In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Ignacio lay dying in the sand
A single red rose clutched in a dying hand
The women wept to see their hero die
And the big black birds gathered in the sky
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The years went by and then the killers came
And took the men and marched them up the hill of pain
And Lorca, the faggot poet they left till last
Blew his brains out with a pistol up his arse
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The killers came to mutilate the dead
But ran away in terror to search the town instead
But Lorca's corpse, as he had prophesied, just walked away
And the only sound was the women in the chapel praying
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
A single red rose clutched in a dying hand
The women wept to see their hero die
And the big black birds gathered in the sky
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The years went by and then the killers came
And took the men and marched them up the hill of pain
And Lorca, the faggot poet they left till last
Blew his brains out with a pistol up his arse
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
The killers came to mutilate the dead
But ran away in terror to search the town instead
But Lorca's corpse, as he had prophesied, just walked away
And the only sound was the women in the chapel praying
Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows
Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death
Lorca's Novena Lyrics as written by Shane Macgowan
Lyrics © DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great version of a great song,
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The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939. Andalusia was one of the first regions of Spain to be overtaken by the Nationalists in 1936. Federico García Lorca, a Republican poet living in Andalusia, was among the most famous to be killed during the invasion. The Guardia Civil (or "Civil Guard")—the guardia civil was in fact, a Nationalist paramilitary force—who were affiliated with the Republicans were the troops protecting Spain from the Nationalists.
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I always really liked the music of this song, but I really had no clue what he was saying in the lyrics until now. Wow.