The Pogues

The Pogues are a mixed Irish-English Celtic punk band from Knightsbridge, North London. In fact, they are among the fathers of that genre. They formed in the early 1980s and have had a rather moved history: The band's first singer, Shane MacGowan, had to leave because of his alcohol problem. Two other members, Joe Strummer and, later, Spider Stacy, took over. Somehow the band managed to become highly influential and very popular without actually making a good deal of money.
The Pogues broke up -or rather, crumbled apart- in the mid-1990s. Later, they re-formed and have been touring every now and then ever since. The group has yet to record any new music and, according to Spider Stacy on Pogues.com, has no inclination to do so.


Lorelei

Lorelei is a water spirit supposed to haunt the narrowest part of the River Rhine, luring boatmen to their death on the rocks hidden beneath the surface of the river's fast-moving and treacherous waters. She appears on top of the cliff bearing her name -rivermen who see her are so enchanted by her beauty that they lose their course.
As the story goes, Lorelei used to be a human -a beautiful girl who was betrayed by her lover, who accused her of bewitching other men. The bishop sentenced her to life in a nunnery. As she was led there by three nights, she escaped her guards. Rather than live as a nun, she chose death, and jumped into the river. Her body was never found.


This song

This song, taken from The Pogues' 1989 album, Love & Peace, uses the motive of the legend to treat themes of sorrow, of missing a loved one far away, of the fear and despair of never seeing them again, and of perishing (=being destroyed, dying) in the troubles of life on the road. Or, to stay with the metaphor, on the water. It pleads with the river to keep the poetic I safe in his travels and take him back to where his lover is, but at the same time expresses a near-total lack of hope that this may actually come to pass. Also, it sounds good.