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Rum Sodomy & the Lash
Studio album by The Pogues
Released	1985
Recorded	?
Genre	Punk rock/Traditional Irish music
Length	45:25
Label	MCA Records/Stiff Records/WEA International
Producer	Philip Chevron, Elvis Costello
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link CLUAS link
The Pogues chronology
Red Roses for Me (1984) Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash (1985) If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988)

Rum Sodomy & the Lash is the second album by the Anglo-Irish musical group The Pogues, released in 1985.

The title is taken from a quote often attributed to Winston Churchill ("Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash.") Singer and primary songwriter Shane MacGowan claimed that the title was suggested by drummer Andrew Ranken.

The cover artwork is based on The Raft of the Medusa, a painting by Théodore Géricault, with the band members' faces replacing those of the men on the raft.

In August 1985, the album was launched on HMS Belfast — and one writer at the event was thrown into the Thames. It reached number 13 in the UK charts. The track "A Pair of Brown Eyes" went on to reach number 72 in the UK singles chart. "The Old Main Drag" would later appear on the soundtrack to the film My Own Private Idaho. A remastered and expanded version of Rum, Sodomy and the Lash was released on January 11, 2005. The cut "A Pistol for Paddy Garcia, the b side on "Dirty Old town" and which only appeared on the initial cassette release, was moved to the bonus tracks.

It has often made its way onto lists of greatest albums. In 2000 Q magazine placed it at number 93 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 445 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Pitchfork Media named it the 67th best album of the 1980s.[1]. Colin Meloy of The Decemberists cites it as his favorite album [2]

1. "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn" (MacGowan) – 2:59
2. "The Old Main Drag" (MacGowan) – 3:19
3. "Wild Cats of Kilkenny" (MacGowan/Finer) – 2:48
4. "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day" (Traditional) – 2:55
5. "A Pair of Brown Eyes" (MacGowan) – 4:54
6. "Sally MacLennane" (MacGowan) – 2:43
7. "Dirty Old Town" (MacColl) – 3:45
8. "Jesse James" (traditional) – 2:58
9. "Navigator" (Gaston) – 4:12
10. "Billy's Bones" (MacGowan) – 2:02
11. "The Gentleman Soldier" (traditional) – 2:04
12. "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (Bogle) – 8:10

1. "A Pistol for Paddy Garcia" (Finer) – 2:31*
2. "London Girl" (MacGowan) – 3:05**
3. "Rainy Night in Soho" (Fearnley, Finer, MacColl, MacGowan, O'Riordan, Ranken) – 5:36**
4. "Body of an American" (MacGowan) – 4:49**
5. "Planxty Noel Hill" (Finer) – 3:12**
6. "The Parting Glass" (traditional) – 2:14

*Track previously released on the cassette version of the original album

**Tracks previously released on the EP Poguetry in Motion

• Shane MacGowan – vocals
• Spider Stacy – tin whistle
• James Fearnley – accordion
• Jem Finer – banjo
• Cait O'Riordan – bass
• Andrew Ranken – drums
• Philip Chevron – guitar

• Henry Benagh – fiddle
• Dick Cuthell – horn
• Tommy Keane – uilleann pipes

• Poguetry.com
• Favorite Album of Colin Meloy of The Decemberists