The Pogues

[fox69]

"The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn"

"The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn"



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 curing 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

 

[fox69]

"The Star Of County Down"

"The Star Of County Down"



Near to Banbridge Town, in the County Down
One morning in July,
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen,
And she smiled as she passed me by;
Oh, she looked so neat from her two white feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair,
Sure the coaxing elf, I'd to shake myself
To make sure I was standing there

Oh, from Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I've seen like the brown colleen
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling quare,
And I said, says I, to a passer-by,
"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"
Oh, he smiled at me, and with pride says he,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown,
She's young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the Star of the County Down."

I've travelled a bit, but never was hit
Since my roving career began;
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charms of young Rose McCann.
I'd a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet with in shawl or gown,
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the Star of the County Down.

At the crossroads fair I'll be surely there
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes
And I'll try sheep's eyes, and deludhering lies
On the heart of the nut-brown Rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Though with rust my plow turns brown,
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the Star of the County Down.

 

[fox69]

"The Sun And The Moon"

"The Sun And The Moon"



The snakes they can crawl
And the cheetahs they can bawl
And their ghosts can wait for the hereafter
But if you are so proud
As to say that's not allowed
We will get sick and choke ourselves with laughter

And the girlfriends that you knew
To whom you promised to be true
We'll have their sisters
Hanging from the rafters
And every dirty shade will rise rotting from the grave
Tomorrow will be just like the day after

And this bitter desert wind
Will come ripping through your skin
And everything that's calm will turn to madness
And all of your fake tears
Will come whirling down the years
And what was kind and warm will come to sadness

And the sun and the moon
Will come begging at your door
The stars will turn to rust
And drop from the skies
And everybody will soon be asking you for more
And everybody will be telling lies

And the girlfriends that you knew
To whom you promised to be true
We'll have their sisters
Hanging from the rafters
And every dirty shade will rise rotting from the grave
Tomorrow will be just like the day after

 

[fox69]

"The Sunnyside Of The Street"

"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

 

[fox69]

"The Wake Of The Medusa"

"The Wake Of The Medusa"



The guests are stood in silence
They stare and drink their wine
On the wall the canvas hangs
Frozen there in time
They marvel at the beauty
The horror and despair
At the wake of the Medusa
No one shed a tear

Sit my friends and listen
Put your glasses down
Sit my friends and listen
To the voices of the drowned

In the moonlight's ghostly glow
I waken in a dream
Once more upon that raft I stand
Upon a raging sea
In my ears the moans and screams
Of the dying ring
Somewhere in the darkness
The siren softly sings

Out there in the waves she stands
And smiling there she calls
As the lightning cracks the sky
The wind begins to howl

The architects of our doom
Around their tables sit
And in their thrones of power
Condemn those they've cast adrift
Echoes down the city street
Their harpies laughter rings
Waiting for the curtain call
Oblivious in the wings

The casket is empty
Abandon ye all hope
They ran off with the money
And left us with the rope

 

[fox69]

"Thousands Are Sailing"

"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
And 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 favourite bard

Then we raised a glass to J.F.K.
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
Now we dance to the music
And we dance

 

[fox69]

"Tombstone"

"Tombstone"



The night is dark, the moon is full
Across the blood red plain
Every step and every breath
Brings me nearer home
The spirits watch me on my way
They whisper on the wind
And when the dawn lights up the sky
I'll see my land again

A hot wind blows the scrub and dust
across the barren land
Trees stand bare like skeletons
The mountains all torn down
The water holes are dry as bones
No birds are singing now
And faraway a city stands
Tombstones against the sky
Jem Finer

 

[fox69]

"Tosspint"

"Tosspint"



Tosspint rises early
Sprung from a nightmare's claw
Thrice crows the dawn cock
The mist is on the moor
Tosspint cries from croaking gills
Thank God I'm not forsaken
From the hellish depths of sleep
At last I am awaken

