Eight days ago, I chose today’s album for the final installment of my 1985 Decades series. I’m not sure why I settled on Irish band The Pogues’ sophomore effort, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash, over a half dozen other albums I had on my list, but I did.
I listened to it for most of that afternoon, then sat down in the evening to write today’s post. When I brought up this song on YouTube, I noticed a lot of “RIP” comments about lead singer Shane MacGowan and thought he must have passed away rather young. I checked his bio, and was shocked to discover he had died that very morning.
That odd coincidence, and the sadness of MacGowan’s passing at just 65, made me appreciate this album a little more. It’s the musical equivalent of a drunken night in a pub, the “Celtic punk” style bringing youthful bravado to tunes that bounce between traditional Irish folk songs and new compositions that sound like traditional Irish folk songs.
This album was produced by Elvis Costello, who met his future longtime companion Cait O’Riordan, then the band’s bassist and second vocalist, during the sessions. That’s the second guest appearance Costello has made this week, during a year when he was between one of his worst album’s (1984’s Goodbye Cruel World) and one of his best (1986’s King of America).
I don’t know any other bands that do this kind of music, and I don’t know how much of this sort of music I would listen to outside of an Irish pub, but I’m glad The Pogues exist. This somehow feels necessary, even if it’s not my thing.
That wraps up my look at 1985. My next Decades installment will cover the year 1995 — get ready, all you Alanis Morissette fans!
One summer evening, drunk to hell
I sat there nearly lifeless
An old man in the corner sang
“Where the Water Lilies Grow”
And on the jukebox, Johnny sang
About a thing called love
And it’s “How are you, kid?’ and “What’s your name?”
And “How’d you bloody know?
[Verse 2]
In blood and death, ‘neath a screaming sky
I laid down on the ground
And the arms and legs of other men
Were scattered all around
Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed, then cursed
Then prayed, then bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
But when we got back, labeled parts one to three
There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me
[Chorus]
And a rovin’, a rovin’, a rovin’ I’ll go
For a pair of brown eyes
[Verse 3]
I looked at him, he looked at me
All I could do was hate him
While Ray and Philomena sang
Of my elusive dreams
I saw the streams, the rolling hills
Where his brown eyes were waiting
And I thought about a pair of brown eyes
That waited once for me
[Verse 4]
So drunk to hell, I left the place
Sometimes crawling, sometimes walking
A hungry sound came across the breeze
So I gave the walls a talking
And I heard the sounds of long ago
From the old canal
And the birds were whistling in the trees
Where the wind was gently laughing
[Chorus]
And a rovin’, a rovin’, a rovin’ I’ll go
A rovin’, a rovin’, a rovin’ I’ll go
And a rovin’, a rovin’, a rovin’ I’ll go
For a pair of brown eyes, for a pair of brown eyes
[Chorus]
And a rovin’, a rovin’, a rovin’ I’ll go
And a rovin’, a rovin’, a rovin’ I’ll go
And a rovin’, a rovin’, a rovin’ I’ll go
For a pair of brown eyes, for a pair of brown eyes
Meet Me In Montauk 
Thanks for the deep dive into 1985. Definitely one of the best years in music history!
I remember hearing on the news that Shane MacGowan had died but I didn’t know who he was. That is a real coincidence that you settled on that band.