Low D wrote:

DzM wrote:Phil Chevron describes the origins of "Blue Heaven":

From the Friends O' Shane chat:"Blue Heaven" sounded really wonderful at a soundcheck in Birmingham, Alabama when Darryl, Andrew and I first played it. It was all downhill after that - we could never get the original vibe back!! In the studio we kept throwing instrumentation on top in an attempt to rescue it. But it was a lost cause.

It's a much darker song than it first appears. Darryl and I, as Nottingham Forest fans, were both at the Liverpool v Forest semi-final at Hillsborough in 1989, when we watched helplessly as 96 people lost their lives.

"Blue Heaven" is an attempt to describe/exorcise the weird survivor-guilt that follows such a trauma. We set it in New Orleans because I think that was the first time we were happy again after Hillsborough.

Lyrics are here if you'd like to refresh your memories.

The Hillsborough disaster that Phil is referring to is described here.

Aine wrote:Having just been listening to "Blue Heaven," I have finally got up the courage to ask why this song is so often criticized? I love the melody, and the fact that lyrics seem so incongruent with it. One member of this Forum said this:

"But Blue Heaven…. While it is regarded by many as the worst Pogues song, in recent years it has grown on me. It is one of those songs that either does not pretend to be what it isn’t, or can no longer be bothered to and is now just growing old gracefully. Whenever I hear it I cannot fail to be carried along by the cheery tone that hides the more complex undertones. I usually end up with a big grin on my fat face, singing along, …”Alligators snap at your ankles, branches snap at your brain…” "

and I agree. though I liked it at once. Philip once said things got too balled up in the studio, that people kept adding stuff in hopes of improving the song, but, dammit, I like it. Beats the worm song by a mile --though I'm the only one in the family who loathes that little song.

Thinking about this on account of the Hillsborough verdict today. This is one of the tracks that i think really benefited from the remix on P & L, what with a stripping-way of the extra layers.

DzM wrote:Phil Chevron describes the origins of "Blue Heaven":

From the Friends O' Shane chat:"Blue Heaven" sounded really wonderful at a soundcheck in Birmingham, Alabama when Darryl, Andrew and I first played it. It was all downhill after that - we could never get the original vibe back!! In the studio we kept throwing instrumentation on top in an attempt to rescue it. But it was a lost cause.

It's a much darker song than it first appears. Darryl and I, as Nottingham Forest fans, were both at the Liverpool v Forest semi-final at Hillsborough in 1989, when we watched helplessly as 96 people lost their lives.

"Blue Heaven" is an attempt to describe/exorcise the weird survivor-guilt that follows such a trauma. We set it in New Orleans because I think that was the first time we were happy again after Hillsborough.

Lyrics are here if you'd like to refresh your memories.

The Hillsborough disaster that Phil is referring to is described here.

Aine wrote:Having just been listening to "Blue Heaven," I have finally got up the courage to ask why this song is so often criticized? I love the melody, and the fact that lyrics seem so incongruent with it. One member of this Forum said this:

"But Blue Heaven…. While it is regarded by many as the worst Pogues song, in recent years it has grown on me. It is one of those songs that either does not pretend to be what it isn’t, or can no longer be bothered to and is now just growing old gracefully. Whenever I hear it I cannot fail to be carried along by the cheery tone that hides the more complex undertones. I usually end up with a big grin on my fat face, singing along, …”Alligators snap at your ankles, branches snap at your brain…” "

and I agree. though I liked it at once. Philip once said things got too balled up in the studio, that people kept adding stuff in hopes of improving the song, but, dammit, I like it. Beats the worm song by a mile --though I'm the only one in the family who loathes that little song.

The Duke of Ingmar wrote:

Eric V wrote:
I'm trying to imagine the potential of that song to be something different, and better, than what it turned out to be. Peace.

Could anyone deliver the chords so we can try it out ? I´d be happy to reverse my opinion.

Eric V wrote:
I'm trying to imagine the potential of that song to be something different, and better, than what it turned out to be. Peace.

idlebagger wrote:

The Duke of Ingmar wrote:(Just for the record, the other two songs that don´t work for me personally are "Down all the days" and, my least favourite track, "The ghost of a smile".)

Oh, and there we have to part ways! I'm with you on Blue Heaven, but I love those two songs, especially Ghost. I reckon they're two of the best songs from the bands late-MacGowan period.

The Duke of Ingmar wrote:(Just for the record, the other two songs that don´t work for me personally are "Down all the days" and, my least favourite track, "The ghost of a smile".)