Hello and Merry Christmas to you all. You may have seen on social media that I attended the procession through Dublin for Shane MacGowan RIP. It was a wonderful send-off and I had an eventful day for me thereafter rambling around Dublin city, meeting friends and family. That night I woke at 2.30am in the morning and wrote the first draft of this, which I thought would just be a poem. Over the next few days It developed into a song, which I ultimately decided to call A Dublin Farewell, inspired by that day, Shane and The Pogues. So I hope you enjoy the tribute which will be out on all streaming services on Christmas Day all going well. Thanks to Anthony Gibney in Audioland, Leixip for fitting me in to record and mix the song.
It's now available to download on Bandcamp here
For Spotify folks you can presave A Dublin Farewell here
https://distrokid.com/
Lyrics
The streets were lined with mourners,
To follow. the coach and horses
Give the big man a send-off
Sing his songs all the verses
Though everyone was stunned
And I surely shed a tear
For A Dublin Farewell
They came from far and from near.
And I overslept
and still I had the fry,
And I almost missed bus
But I didnt did I?
And I ran the streets of Dublin
Like a lover gone astray
Has he gone to Tipprary
so far far away?
But he was there
Somewhere
On the ground or in the air
In our ears, eyes hearts and everywhere.
We couldn't see the band but
We could hear them off the walls,
You barely heard the tune,
But you knew all the words,
And phones were in the air
As the coach moved on,
For the free born man,
The Irish son.
And he was there
Somewhere
On the ground or in the air
In our ears, eyes, hearts and everywhere
And Eddie led us all
As we sang every call,
A Pair of Brown Eyes and Dirty Old Town,
Fairytale of New York, Rainy Night in Soho,
Though we could’ve stayed all day
The Gaurds said we had to go.
And he was there
Somewhere
On the ground or in the air
In our ears, eyes, hearts and everywhere
Inst
Then I tuned an old guitar
For a bar of lemon soap
And Pj played a song from Finnegans Wake
And the tv lads came in
to catch take 2
In Sweny's Pharmacy
And Shane was there too,
Yes he was there
Somewhere
On the ground or in the air
In our ears, eyes, hearts and everywhere
It was all over in minutes
Might as well've been hours
Til I found Kehoe's pub
and had a hot powers,
And it never rained at all
And the music still goes on
With the Artane Band and the Rising Sons.
And he was there
Somewhere
On the ground or in the air
In our ears, eyes, hearts and everywhere
I rambled to St. Annes
To hear carols from the pues,
The revenue choir
Singing their dues,
The whole church sang
With the grand piano,
And In Oh Holy Night
I swear I heard The Pogues.
And he was there
Somewhere
On the ground or in the air
In our ears, eyes, hearts and everywhere
Yes he's still there
Somewhere
On the ground or in the air,
In our ears, eyes and hearts and everywhere
In our ears, eyes and hearts and everywhere