Written by Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, "Boys From The County Hell" is part of their first album, Red Roses For Me. Typical of their early work, it's a bawdy drinking song about a group of guys who tip a few back and set out to get revenge on their boss.
One of its more interesting lyrics in this song is: The boys and me are drunk and lookin' for ya' We'll eat your frickin' entrails and we won't give a damn My father was a blueshirt my mother a madam My brother earned his medals at My Lai in Vietnam Some translation: The blueshirts were the Irish fascist party in the 1930s, his mother was a prostitute and his brother was involved in the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.
The Pogues were a six-piece at the time, signed to Stiff Records, home to Elvis Costello and Madness. This song is a great example of their punk-folk sound that merged with traditional Irish music. Instrumentation includes Jem Finer on banjo, James Fearnley on accordion, and Spider Stacy on Tin Whistle. The same year the song was released (1984), the group toured with Costello, who produced their next album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, in 1985.
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