The Luck of the Irish (song)
"The Luck of the Irish" | |
---|---|
Song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band | |
from the album Some Time in New York City | |
Released | 12 June 1972 (US) 15 September 1972 (UK) |
Recorded | 1972 |
Genre | Folk rock |
Length | 2:56 |
Label | Apple/EMI |
Songwriter(s) | John Lennon |
Producer(s) |
|
Some Time in New York City track listing | |
16 tracks
|
"The Luck of the Irish" is a song written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono that was first released on the couple's 1972 Plastic Ono Band album with Elephant's Memory, Some Time in New York City. It was written in late 1971 and was performed by Lennon and Ono live at several protest rallies and television appearances before being released on the album. It had been slated to be the first single from Some Time in New York City backed by "Attica State" but the release was shelved in favor of "Woman Is the Nigger of the World". A live acoustic performance was released on several John Lennon compilation albums.
Music and lyrics
"The Luck of the Irish" uses a
The song's lyrics castigate the history of British rule in Ireland, describing how a "land full of beauty and wonder" was "raped by the British brigands".[4][6] The title of the song was intended to be ironic, as Lennon sings that the luck of the Irish has been historically non-existent, and "if you had the luck of the Irish" that "you'd wish you was [sic] English instead."[4] The pleasant melody was also intended to provide an ironic contrast to the lyrics, in which Lennon describes how "a thousand years of torture and hunger" drove the Irish people "away from their land".[4] Musicologist Walter Everett highlights a line claiming that the English "kill with God on their side" as being a reference to Bob Dylan, whose 1963 protest song "With God on Our Side" described the United States entering into all their conflicts "with God on our side."[7] Rogan takes the Dylan reference further, stating that the lines "they kill with God on their side/Blame it all on the kids and the IRA/As the bastards commit genocide" combine the sentiments of "With God on Our Side" with those of Dylan's earlier song Masters of War.[5]
In the bridge sections Ono sings contrasting lyrics incorporating stereotypical elements of Irish culture such as leprechauns, shamrocks and the Blarney Stone while describing the pastoral happiness the Lennons imagine Ireland could enjoy without British interference.[4][8] Rogan regards these lyrics as providing a "naive, sentimentalized view of Éire", which offset Lennon's harsh viewpoint, although he regards the leprechaun and Blarney Stone references as "asinine".[5]
Background
"The Luck of the Irish" is one of two songs on Some Time in New York City dealing with the ongoing ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland at the time. While the other Irish-themed song, "Sunday Bloody Sunday," was written specifically in response to the Bloody Sunday massacre on 30 January 1972, "The Luck of the Irish" had been written in November 1971, inspired by a protest march that Lennon had participated in the previous August.[2][8] Lennon had intended that the royalties from the song would be donated to NORAID.[1][9] Bootleg tapes exist of Lennon playing an early version of the song in the fall of 1971.[10] On this early version the melody is not yet fully developed and Lennon sings the refrains that are sung by Yoko Ono on later versions.[10] On 12 November 1971 John Reilly filmed the couple rehearsing and performing the song at their home on 105 Bank Street in the Greenwich Village section of New York City.[1][8][10] Soundtracks from the released short film as well as from unused rehearsal footage have also been bootlegged.[10]
The Lennons had intended "The Luck of the Irish" to be the first single from Some Time in New York City in late February or early March 1972, backed by "Attica State," and it even received a catalogue number of Apple 1846 before being pulled and replaced by "Woman Is the Nigger of the World."[1][8][10] According to Lennon biographer Jon Wiener, the single was intended to have a cover photo depicting Lennon singing the song at a rally at the British Overseas Airways Corporation offices in New York on 5 February 1972.[11] According to Wiener the single did go out to several disc jockeys and the official release was pulled due to their negative response.[11]
