5 green queens and jean

My plans waver between the great and the mediocre. First, I was going to post the lyrics to this song just to throw something up here during this busy time. Then I aspired to write a monster post about the nearly endless historical references in the lyrics of Pogues songs. But then work and life obligations grabbed me by the shirt collar and demanded that I temper expectations. So I am left pursuing a more modest goal. I would like to post something more than the minimum, however.
I have been listening to my Christmas music lately, trying to get in the mood. Phil Specter, Beach Boys, Sinatra, Elvis. It's not doing anything for me this year. The lights and decorations are up. Aside from the Mr. and Mrs. Frosty salt and pepper shakers and a few ornaments there isn't much to display though. The other day I watched Elf. It's just all not working. The magic isn't there this year and I can't recall it being there much last year either. Too bad. I lamented the loss and wondered why I can't seem to reconnect with those feelings that once upon a winter's moon I took for granted.
And then I listened to the Pogues on my way to La Jolla the other day. It was a cold night and the music, the moon and the sea breeze just mixed so perfectly so as to blow in a forgotten memory from that purgatory where lost memories go. I was reminded of Christmas lights in Newport, walks on the beach, the changing leaves around school and listening to the Pogues endlessly. It was the sort of memory that transcended any one night but rather represented a recurring feeling I once had over the course of many such nights. I felt Christmas and other such feelings that I once thought so integral to life. Oh, but what a good song can do for you.

I recall the moment
Before it slipped away
When 5 green queens
On a black bin bag
Meant all the world to me

And I recall the moment
More distant than it seems
When 5 green queens
On a black bin bag
Meant all the world to me

And I recall the moment
Much closer than it seems
When 5 green queens
On a black bin bag
Meant all the world to me

And I recall the moment
Before it slipped away
When 5 green queens
On a black bin bag
Meant all the world to me

5 green queens & Jean

The feeling, as you might imagine, was fleeting. I have listened to the Pogues almost exclusively over the past few days trying to recapture that spirit but there seem to be a few ingredients missing from the recipe. I have racked my brain for the answer (for longer than I care to mention) to this dilemma. So I will turn it over to you. If you have an answer or a theory, go ahead and post it. Am I searching for what is not lost? Are the forces at play external or internal? Do I really have a hand in my forgetting?
The nostalgia of this song kills me. It makes me want to cherish things more than I really should. Still, whether the memory above is worthy or not it still is my memory. So, it goes in the box with everything else; my wooden testament to living. Or is it my concrete monument to not forgetting? You forget more things than you'll ever remember and this song reminds me of how much of life you lose and can never get back.

I always imagined that 5 green queens was some sort of design on a black bag that Jean must have owned when Shane knew her. It seems it was a reference to a dice game.



London You're a Lady or The Broad Majestic Shannon were the other songs that hit me on a gut level that night. [Go ahead, make the obvious joke.]