# The Pogues "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" -- explain lyrics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239 "2012-01-12T00:46:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/1 "2012-01-12T00:46:22Z")
Performed [here.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrBLqp-s__o) Lyrics [here.](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pogues/if+i+should+fall+from+grace+with+god_20109732.html) If I should fall from grace with god Where no doctor can relieve me If I’m buried 'neath the sod But the angels won’t receive me Let me go, boys Let me go, boys Let me go down in the mud Where the rivers all run dry 😕 “Where the rivers all run dry”? Hell? And, what means, “It’s coming up three, boys”? (When you listen, it sounds more like “coming up threes”.) 3am? A poker hand? What? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/2 "2012-01-12T01:04:32Z")
w/re to the “coming up three”, I always interpreted that to the classic “going down for the third and final time” of drowning. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/3 "2012-01-12T01:29:23Z")
…having…acid…flashback… Oh no, wait, it was this thread: > **[What does coming up threes mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424834)** > > I tried Google, I tried Urban Dictionary, I even tried a plain old dictionary- but I still can’t figure out what coming up threes means. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/4 "2012-01-12T23:03:21Z")
But what about the mud and the dry rivers? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/5 "2012-01-12T23:15:08Z")
I think “mud” may just refer to the wet, boggy, peat soil of Ireland. And the place where all the rivers run dry is probably Hell. The song strikes me as a defiant statement of Irish Catholic nationalism and contempt for Protestant England. The lyrics aren’t clear or straightforward, but I think the basic meaning is, “If I ever stop fighting for Ireland, if I ever give in and accept rule by those foreign, Protestant bastards… well then, I’ve lost my soul. So, bury me in the peat and let me sink all the way to Hell.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/6 "2012-01-12T23:18:17Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > …having…acid…flashback… > > Oh no, wait, it was this thread: > [What does coming up threes mean? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424834) That thread never actually resolves the “coming up three” question. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/7 "2012-01-12T23:39:01Z")
As a long-time Pogues fan, I find many of Shane McGowan’s lyrics obscure. Try figuring out the meaning behind Turkish Song of the Damned - I haven’t a clue. > **[Pogues - Turkish Song Of The Damned lyrics | LyricsFreak](https://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pogues/turkish+song+of+the+damned_20109740.html)** > > Read or print original Turkish Song Of The Damned lyrics 2023 updated! I come old friend from hell tonight / Across the rotting sea / Nor And as fucked-up as McGowan (chronic alcoholic and drug user and by all accounts pretty much fried nowadays), perhaps he doesn’t have a clue either. I still love the music though. ---
**Author:** ![Pantani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@Pantani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantani)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/8 "2012-01-13T02:17:39Z")
I saw McGowan live once. The look of loathing on the face of the woman singing the “Fairytale of New York” duet with him as she walked on stage and realised that he was so drunk he was clutching the microphone stand for support so he didn’t fall over was a sight to behold. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/9 "2012-01-13T02:58:07Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > As a long-time Pogues fan, I find many of Shane McGowan’s lyrics obscure. Try figuring out the meaning behind Turkish Song of the Damned - I haven’t a clue. > [Pogues - Turkish Song Of The Damned lyrics | LyricsFreak](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pogues/turkish+song+of+the+damned_20109740.html) > > And as fucked-up as McGowan (chronic alcoholic and drug user and by all accounts pretty much fried nowadays), perhaps he doesn’t have a clue either. It’s a ghost story. I don’t know who the woman with a comb in her hand is, though. BTW I’m pretty sure the lyrics are by Jem Finer - somewhere I read or heard him explain that the title came from a question a German fan had asked him once: “Do you like the turkish song of the Damned?”, which was referring to some song by The Damned. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/10 "2012-01-13T03:12:34Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > It’s a ghost story. I don’t know who the woman with a comb in her hand is, though. BTW I’m pretty sure the lyrics are by Jem Finer - somewhere I read or heard him explain that the title came from a question a German fan had asked him once: “Do you like the turkish song of the Damned?”, which was referring to some song by The Damned. It’s credited to both Finer and MacGowan. [This site](http://www.ktv.no/~oyl-ktv/pogues-stories.htm) has a collection of stories and anecdotes from various Pogues members and affiliated folks. For “Turkish Song of the Damned,” it has your quote from Finer, and this from MacGowan: > [@](#): > > It’s about a guy on a Turkish island who deserted a sinking ship with all the money and all his mates went down. I’m not totally sure about this - he’s haunted and he’s dancing around with all this Turkish music playing endlessly in his brain - NYEAHH NYE NEE NEE HYEAHH NYEAHHH NIN NIN NYIN NEAHH… He just spends his time, haunted - dancing, drinking and fucking. Then his best mate comes back, and all the crew, to drag him down to hell or wherever they are. The thing is, he knew it was going to happen. So he’s been waiting. Haunted, it’s definitely about being haunted. I’m not sure if that bit in the middle is Shane singing “Turkish” music, or giving his signature death-rattle laugh. No word there on what “If I Should Fall…” means, but lots of other good quotes from Jem, Shane, and a few of the other lads. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/11 "2012-01-13T03:51:25Z")
I’m still trying to figure out how it fits in a recent [Subaru commercial](http://thegarageblog.com/garage/subaru-and-the-pogues/). ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/12 "2012-01-13T03:55:16Z")
You should probably drink 15 pints of beer and listen to the song again. It will all make sense at the time, but unfortunately you won’t remember why the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/13 "2012-01-13T04:01:58Z")
> [@Pantani](#): > > I saw McGowan live once. The look of loathing on the face of the woman singing the “Fairytale of New York” duet with him as she walked on stage and realised that he was so drunk he was clutching the microphone stand for support so he didn’t fall over was a sight to behold. I’ve seen him a few times, and at least once he had his eyes closed for most of the set, clutching the mike stand for dear life, and mumbling his way through most of the songs. Apart from at the end when he nearly got into a fistfight with his guitarist because he insisted on finishing the gig with a song they’d already played (Donegal Express if I remember rightly), rather than Sayonara, which was on the setlist. Good memories 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/14 "2012-01-13T15:05:07Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > I’m still trying to figure out how it fits in a recent [Subaru commercial](http://thegarageblog.com/garage/subaru-and-the-pogues/). The point of it is that American pre-teen suburban white boys who like rough play are just exactly like working-class Irish drunken brawlers, and, like them, need chauffeurring in a Subaru. Wasn’t that obvious?! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pogues-if-i-should-fall-from-grace-with-god-explain-lyrics/609239/15 "2012-01-13T18:41:30Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I’ve seen him a few times, and at least once he had his eyes closed for most of the set, clutching the mike stand for dear life, and mumbling his way through most of the songs. > > Apart from at the end when he nearly got into a fistfight with his guitarist because he insisted on finishing the gig with a song they’d already played (Donegal Express if I remember rightly), rather than Sayonara, which was on the setlist. > > Good memories 😃 I sometimes wonder if there are any great artists who are not in some way deeply dysfunctional persons.