Tag: The Pouges

I’ve posted only one Pogues song before. CB brought them up and I started to listen and song after song was quality. I remember them but more for the name than the music. What a catalog they have and I’ve been listening to them almost non-stop this week. This song is so positive that it rubs off.

This song just gives off a great vibe. The Sunny Side of the Street was inspired by the band’s experiences growing up in working-class neighborhoods. They witnessed firsthand the struggles and triumphs of the people around them. They wanted to shine the light on the resilience and ability to find joy in even the most challenging circumstances.

The Pogues were formed in Ireland in 1982 by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left because of drinking problems and was replaced by Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. They reformed in 2001 and toured until 2014.

The song was written by Shane MacGowan and Jeremy Fier. I was released in 1990 and was on the album Hell’s Ditch. The song peaked at #23 on the Billboard Alternative Charts in 1991. The album was produced by former Clash member Joe Strummer.

On November 30…Shane MacGowan passed away. Yesterday, his coffin was being taken down the streets of Dublin pulled by a horse-drawn carriage. He was 65 years old.

The Sunny Side of the Street

Seen the carnival at Rome
Had the women, I had the booze
All that I can remember now
Is little kids without no shoes

So, I saw that train and I got on it
With a heartful of hate and a lust for vomit
Now I’m walking on the sunnyside of the street

Stepped over bodies in Bombay
Tried to make it to the U.S.A.
Ended up in Nepal
Up on the roof with nothing at all
And I knew that day
I was going to stay right where I am
On the sunnyside of the street

Been in a palace, been in a jail
I just don’t want to be reborn a snail
Just want to spend eternity right where I am
On the sunnyside of the street

As my mother wept it was then I swore
To take my life as I would a whore
I know I’m better than before
I will not be reconstructed

Just want to stay right here
The sunnyside of the street
The sunnyside of the street
The sunnyside of the street
The sunnyside of the street

…