Tosspint flushed his kidneys
And rained a golden shower
Pleased to piss a good pot full
He shat upon the hour
Tosspint filled his belly
With tripe and ox's tongue
A sucking pig stuffed with figs
Into his guts he flung

Full belly and the dance is merry
Where hunger reigns no strength obtains
The wheel spins, the gurdy hums
Ring the bells and beat the drum

Tosspint drinks lustily
And pees against the sun
All around the hoary oak
The laughing maidens run
Tosspint warms his codpiece
To the flour adds the yeast
In the field by Tanner's Mill
He plays to two-backed beast

Twist the spigot, close the hole
Stoke the fire and blow the coal
The wheel spins, the gurdy hums
Ring the bells and beat the drum
Full belly and the dance is merry
Where hunger reigns no strength obtains
The wheel spins, the gurdy hums
Ring the bells and beat the drum

Tosspint fell foul of dogma
And slipped into schism
The trial was quick, the sky grew dark
They led him from the prison
Tied him to a stake of oak
Lit a fire of wood and coke
The crowd sang out "His bacon's smoked!"
The bells rang out "Tosspint's croaked!"

Tosspint under flaming sky
Walks through the fires of Hell
Where bestial demons threw the damned
Screaming as they fell
Into pits of burning coals
Tosspint throws up his last bowl
And mingled with the soup
His soul

Tosspint rises early
Sprung from a nightmare's claw
Thrice crows the dawn cock
The mist is on the moor
Twist the spigot, close the hole
Stoke the fire and blow the coal
The wheel spins, the gurdy hums
Ring the bells and beat the drum

 

[fox69]

"Transmetropolitan"

"Transmetropolitan"



In the rosy parks of England
We'll sit and have a drink
Of VP wine and cider 'till we can hardly think
And we'll go where the spirits take us
To heaven or to hell
And kick up bloody murder in the town we love so well

Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
From the dear old streets of Kings Cross
To the doors of the ICA
Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
We'll drink the rat's piss, kick the shite
And I'm not going home tonight, Yip-ay-aye

From Brixton's lovely boulevards
To Hammersmith's sightly shores
We'll scare the Camden Palace poofs
And worry all the whores
There's lechers up in Whitehall
And queers in the GLC
And when we've done those bastards in
We'll storm the BBC

Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
From Surrey Docks to Somers Town
With a KMRIA
Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
We'll drink the rat's piss, kick the shite
And I'm not going home tonight, Yip-ay-aye

From a five-bob bet in William Hills
To a Soho sex-shop dream
From a fried egg in Valtaro's
To a Tottenham Court Road ice cream
We'll spew and lurch, get nicked and fixed
On the way we'll kill and maim
When you haven't got a penny, boys
It's all the bloody same

Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
From Pentonville Road on a sunset eve
To the beauty that's Mill Lane
Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
We'll drink the rat's piss, kick the shite
And I'm not going home tonight, Yip-ay-aye

This town has done us dirty
This town has bled us dry
We've been here for a long time
And we'll be here 'till we die
So we'll finish off the leavings
Of blood and glue and beer
And burn this fucking city down
Every the summer of the year

Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
From Arlington House with a two-bob bit
To the Scottish shores today
Going transmetropolitan, Yip-ay-aye
We'll drink the rat's piss, kick the shite
And I'm not going home tonight, Yip-ay-aye, Yip-ay-aye, Yip-ay-aye!

 

[fox69]

"Tuesday Morning"

"Tuesday Morning"


Too many sad days
Too many Tuesday mornings
I thought of you today
I wished it was yesterday morning
I thought of you today
I dreamt you were dressed in mourning

[Chorus:]
But I knew that you
WIth your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning

I fell through the window
And I found that I was still breathing
I thought of tomorrow
And the fear that you might leave me
I thought of tomorrow
And I wished it was Monday morning

[Chorus]

Turn your face from me
And I will cover myself with sorrow
Bring hell down upon me
I will surrender my heart to sorrow
Bring hell down upon me
And I will say goodbye tomorrow

[Chorus]