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The Broad Majestic Shannon Lyrics
The last time I saw you was down at the Greeks
There was whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks
You sang me a song as pure as the breeze
Blowing up the road to Glenaveigh
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 at Shinrone
Their hearts in Tipperary wherever they go
Take my hand, and dry your tears babe
Take my hand, forget your fears babe
There's no pain, there's no more sorrow
They're all gone, gone in the years babe
I sat for a while by the gap in the wall
Found a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
Heard the cards being dealt, and the rosary called
And a fiddle played Sean dun na ngall
And the next time I see you we'll be down at the Greeks
There'll be whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks
For it's stupid to laugh and it's useless to bawl
About a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
So I walked as day was dawning
Where small birds sang and leaves were falling
Where we once watched the row boats landing
By the broad majestic Shannon
There was whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks
You sang me a song as pure as the breeze
Blowing up the road to Glenaveigh
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 at Shinrone
Their hearts in Tipperary wherever they go
Take my hand, forget your fears babe
There's no pain, there's no more sorrow
They're all gone, gone in the years babe
Found a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
Heard the cards being dealt, and the rosary called
And a fiddle played Sean dun na ngall
And the next time I see you we'll be down at the Greeks
There'll be whiskey on Sunday and tears on our cheeks
For it's stupid to laugh and it's useless to bawl
About a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
Where small birds sang and leaves were falling
Where we once watched the row boats landing
By the broad majestic Shannon
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
pretty straightforward song...great feeling and emotion to it...
anyway, it's obviously about a love lost...the rusty tin can and hurley ball being a metaphor for the love that the couple once had
Anyone know what "down at the Greeks" refers to? Anyone been to "the cross at Finnoe"? I love this song.
Anyone know what "down at the Greeks" refers to? Anyone been to "the cross at Finnoe"? I love this song.
It's something like that, but a bit more complicated, I think. To me it sounds like the two were separated because of circumstances beyond their control. She's going away because of the "cards being dealt." He focuses on the rusty can and old hurley ball to distract himself from his sadness, and later to tell himself it's no use crying or laughing at the absurdity of something you can't do anything about. But he predicts they'll be together again later and the tears of sadness in the first part will turn into happy tears when they...
It's something like that, but a bit more complicated, I think. To me it sounds like the two were separated because of circumstances beyond their control. She's going away because of the "cards being dealt." He focuses on the rusty can and old hurley ball to distract himself from his sadness, and later to tell himself it's no use crying or laughing at the absurdity of something you can't do anything about. But he predicts they'll be together again later and the tears of sadness in the first part will turn into happy tears when they see each other again. And then in the chorus he's trying to reassure her that everything will be okay and he hopes she'll forget the painful past.
i think this was actually done by the Popes, MacGowan's band after the Pogues.
Nope, it was a Pogues number - on If I Should Fall From Grace With God. The book "The LOst Decade" records that Shane wrote it for Maken & Clancy, before recording it himself.
yeah, it was on if i should fall from grace with god, but the popes also did it. they still play a lot of old pogues songs including that one. it's on their live CD.
Right, but if the Pogues did it first, then it's a Pogues song, not a Popes song. Paul McCartney could sing a Beatles song with Wings, but it's still a Beatles song...
At any rate, it's an awesome song ...
Let go of pain, I think he was saying. Merry Christmas! Shane
The more I listen to this song, the more it sounds like he's talking to a loved one who's just died, and he's reassuring her in his mind that there's no more pain or sorrow for her anymore now that she's dead. For some reason it also makes me think of Andrew Ranken's harrowing non-Shane era Pogues song "Four O'Clock in the Morning" where he says:
"They took her to the hospital In the darkest hour of the night
It was silent as the grave As my baby lay beneath the light
They turned on the gas and cut her open She didn't feel no pain They turned on the gas and cut her open She didn't feel no more pain
Daylight was breaking And down came the rain"
In Ranken's song, there's the implication that his girl died from the emergency surgery and therefore felt no more pain, and then the daylight breaks just like in this song and we can liken the rain coming down to Shane seeming to walk home at dawn alone while reminiscing about their past. So now I can't help but feel really sad even as Shane sounds like he's trying to cheer someone up. :/
what a chorus
Great song that Shane obviously borrowed some of the opening bars for Fairytale that he wrote with Jem Finer. Jem had written Fairytale a long time before its release but Shane changed the lyrics to make them a lot better. He must have also added that infectious hook from Shannon to it as well.
The middle bit relates to places near his family's home in Borrisokane, Tipperary where Martin Sheen's family also hail from.
Glenaveigh is the nearest village on the Shannon to Borrisokane; Finnoe is just outside of Borrisokane and the cross means a crossroad. Shinrone is the nearest larger town but is across the border in Offaly hence the men going to the fair there but their hearts being in Tipperary.
Think it’s more about his visits to his Irish roots when he was young