The missing lyrics for the Box Set

[James]

It starts out, as far as I can tell.

Got her on the ropes-uh
We gonna roast her
Little Milk Snatcher
We're tryin'a catch her
When you get the puncture

No ones gonna pat ya
Times on our back we feel like

MURDER

A little daughter
You're thirty in the water
You just a policeman
He say he never saw yer
A little mistress
You do your dirty business
We hit you with the patch now
Gonna come down

ooh HARDER
yeah yeah
MURDER



And Donegal Express, in one of Shane's more creative moves, became Donegal Express.

[firehazard]

It starts out, as far as I can tell.

Got her on the ropes-uh

I'm hearing "Daughter of a grocer" for this line. Though that may be entirely mad (if biographically accurate).

Haven't had the chance to listen to and think about it much yet... will try to have a go at some point, when I've cleared the backlog of work, ahem.

And I've just got chocolate muffin all over my mouse. Dammit. [That's not part of the lyrics.]

[philipchevron]

And I've just got chocolate muffin all over my mouse........ [That's not part of the lyrics.]

Sure it is, it's one of Philo's reject lines from "Dancing In The Moonlight (It's Caught Me In Its Spotlight)".

Daughter of a grocer is correct, I think.

[in_the_morning]

Great work! The lyrics of "Donegal Express" are brilliant. Shane MacGowan actually released it in 1997 (I suppose) with the Popes, with a different name ("Mother Mo Chroi"). The melody and mostly the lyrics are the same. But I prefer the Pogues-Outtake-Version.

What about the lyrics of "Murder" (Version 1!)? Can anyone post them? It's quite hard to get them by ear I think.

Though I am not very familiar with Shane's post-Pogues work, I think it is "NW3" that is related to "Mother Mo Chroí". As ever, I welcome contradiction if I am mistaken.

Sorry, you're right, of course. I was a bit confused when I wrote the post, it's "NW3" -> "Mother Mo Chroi" indeed. It was too early for me to think as clear and sharp as usual (haha )

Thanks for the "Murder"-lyrics, great job!

[SwindonByf]

I've gotten what I could for The Donegal Express, but that ain't much.

It diverges after the first few lines.

Hup!
Who dares to speak of Donegal
Your kicks in bars are in the balls
The harp that played in Tara's house is burning on the dump
Bertharbor is a sin town, Virginia is a gin town, all the kids in skin town (burned London) on the lump
Got drunk in Letterkenny
With darlin' sportin' Jenny
We ??? to ??? she ??? on her dress
The ??? to ???
??? with The Donegal Express

Keehiya! You faggot!
Come Hell or highwater!
I mighta fucked yer misses
But I never fucked yer daughter
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!

People and the pussel?
Murdered from the mussel?
With the

Went the way to ...Hollyhead?
???
???
???
???
????
???
She caught me in the bed with her
And ??? great distress
??? company
Stayed ??? drunk and three
Someone put me back on board The Donegal Express


Keehiya! You faggot!
Come Hell or highwater!
I mighta fucked yer misses
But I never fucked yer daughter
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!

Wooh!

???
Got picked ???
And got with misses ???
Stuck a ??? prayer
She took me back to ???
???
??? still up in Claire
Back then I was harbor bound
??? Virginia town
???
???
???
??? The Donegal Express

Keehiya! You faggot!
Come Hell or highwater!
I mighta fucked yer misses
But I never fucked yer daughter
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!

Ha!

nice one that's pretty much what I had, here's my best guess

Hup!
Who dares to speak of Donegal?
You’ll get kicks in bars and in the balls
The harp that played in Tara’s halls is burning on the dump
Belturbot is a sin town,
Virginia’s a gin town
All the kids from Skintown are in England on the lump
Got drunk in Letterkenny
with darling, sporting Jenny
Without a word to any ??? dress
?????????? on me way to Enniskillen
The sun had finally caught up with the Donegal Express

Kahaya! You maggot
Come hell or high water
I might’ve (fucked) your missus
But I never (fucked) your daughter
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!

People in El Paso
Were a bunch of drunken arseholes
But the people of??????????
Went away to London hills?
?????? pills
????
?????
?????? in Dublin
She caught me in the bed with her
And ??? great distress
??? company
Stayed ??? drunk and three
Til someone threw me back on board the Donegal express

Kahaya! You maggot
Come hell or high water
I might’ve (fucked) your missus
But I never (fucked) your daughter
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!
Whoo!

???
??? in Cavan
And got with misses Gavan
Stuck a ??? pray
She took me back to her place
??? on my face
??? still end up in jail
Back then I was harbor bound
Away to sweet Virginia town
???
The wife was there to meet me
And the kids were there to greet me
??? The Donegal Express

Kahaya! You maggot
Come hell or high water
I might’ve (fucked) your missus
But I never (fucked) your daughter
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!
Fidideeliah!
Hup!
(All aboard!)

