{"id":3067,"date":"2023-12-14T18:20:43","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T18:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/?p=3067"},"modified":"2023-12-14T18:20:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T18:20:43","slug":"blog-december-14th-shane-macgowan-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/?p=3067","title":{"rendered":"Blog December 14th Shane MacGowan Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3068\" src=\"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shane-MacGowen.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shane-MacGowen.jpg 474w, https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shane-MacGowen-300x178.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&#039;KID 13&#039; STOPS street with VOICE  - Fairytale Of New York The Pogues Allie Sherlock Cover &amp; Fionn\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hiXV6R1noq8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Of all the secular \u201cChristmas songs\u201d I have always loved \u201cFairy Tale of New York\u201d co &#8211; written by Shane MacGowan, the lead singer of the band The Pogues. Shane died last month and I was interested to read about his faith in an article written by Tim Bechervaise in the Premier Magazine. It is a fairly long article and so I have divided it into two parts. Next week\u2019s blog will feature the Pogues version of \u201cFairytale\u201d but this week I am going to feature two Irish buskers, 18-year-old Allie Sherlock and 13 year old Fionn Whelan. singing in the streets of Cork.<\/p>\n<p>Did you know that Shane MacGowan was born on Christmas Day? I didn\u2019t &#8211; until his death last month. How apt for a man whose band, The Pogues were responsible for \u2018Fairytale of New York\u2019,<em>\u00a0<\/em>one of the all-time great festive songs.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s one of the many notable soundbites to emerge as tributes poured in for a man whose music and life resonated with many \u2013 as reflected in the thousands who turned out for his funeral last Friday. Another interesting fact is that, for all its popularity, \u2018Fairytale of New York\u2019 has never made it to number one \u2013 until this year maybe?<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s something else nestled away in the many tributes being paid to the Irish music legend, and that\u2019s numerous references to faith \u2013 including how, prior to becoming a punk star, he once considered entering the priesthood.<\/p>\n<p>So, to what extent does faith emerge in the life and work of Shane MacGowan?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was brought up to be a religious maniac from an early age,\u201d MacGowan once said of his Catholic background. He gathered with his wider family to pray the rosary and his home was decorated with religious icons. He regularly attended Mass,\u00a0which he described as \u201cone of the most beautiful experiences a human being can be subjected to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the rollercoaster ride as one of Ireland\u2019s most famous artists \u2013 including drug and drink abuse, with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.premierchristianity.com\/obituaries\/sinead-oconner-1966-2023-a-wanderer-priest-and-prophet\/16031.article\">Sinead O\u2019Connor<\/a>\u00a0even calling the police in an attempt to get him off heroin \u2013 this upbringing never left him. Indeed, it perhaps meant more to him than is universally acknowledged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always loved the stories of the lives of the saints, and I believe in the saints and always have, I pray to them every day and to Jesus and His Holy Mother,\u201d he told\u00a0<em>The Catholic Herald<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t take it for granted that I was born on Christmas Day, Christ\u2019s birthday, and I don\u2019t like that people miss the point of Christmas. It\u2019s not about Santa Claus and presents, it\u2019s supposed to be about the teachings of Christ, who is love. Jesus forgives everyone and we need to practise forgiveness as much as we can. And Jesus teaches peace and love and tolerance, which is what we all need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These beliefs fed into his work, with biblical imagery a frequent feature of his song lyrics. In \u2018The church of the holy spook\u2019, the opening track of his 1994 post-Pogues solo d\u00e9but,\u00a0<em>The Snake,\u00a0<\/em>he howls: \u201cWhen the sacred blood of the Holy Ghost is boiling in my veins \/ I think of Jesus on the cross and I scream out for his pain\u201d. They also inspired his artwork, with one of his drawings offering a take on the Last Supper.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quote of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is more to life than there appears to be with the five senses.<\/p>\n<p>Shane MacGowen<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Of all the secular \u201cChristmas songs\u201d I have always loved \u201cFairy Tale of New York\u201d co &#8211; written by Shane MacGowan, the lead singer of the band The Pogues. Shane died last month and I was interested to read about his faith in an article written by Tim Bechervaise in the Premier Magazine. It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ken-shearsmiths-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3069,"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3067\/revisions\/3069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/risen.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}