Red Roses for Me

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Red Roses for Me
Studio album by The Pogues

Publication
(s)

1984

Label (s) Stiff Records , WEA

Format (s)

CD , LP

Genre (s)

Folk punk

Title (number)

13 (LP), 14 (CD)

running time

40:12 (LP), 42:21 (CD)

occupation

production

Stan Brennan

chronology
- Red Roses for Me Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
(1985)

Red Roses for Me is the debut album by British folk punk band The Pogues . It reached the eighty-ninth place on the UK album charts.

history

The album was one of the first albums to mix Irish folk with punk rock . Traditional songs and ballads were mixed up with Shane MacGowan's "Gossen Hymnen", which was considered innovative at the time. MacGowan describes the music as follows: "I couldn't believe no one else was doing it, so we just did it ourselves ..."

The title refers to the play "Red Roses For Me" written by Seán O'Casey , although it shows no influence on the work of the band. The cover of the album shows the members of the band except for drummer Andrew Ranken , who was not present at the time the photo was taken. In the background is a picture of the US Presidential Elections s John F. Kennedy to be seen.

"Dark Streets Of London" (with the B-side "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda") and "Boys From The County Hell" (in an adjusted version without curses, with "Repeal Of The Licensing Laws" as B Page) published.

A line of text in the song "Transmetropolitan" alludes to the song The Town I Loved So Well by Phil Coulter , later the abbreviation "KMRIA", which comes from James Joyce and means "Kiss My Royal Irish Ass", is used. "The Battle Of Brisbane" refers to the clash between Australian and American soldiers on November 26th and 27th, 1942.

" The Auld Triangle " is a song written by Dominic Behan and used in Brendan Behan's play "The Quare Fellow", about what happened in a prison on the day an inmate is about to be executed.

In "Boys Of The County Hell" appear the so-called "Blueshirts", which refer to the members of the Army Comrades Association . Also mentioned is the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War .

"Sea Shanty" refers to a sea shanty, a so-called shanty that was sung by the seafarers while they were working.

"Streams Of Whiskey" mentions Brendan Behan , whom the main character of the song (MacGowan) dreams of meeting. In the chorus, Behan expresses his views on the right lifestyle ("I am going, I am going, where streams of whiskey are flowing"). This is an allusion to Behan's alcoholism and associated death.

"Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go" contains several references to the Irish famine . MacGowan also alludes to Dante's Divine Comedy in a line of text .

Track list

  1. "Transmetropolitan" ( Shane MacGowan ) - 4:15
  2. "The Battle of Brisbane" (MacGowan) - 1:49
  3. " The Auld Triangle " ( Dominic Behan , Brendan Behan ) - 4:20
  4. "Waxie's Dargle" (Traditional) - 1:53
  5. "Boys from the County Hell" (MacGowan) - 2:56
  6. "Sea Shanty" (MacGowan) - 2:24
  7. "Dark Streets of London" (MacGowan) - 3:33
  8. "Streams of Whiskey" (MacGowan) - 2:32
  9. "Poor Paddy" (Traditional) - 3:09
  10. "Dingle Regatta" (Traditional, Jem Finer ) - 2:52
  11. "Greenland Whale Fisheries" (Traditional) - 2:36
  12. "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" (MacGowan) - 3:30
  13. "Kitty" (Traditional) - 4:23

Note: The album's first CD release included "Whiskey You're The Devil" as track 8.

Re-release from 2004

  1. "Transmetropolitan" ( Shane MacGowan ) - 4:15
  2. "The Battle of Brisbane" (MacGowan) - 1:49
  3. "The Auld Triangle" ( Dominic Behan , Brendan Behan ) - 4:20
  4. "Waxie's Dargle" (Traditional) - 1:53
  5. "Boys from the County Hell" (MacGowan) - 2:56
  6. "Sea Shanty" (MacGowan) - 2:24
  7. "Dark Streets of London" (MacGowan) - 3:33
  8. "Streams of Whiskey" (MacGowan) - 2:32
  9. "Poor Paddy" (Traditional) - 3:09
  10. "Dingle Regatta" (Traditional, Jem Finer ) - 2:52
  11. "Greenland Whale Fisheries" (Traditional) - 2:36
  12. "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" (MacGowan) - 3:30
  13. "Kitty" (Traditional) - 4:23
  14. "The Leaving Of Liverpool" † (Traditional) - 3:12
  15. " Muirshin Duirkin " † (Traditional) - 1:50
  16. "Repeal Of The Licensing Laws" † ( Spider Stacy ) - 2:12
  17. " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda " † ( Eric Bogle ) - 4:51
  18. "Whiskey You're The Devil" + (Traditional) - 2:09
  19. "The Wild Rover" † (Traditional) - 2:36

† Not included on the original version.
+ Only included on the first CD release.

reception

medium Rating critic
Allmusic Mark Deming
Robert Christgau B + Robert Christgau

Mark Deming wrote in his review for the Allmusic Guide :

"What set the Pogues apart from any number of other energetic Irish traditional bands was the sheer physical force of their performances, the punky swagger of their personalities, and Shane MacGowan's considerable gifts as a songwriter. Unfortunately, none of these qualities comes through very clearly on their first album, Red Roses for Me. (...) It's clear that MacGowan had not yet fully matured as a songwriter; there are a handful of superb songs here, (...) but some of the others suggest MacGowan was still learning how to fit all his ideas into his songs. Red Roses for Me is good and rowdy fun, but on Rum Sodomy & the Lash and If I Should Fall from Grace with God, the Pogues would prove they were capable of a lot more than that. "

"What set the Pogues apart from other energetic Irish bands, what the physical strength of their performances, the punky boasting of their personalities, and Shane MacGowan's formidable songwriting skills. Unfortunately, none of those qualities come through on their first album, Red Roses For Me. (...) It is clear that MacGowan has not yet fully developed his songwriting skills; there are a handful of superb songs, (...) but some of the others show that MacGowan was still learning like him Could put all of his ideas in this song. Red Roses for Me is good and rowdy fun, but on Rum, Sodomy & the Lash and If I Should Fall from Grace with God the Pogues should show that they can do even more than that. "

Deming awarded a rating of three and a half out of five stars.

Robert Christgau noted:

"(...) They yoke the indelible bitterness of the Irish horror to a more adaptable punk rage. Tepid it ain't."

"(...) They combine the indelible bitterness of Irish horror with the more usable punk collar. It's not lukewarm."

Christgau rated the album B +.

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