Were scattered all around
Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed then cursed
Then prayed and bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
But when we got back, labeled parts one to three
There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me

And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes

I looked at him he looked at me
All I could do was hate him
While Ray and Philomena sang
Of my elusive dreams
I saw the streams, the rolling hills
Where his brown eyes were waiting
And I thought about a pair of brown eyes
What waited once for me
So drunk to hell I left the place
Sometimes crawling sometimes walking
A hungry sound came across the breeze
So I gave the walls a talking
And I heard the sounds of long ago
From the old canal
And the birds were whistling in the trees
Where the wind was gently laughing

And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes

The Pogues - The Sunnyside Of The Street

Seen the carnival at Rome
Had the women I had the booze
All I can remember now
Is little kids without no shoes
So I saw that train
And I got on it
With a heartful of hate
And a lust for vomit
Now I'm walking on the sunnyside of the street

Stepped over bodies in Bombay
Tried to make it to the U.S.A.
Ended up in Nepal
Up on the roof with nothing at all
And I knew that day
I was going to stay
Right where I am, on the sunnyside of the street

Been in a palace, been in a jail
I just don't want to be reborn a snail
Just want to spend eternity
Right where I am, on the sunnyside of the street

As my mother wept it was then I swore
To take my life as I would a whore
I know I'm better than before
I will not be reconstructed
Just wanna stay right here
On the sunnyside of the street

The Pogues - Down In The Ground Where The Deadmen Go

Hello boys I've been away
On a bit of a holiday
To the land where the rivers freely flow
And the cattle roam on the wild callagh
Walking home three parts pissed
I fell and rolled in the morning mist
I fell and tumbled in the hungry grass
That tells the tale of a terrible past
I screamed and rolled and dreamt I fell
Down in the depths of a freezing hell
With a man coming up with the bugs inside
Bouncing tooth in a skull that died
We laughed to old times and the bad old days
Gonna wrap me up and takin' me away
Four million people starved to death
Could smell the curse on their dying breath
Where no one ever wants to go

Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go

To Hell which is circular all around
Down in the belly of the big cold ground
The moving shadows were everywhere
The very trees seemed to bend and stare
I remembered the dunes on a Sligo shore
Ran and screamed 'til I could run no more
Over the hill and across the moor
I ran in the house and slammed the door
Just what the hell's that over there
A putrefying corpse sitting in that chair
One place I don't want to go

Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go

Been drunk as a skunk since I've been home
From bar to bar like a ghost I roamed
I can't forget those things I saw
Been down with the devil in the Dalling Road
One place I don't want to go

Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go
Down in the ground where the dead men go

The Pogues - The Body Of An American

The cadillac stood by the house
And the yanks they were within
And the tinker boys they hissed advice
'Hot-wire her with a pin'
We turned and shook as we had a look
In the room where the dead men lay
So big Jim Dwyer made his last trip
To the home where his father's laid

Fifteen minutes later
We had our first taste of whiskey
There was uncles giving lectures
On ancient Irish history
The men all started telling jokes
And the women they got frisky
At five o'clock in the evening
Every bastard there was piskey

Fare thee well going away
There's nothing left to say
Farewell to New York City boys
To Boston and PA
He took them out
With a well-aimed clout
He was often heard to say
I'm a free born man of the USA

He fought the champ in Pittsburgh
And he slashed him to the ground
He took on Tiny Tartanella
And it only went one round
He never had no time for reds
For drink or dice or whores
And he never threw a fight
Unless the fight was right
So they sent him to the war

Fare the well gone away
There's nothing left to say
With a slainte Joe and Erin go
My love's in Amerikay
The calling of the rosary
Spanish winde from far away
I'm a free born man of the USA

This morning on the harbour
When I said goodbye to you
I remember how I swore
That I'd come back to you one day
And as the sunset came to meet
The evening on the hill
I told you I'd always love
I always did and I always will

Fare thee well gone away
There's nothing left to say
'cept to say adieu
To your eyes as blue
As the water in the bay
And to big Jim Dwyer
The man of wire
Who was often heard to say
I'm a free born man of the USA

