I have always thought the beginnning bit was similar to a sea shanty we used to sing in primary school called Donkey Riding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FO4R5SmSrw

http://martindardis.com/id473.html

Thanks Philip.
Meanwhile i figure out the tabs for my self...Don´t think its soooo hard ;)

[quote="redadeg"]What melody plays Spider on his whistle directly in the beginning?

Sorry about my stupidness, but its something scottish?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLPGphHOE0Q[/quote]

I think it probably is derived from a Scottish air, but I don't know its name.

[quote="firehazard"]'Tis funny, I was listening to Bruce Springsteen's version of "Mrs McGrath" today.
And then listening to Springsteen's "American Land" off the same album, and thinking how it's reminiscent of "Sally MacLennane"...[/quote]

I've said the exact same thing about 'American Land'.....love that album!

What melody plays Spider on his whistle directly in the beginning?

Sorry about my stupidness, but its something scottish?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLPGphHOE0Q

If it's of interest, there's a really good book called [i]Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales[/i] (edited by William Cole) which provides a history of Mrs. McGrath and includes sheet music and lyrics. It was published in the 1960's so it might be a bit hard to find - but libraries and such might have it. It's a nice resource if you're into folk music and history etc.

[quote="dsweeney"]Is the " Mrs. McGrath " by the Dubliners that you're talking about the same song as done by Springsteen on his " Seeger sessions " album ? I'm thinking it can't be because I can't hear any similarity between it and Shane's " Billy's bones ".[/quote]

Replying to my own query, you'ze are absolutely right. But it's only the slow breakdown in the middle of " Billy..." I think. " Now Billy's out there, in the desert sun...and his mother cries when the morning comes...and there's mothers cryin'...etc. this is a direct lift from the Dubs tune alright. Springsteen's " Mrs. Mcgrath " seems to be a different tune entirely though. Curious that both tunes have the same anti-war message, so there is probably some linkage between from way back when.Liner notes say the Springsteen tune was a general anti war song that was adopted by Irish with Republican leanings around the time of the Easter Rising.

Is the " Mrs. McGrath " by the Dubliners that you're talking about the same song as done by Springsteen on his " Seeger sessions " album ? I'm thinking it can't be because I can't hear any similarity between it and Shane's " Billy's bones ".

[quote="MacRua"]Make an anonymous call and inform some venue about a bomb...[/quote]

:lol:

Make an anonymous call and inform some venue about a bomb...

[quote="MacRua"]or brains to use [i]Search[/i]. [/quote]

I rather have someone looking FOR me :wink:

Either it or brains to use [i]Search[/i]. Choose what you prefer...
Or a whole office of long-legged pretty females working for me (keeping books, catalogueing facts, running for cigs, etc, etc.). It's a nice variant too, huh?

[quote="MacRua"][url=http://www.pogues.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1102#1102]You are not the only ones[/url]....[/quote]

Do you always remember these things? Do you have a photographic memory of some sort? :shock:

'Tis funny, I was listening to Bruce Springsteen's version of "Mrs McGrath" today.
And then listening to Springsteen's "American Land" off the same album, and thinking how it's reminiscent of "Sally MacLennane"...