The Irish Rover – The Pogues and The Dubliners (1987)

Description

Additional information about this The Pogues and The Dubliners vinyl art.

The Pogues & The Dubliners – The Artist

The Pogues were an Irish-British Celtic punk band formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band was founded in Kings Cross, London, as Pogue Mahone—the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic póg mo thóin, meaning “kiss my arse”. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, recording several hit albums and singles. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The Pogues reformed in late 2001, and played regularly across the UK and Ireland and on the US East Coast, until dissolving again in 2014. The group did not record any new material during this second incarnation. 

The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-year career, but the group’s success was centred on lead singers Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. The band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals. The band were regulars on the folk scenes in both Dublin and London in the early 1960s.

The Irish Rover – The Song

The Irish Rover is an Irish folk song performed by The Pogues And The Dubliners. The song is about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics over time. “The Irish Rover” is one of the most popular Irish-Gaelic Scottish country dances and is set to the music of the song. The song describes a gigantic ship with “twenty-three masts” (versions by The Dubliners and The Pogues claim twenty-seven), a colourful crew and varied types of cargo in enormous amounts. The verses grow successively more extravagant about the wonders of the great ship. The seven-year voyage comes to a disastrous end when the ship sinks. The narrator becomes the only survivor, “the last of the Irish Rover,” leaving no one else alive to contradict the tale.

The Sailing Ship – The Shape

This record has been crafted into the silhouette of a vintage sailing ship. A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships carry square sails on each mast—the brig and full-rigged ship, said to be “ship-rigged” when there are three or more masts. Others carry only fore-and-aft sails on each mast—schooners. Still others employ a combination of square and fore-and-aft sails, including the barque, barquentine, and brigantine.

Need Help?  Contact Us