Everyman is a King

[Sober]

Why does Terry say "Amerikay" instead of "America" in that song? Is that the way it is pronounced in Europe? Just wondering.

Thanks!

[goodbar]

i don't know, but i hear it pronounced that way in a lot of folk songs.

[philipchevron]

It is pronounced Amerikay in a lot of old emigration ballads. My theory has always been that you can get a lot more rhymes for Amerikay than for America. It is also possible (though unlikely, given the construction of the Irish language) that the word was frequently mispronounced by the Irish, rather as today's Americans are incapable if correctly rendering the names of Middle East countries, even after they Liberate them.

[mcmullen]

only poverrty they did say o' CURSE amerikay

o i wish i was back in dear old ireland

[mcmullen]

a good flim to watch is gangs of new york oit gives some insight to the irish immigration culture

[goodbar]

that movie sucks the cock.

[jaffa]

gangs of newyork is based on fact!!

[beanajane]

that film reminds me of going to a scary circus as a younger child (or was it just Daniel Day- Lewis that reminded me of that?! lol )

[Rich]

That's how it's pronounced throughout "Whiskey You're The Devil," too -- "over hills and mountains and to Amerikay" -- plus tons of other old songs. I'd noticed it in lots of songs but had never really given it much thought, but Philip's theory that it's because you can get more rhymes out of "Amerikay" then "America" makes perfect sense to me.

Anyway, "Everyman Is A King" has always been one of the hidden gems in the Pogues catalogue for me. Of all the great songs Terry contributed, this one is my favorite, and I also think it's his best vocal. I love everything about this one ... for me the band rarely sounded better (the drums are especially great). And it's a minor thing, but I've always loved the way the harmony vocals come in with "Every man is a king in the U.S. of A" a beat earlier on the second chorus than they do on the first, third and fourth. A very cool little touch.

[kufen]

gangs of newyork is based on fact!!

so is x-files

[jaffa]

there is a sociology book on GANGS OF NEWYORK if anyone interested

[jaffa]

Five Points: The 19th Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum by Tyler Anbinder
All Around the Town: The Sequel to the Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury
The Gangs of Chicago: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld (Illinois) by Herbert Asbury
Low Life : Lures and Snares of Old New York by Luc Sante
How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York (Penguin Classics) by Jacob A. Riis
Five Points: The Nineteenth-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections and Became the Worlds Most Notorious Slum by Tyler Anbi

[jaffacakes]

The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld
by Herbert Asbury, Jorge Luis Borges (Foreword) "THE FIRST of the gangs which terrorized New York at frequent intervals for almost a century were spawned in the dismal tenements that squatted in..." (more)

SO THERE YOU WILL FIND FACTS OK!!!

[Maija]

a good flim to watch is gangs of new york oit gives some insight to the irish immigration culture

I tried to watch that one yesterday evening, but quickly fell asleep.

Could either be because it was dubbed into German, or just because of the 13-hour work-day I had behind me.

Where is this Everyman is a King, then? If it's Terry's Best Song, I'd like to hear it!

[Rich]

It was the B-side of "White City," and is included as a bonus track on the recent reissue of Peace and Love.