The Pogues - Thousands Are Sailing

The island it is silent now
But the ghosts still haunt the waves
And the torch lights up a famished man
Who fortune could not save

Did you work upon the railroad
Did you rid the streets of crime
Were your dollars from the white house
Were they from the five and dime

Did the old songs taunt or cheer you
And did they still make you cry
Did you count the months and years
Or did your teardrops quickly dry

Ah, no, says he, 'twas not to be
On a coffin ship I came here
And I never even got so far
That they could change my name

Thousands are sailing
Across the western ocean
To a land of opportunity
That some of them will never see
Fortune prevailing
Across the western ocean
Their bellies full
Their spirits free
They'll break the chains of poverty
And they'll dance

In Manhattan's desert twilight
In the death of afternoon
We stepped hand in hand on Broadway
Like the first man on the moon

And "The Blackbird" broke the silence
As you whistled it so sweet
And in Brendan Behan's footsteps
I danced up and down the street

Then we said goodnight to Broadway
Giving it our best regards
Tipped our hats to Mister Cohan
Dear old Times Square's favorite bard

Then we raised a glass to JFK
And a dozen more besides
When I got back to my empty room
I suppose I must have cried

Thousands are sailing
Again across the ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
Postcards we're mailing
Of sky-blue skies and oceans
From rooms the daylight never sees
Where lights don't glow on Christmas trees
But we dance to the music
And we dance

Thousands are sailing
Across the western ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
Where e'er we go, we celebrate
The land that makes us refugees
From fear of Priests with empty plates
From guilt and weeping effigies
And we dance

The Pogues - Young Ned Of The Hill

Have you ever walked the lonesome hills
And heard the curlews cry
Or seen the raven black as night
Upon a windswept sky
To walk the purple heather
And hear the westwind cry
To know that's where the rapparee must die

Yet since Cromwell pushed us westward
To live our lowly lives
There's some of us have deemed to fight
From Tipperary mountains high
Noble men with wills of iron who are not afraid to die
Who'll fight with Gaelic honour held on high

A curse upon you Oliver Cromwell
You who raped our motherland
I hope you're rotting down in hell
For the horrors that you sent
To our misfortunate forefathers
Whom you robbed of their birthright
"To hell or Connaught", may you burn in hell tonight

Of one such man I'd like to speak
A rapparee by name and deed
His family dispossessed and slaughtered
They put a price upon his head
His name is known in song and story
His deeds are legends still
And murdered for blood money
Was young Ned of the hill

When you have robbed our homes and fortunes
Even drove us from our land
Yours tried to break our spirit, but you'll never understand
The love of dear old Ireland that will forge an iron will
As long as there are gallant men like young Ned of the hill

A curse upon you, Oliver Cromwell
You who raped our motherland
I hope you're rotting down in hell
For the horrors that you sent
To our misfortunate forefathers
Whom you robbed of their birthright
"To hell or Connaught", may you burn in hell tonight

The Pogues - Rain Street

The church bell rings
An old drunk sings
A young girl hocks her wedding ring
Down on Rain Street

Down the alley the icewagon flew
Picked up a stiff that was turning blue
The local kids were sniffin' glue
Not much else for a kid to do
Down Rain Street

Father McGreer buys an ice cold beer
And a short for Father Loyola
Father Joe's got the clap again
He's drinking Coca-Cola
Down on Rain Street

Bless me Father I have sinned
I got pissed and I got pinned
And God can't help the shape I'm in
Down on Rain Street

There's a Tesco on the sacred ground
Where I pulled her knickers down
While Judas took his measly price
And St Anthony gazed in awe at Christ
Down on Rain Street

I gave my love a goodnight kiss
I tried to take a late night piss
But the toiled moved so again I missed
Down Rain Street

I sat on the floor and watched TV
Thanking Christ for the BBC
A stupid fucking place to be
Down Rain Street

I took my Eileen by the hand
Walk with me was her command
I dreamt we were walking on the strand
Down Rain Street

That night Rain Street went on for miles
That night on Rain Street somebody smiled

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