Yoko Ono attested to John's love for Ireland in an interview in 2012. "My husband was 100% Irish. That's what he used to say. Ireland was sort of like an auntie or a mother that he wanted to show me". “When he was born, his mother was English and his father was Irish and he didn't have too much opportunity to see his father, so he had this yearning for being Irish. In a way it was sad because he was always talking about that".[12][13][14]
Reception
Music journalist Paul Du Noyer claimed that combining Lennon's "simplistic polemic" with Ono's "tourist brochure cliches" creates "more embarrassment than enlightenment."[2] Beatle biographer John Blaney criticized the "plodding metre, rose–tinted lyric and uninspired vocal," concluding that the song is "impotent" and an "unwelcome aberration" for Lennon.[1] Beatle biographer Chris Ingham mocks the use of leprechauns in the song's "condescending poetry" and describes the song as "sentimental" and "political propaganda."[15] Lennon biographer Philip Norman found the sentiments expressed by "The Luck of the Irish" to be even more extreme than those of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and compared the song's sarcasm to Lennon's earlier protest song "Working Class Hero" but felt that the song was let down by the "lyrically clichéd folk protest form."[16] Beatle biographers Chip Madinger and Mark Easter described "The Luck of the Irish" as "a pleasant little song" but criticized Ono's singing, which they described as "bleating" and they also regarded some of the lyrics as "truly awful."[10] Journalist Robin Denselow criticized the lyrics of both of Lennon's Irish-themed songs on Some Time in New York City in 1989, singling out the line that "If you had the luck of the Irish...you'd wish you was English instead" as being "downright insulting."[17] Wiener described the song as a "failure."[11]
On the other hand, Urish and Bielen find the dark humour to be "clever" and feel that song succeeds as "sociopolitical
According to Beatle biographers Roy Carr and Tony Tyler, Lennon's prestige in England nosedived as a result of the song's accusations of genocide.[23]
Far Out critic Tim Coffman rated it as Lennon's 6th greatest deep cut, saying "Using a gentle approach to the subject matter, Lennon leaves many of the gory details up to the listener’s imagination, letting the listener fill in the gaps by keeping everything sparse. For as much as Lennon idolised Dylan, this may be one of the few times his songwriting approach matched his folk-rock idol."[24]
Live performances
Lennon and Ono first performed "The Luck of the Irish" live at a freedom rally protesting the imprisonment of
About a week later, on 16 December 1971, Lennon and Ono taped a short portion of the song for their appearance on
The Lennons also performed "The Luck of the Irish" in the last show of their week co-hosting the
Lennon later performed "The Luck of the Irish" at a protest of the Bloody Sunday massacre on 5 February 1972 at the British Overseas Airways Corporation offices in New York.[2][5] At this performance he again pledged to donate his revenue from the song towards the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland.[5][11]
Personnel
The personnel on the Some Time in New York City recording were:[1]
- John Lennon – vocals, guitar
- Yoko Ono – vocals
- Wayne 'Tex' Gabriel – guitar
- Stan Bronstein – flute
- Gary Van Scyoc – bass
- Adam Ippolito – piano, organ
- Richard Frank Jr. – drums, percussion
- Jim Keltner – drums
References
- ^ ISBN 9781906002022.
- ^ ISBN 1560252103.
- ISBN 9780857124388.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-275-99180-7.
- ^ ISBN 0711955999.
- ^ "Some Time in New York City". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ISBN 9780195141054.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Luck of the Irish". The Beatles Bible. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ISBN 9780199912773.
- ^ ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
- ^ ISBN 9780252061318.
- ^ "Yoko Ono: honoured in Dublin". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Celebrating John Lennon's Irish roots and fierce support of Irish independence on his birthday". Irishcentral.com. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Ireland always No.1 for the Fab Four". Independent.ie. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ISBN 9781843531401.
- ISBN 9781783238590.
- ISBN 9780199249909.
- ISBN 9781401303938.
- ISBN 0966264959.
- ^ Lewis, John (2017). "Some Time in New York City". The Ultimate Music Guide: Lennon. Uncut. p. 49.
- ISBN 0394721195.
- ISBN 978-0062207661.
- ISBN 0517533677.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Coffman, Tim (22 January 2024). "10 greatest John Lennon deep cuts". Far Out. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- Westinghouse Broadcasting Company.