[phro37]

the first demo of fony (1986?) on the box set:

do'nt think i'll see another one,
???????????????
the blind will never see.
the lame don't walk with thee.
there's nothing me and you can do
nothing ??????????????

i guess pretty much all the fony demos.

[lastnightisleptdreamtmacgowan]

May as well have a quick crack... this is one of the better ones on the box set. I don't know why nobody has attempted these. Music wise I thought it was pretty dope ey...reminds me of The Passenger a bit... Also boat train demo version is better than the bloody CD version. maybe Macgowan didn't care or was pissed off at that stage... Anyways

Let's go driving, let's go driving through the city
Look at my face babe
Trying to flick through second street???
They can touch you, they can bring us to our knees
At the dogging of the looming street??

And I will touch you too
And what I say you'll do
Lets go driving through the city

The blind men are dancing in the dark
And lovers are kissing in the park (or the pub!)
And killers are hiding from the light
In dark streets, ?? through alley's to save time???

I give it all to you
And do what I tell you to
Lets go driving through the city

Need help!? - You know it's safe and warm
You're helpless, but I wont do you any harm!
I kissed you and you told me that you loved me
So trust me, only I can set you free

We'll kiss again my pet
I'll use you till you're dead
Then go driving through the city, go driving through the city

[chatterbox]

Thought I'd try 'The Last Of McGee' as its one I thought was quite good and i couldn't find the words on google anywhere.

There was Pearse and McGee, and Brown made three,in chains they crossed the sea,
In Australia they stood, and as bold comrades would, they made their own plans to leave,
To the bush they'd go, cross the hills they'd roam, with the birds ....... .......... trees,
Farewell to the cap, the irons and the lash, to a lifetime of .......... ........

The days passed by 'neath the tropical sky, their thirst and their hunger grew,
And as night fell in that empty hell they knew they would .......... .........
Pearse took the axe and with mighty hacks, ...... ......... his old friend gone,
And on the hard dry ground, the two sat down to bite off the last of Brown.

(musical interlude - this is where it gets sketchy)

The ......... shone bright ......... ....... ... of night, ...... ...... .... ....
The two bob knew that sometime soon they would sit down and long for a meal,
As the sun rose Pearse began to ....... , no more he'd ever seen,
Shot him round the head, ....... ..... blade and then there was only he.

Alone and lost, the voices of ghosts, rang inside his head,
....... dazed, ......... blazed, he wished he was long time dead,
Hung a belt around his neck, to hang from and old gum tree,
And as he ......... the boars cames down to finish the last of mcgee.

[James]

Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do
(1990, from the NME multi-artist charity compilation, The Last Temptation Of Elvis) (d)
[A. Schroeder / B. Weisman]
Produced by David Jordan
And there`s no one who I`d rather do it with-a than you

Here's what I came up with Shane's very slightly changed lyrics:
And there`s no one who I`d rather do it with-a than you

There's no one I'd rather to it to than you.

[Mahone]

This is an attempt to decipher the first demo of Fairytale of New York. I'd appreciate any additions and corrections:

Fairytale of New York
(MacGowan / Finer)

One-Two
One-Two-Three-Four

It was Christmas Eve, babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me:
"Don't think I'll see another one"

The dead stay dead, they say
The blind will never see
The lame don't walk with thee
There's nothing me and you can't do
Nothing, it's for the rich

It was a white Christmas eve on the west coast of Clare
I looked across the ocean, asked "What's over there?"
(...) they've got rivers of gold,
and cars big as bars and (...)

A story that happens in New York long ago
(..) and was coloured with snow

Said prayers in Time Square with some cops that we knew
Then we drank to the junkies with the boys in the blue
And the NYPD choir was singing Galway Bay
And the bells were ringing out for Christmas day

(...) and this girl where we (...)
I'd rather (...) than stay with my friends
Frankie got in with the booze running boys
(...) Jack Diamond and (...)

(Unintelligible segment)

Happy Christmas. I love you baby
Thats what the note read
A dream of yesterday

Thats a hot (...)
To get back home again
The cold wind in the bay
Brings ghosts from far away
And what a fancy saying (?)

[PistolPaddyGarcia]

I find the version of the lullaby of london quite well. why this version was not used as the album version?

[philipchevron]

I find the version of the lullaby of london quite well. why this version was not used as the album version?

I like it too. However, the album version shades it.

[RICHB]

I find the version of the lullaby of london quite well. why this version was not used as the album version?

I like it too. However, the album version shades it.

Its hard to imagine that version of Lullaby on the album but the end of this version just makes me smile everytime I hear it. Quality all day long.

[PistolPaddyGarcia]

When Do You Believe In Magic? was added. I knew the song before that and was somewhat surprised when I found it in the box. Was it planned to bring out the cover version on cd?

[philipchevron]

When Do You Believe In Magic? was added. I knew the song before that and was somewhat surprised when I found it in the box. Was it planned to bring out the cover version on cd?

We recorded it during the sessions for the Poguetry In Motion EP (1986), where it lost its place to "Planxty Noel Hill". A final mix actually exists, but we preferred this rough mix version.