Down All the Days - Glasgow Rangers

[Setanta]

I'd like to hear others thoughts on the reference to Glasgow Rangers in this song. While its an amusing rhyme with strangers it just has never made any sense to me. The rest of the song is all directly about Christy so I presume this verse is too. Given the circumstances of Christy's life I can understand why he would often have to depend upon the kindliness of strangers. But given Glasgow Rangers political & religious allegiances an Irish Catholic like Christy Brown supporting them in that era just would not have happened so even the idea of being asked (I know as per the line he never was! ) doesn't make any sense to me.

Was Shane being "lazy" here with his rhyming or just having fun? I actually quite like this verse it just has never made "sense" to me. I'd love to know what others think.


Christy Brown
A clown around town
Now man of renown
From Dingle to Down

I can type with me toes
Suck stout through me nose
And where it's gonna end
God only knows

Down all the days
The tap-tap-tapping of the typewriter pays
The gentle rattling of the drays
Down all the days

I have often had to depend upon
The kindliness of strangers
But I've never been asked and I never replied
If I supported the Glasgow Rangers

And down all the days
The tap-tap-tapping of the typewriter pays
The gentle rattling of the drays
Down all the days

Down all the days
The tap-tap-tapping of the typewriter pays
The gentle rattling of the drays
And down all the days

[Fr. McGreer]

Interesting. I always took it to mean people who didn't know Christy took him at face value and found no need to find out his background. Back in the late 60's, 70's and 80's when Irish emigrant workers met other Irish in London for example, there may be some suspicion as to their religion. Various convoluted ways of asking a simple but awkward question were employed. However, as Christy would have only really met these strangers in and around Dublin, the question would never arise anyway. Perhaps Shane just used a cliched question that he would have heard growing up in and around London.

[Low D]

I read it as a lament to being seen only as one's disability, and not as a regular guy who may have regular opinions on regular things - like about a certain football club, for example.

[Fr. McGreer]

I read it as a lament to being seen only as one's disability, and not as a regular guy who may have regular opinions on regular things - like about a certain football club, for example.

Yeah not thought of it that way. Funny how we interpret things differently.

[firehazard]

I read it as a lament to being seen only as one's disability, and not as a regular guy who may have regular opinions on regular things - like about a certain football club, for example.

Yeah not thought of it that way. Funny how we interpret things differently.

Yes, I've seen it in that way too. It's a common experience for people with disabilities.