The Broad Majestic Shannon lyrics
Liam Clancy
The last time I saw you it was down at The Greek
There was whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks
You sang me a song as pure as the breeze
On the road leading up Glenveagh
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 in Shinrone
Their hearts in Tipperary wherever they roam
Take my hand, and dry your tears Shane
Take my hand, forget your fears Shane
There's no pain, there's no more sorrow
They're all gone, gone in the years Shane
I sat for a while by a gap in the wall
On a rusty tin can and an old hurling 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, tears on our cheeks
But its stupid to laugh and it's useless to bawl
About a rusty tin can and an old hurling ball
Take my hand, and dry your tears Shane
Take my hand, forget your fears Shane
There's no pain, there's no more sorrow
They're all gone, gone in the years Shane
[Instrumental]
So I walked as day was dawning
Where small birds sang and the leaves were falling
Where we once watched the row boats landing
By the broad majestic Shannon
Where we once watched the row boats landing
By the broad majestic Shannon
Song Details
Music & Lyrics: Shane MacGowan - lead singer of The Pogues
Brief: The song is about the area Shane MacGowan's grew up in during his early childhood, on the shores of Lough Derg by the Shannon River. Shane was born in Pembury, Kent, England to Irish parents and spent his early years in Count Tipperary, Ireland before moving back to England when he was six and a half.
The choruses in the song seem to be that of a mother talking to her son, consoling him in sadder times.
References:
The Greek - a pub
Lough Derg - a large lake on the River Shannon, bordering counties Clare, Galway and Tipperary
Tipperary - a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary, Ireland - situated between Limerick City and Waterford City.
Glenveagh - (from Irish: Gleann Bheatha meaning "glen of the birches") - the second largest national park in Ireland covering 170 square kilometres of hillside above Glenveagh Castle on the shore of Lough Veagh (Loch Ghleann Bheatha), 20 km from Gweedore in County Donegal.
Finnoe - a civil parish in the barony of Ormond Lower, County Tipperary, Ireland.
Sean Dun Na Ngall - an old Irish song which translates to My Old Donegal
Shinrone - a village in County Offaly, Ireland.
Shannon - River Shannon - the longest river in Ireland
Category: Folk Song.
Covers/Albums: The Pogues (If I Should Fall From Grace With God), T. Duggins (Undone), O'Malley's March (The Boys March At Dawn), The Whiskey Jacks (Rockin' Ballads, Trad & More), Uisce Beatha(Sociaaal!), Birmingham Six (The Kessel Run), Liam Clancy (The Wheels Of Life - pictured).
