The Pogues – Fairytale of New York which was released in 1987 and has since become a Christmas standard, entering the UK Top Twenty every December. The song tells the story of an Irish couple who emigrated to America in the 1940s with hopes of becoming successful entertainers in New York. However, as co-writer Shane MacGowan noted, the story could apply to any couple who found themselves facing hardship after moving to a new place.
The initial inspiration for the song came from Jem Finer’s attempt to write about a sailor missing his wife, but this was considered too corny by his wife. She suggested a storyline about a couple falling on hard times and eventually finding redemption. The title of the song comes from the 1973 novel “A Fairytale of New York” by James Patrick Donleavy, an Irish-American author who later became an Irish citizen. In the novel, the narrator tells a story about being lost as a child and inventing a fairytale about New York, where his father was a tycoon and his mother a princess.
Watch The Pogues – Fairytale of New York On YouTube:
The Pogues – Fairytale of New York Lyrics:
[Verse 1: Shane MacGowan]
It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank
An old man said to me, “Won’t see another one”
And then he sang a song, ‘The Rare Old Mountain Dew’
I turned my face away and dreamed about you
[Verse 2: Shane MacGowan]
Got on a lucky one, came in eighteen-to-one
I’ve got a feeling this year’s for me and you
So, Happy Christmas, I love you, baby
I can see a better time when all our dreams come true
[Verse 3: Kirsty MacColl]
They’ve got cars big as bars, they’ve got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you, it’s no place for the old
When you first took my hand on a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me Broadway was waiting for me
[Verse 4: Kirsty MacColl & Shane MacGowan & Together]
You were handsome, you were pretty, queen of New York City
When the band finished playing, they howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging, all the drunks, they were singing
We kissed on a corner, then danced through the night
[Chorus: Shane Macgowan & Kirsty MacColl]
The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing, “Galway Bay”
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas Day
[Verse 5: Kirsty MacColl & Shane MacGowan]
You’re a bum, you’re a punk, you’re an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap, lousy faggot
Happy Christmas, your arse, I pray God it’s our last
[Chorus: Shane Macgowan & Kirsty MacColl]
The boys of the NYPD choir
Still singing, “Galway Bay”
And the bells are ringing out
For Christmas Day
[Verse 6: Kirsty MacColl & Shane MacGowan]
“I could have been someone” Well, so could anyone
You took my dreams from me when I first found you
I kept them with me, babe, I put them with my own
Can’t make it all alone, I’ve built my dreams around you
[Outro: Shane Macgowan & Kirsty MacColl]
The boys of the NYPD choir
Still singing, “Galway Bay”
And the bells are ringing out
For Christmas Day
