Shane Macgowan was buried a week ago and “A Rainy Night in Soho” was performed at his funeral by Nick Cave.
Now the song is nearly over
Shane Macgowan (1957—2023)
We may never find out what it means
Still there’s a light I hold before me
You’re the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams
Poem 299. A Rainy Night In Soho
I’ve been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I’ve cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways
We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell
I took shelter from a shower
And I stepped into your arms
On a rainy night in Soho
The wind was whistling all its charms
I sang you all my sorrows
You told me all your joys
Whatever happened to that old song?
To all those little girls and boys
Sometimes I’d wake up in the morning
The ginger lady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I’d hear you talking in my head
I’m not singing for the future
I’m not dreaming of the past
I’m not talking of the first times
I never think about the last
Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there’s a light I hold before me
You’re the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams.
I was introduced to this song the week before Macgowan’s funeral by my cousin Linda, who inspired me to begin this poetry blog in 2020, and I was struck by its beautiful melody and the message of its lyrics.
This song seems to me to tell the story of two people, just as the Fairytale of New York does, but this one seems to be a more conventional love song.
The first verse shows us that the love affair began years ago “down all the years, down all the days” and the narrator has always loved the other, laughing and crying with them. In the second verse we learn that their mutual affection has lasted longer than friendships—some have fallen, some risen, but love has outlasted them.
The third verse marks the blossoming of the relationship as the rain drums and the wind howls “On a rainy night in Soho” and the lovers embrace in a sheltered nook. In the fourth verse, like any couple in a close relationship, they tell each other the secrets of their hearts—the sorrows and joys that have moulded them—and the narrator ponders on the past “Whatever happened to that old song?”
The fifth verse shows the narrator waking with “The ginger lady by my bed”—although this could be interpreted in many different ways, it’s generally interpreted as a bottle of whiskey and this is apparently what Macgowan himself has said. The narrator wakes alone, perhaps in the early morning “Covered in a cloak of silence”, and hears the voice of the other “talking in my head”, though this could also be the hangover associated with an empty whiskey bottle.
The next verse seems to suggest that the best thing is to live in the present, uncaring of the future or the past, forgetting the “first times” and not thinking of the end of their lives or perhaps just the relationship.
At the end, there’s a bit of a spin on the song, and “We may never find out what it means” but that it holds a special meaning for the narrator, and their loved one will always be “The measure of my dreams”.
I like it because it has a beautiful melody, because of the love story it tells, and because it’s a great song written by a great songwriter.