Monday, May 16, 2011

I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amnT9xZcNNU]


A lot of groups have tried to create a different sound by adding uncommon instrumentation to their arrangements, but none of those groups have succeeded to the same point that the Dropkick Murphys have. The addition of accordion and banjo to their rock sound gives me a very unique sound. The way they use that instrumentation to create a Celtic sound is genius.  They definitely have something special. This song was featured in the soundtrack for The Departed, and if you haven't seen that, watch it because it's awesome.  The inclusion of the song in the film garnered the band national attention.


Commercially, the song had some strange success. It sold over 1,044,000 digital copies, but it never entered the Hot 100 chart. It did, however, reach the #1 spot on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. So, almost Hot 100! The song's lyrics are pretty simple, about a sailor who lost his leg climbing up the topsail and is shipping up to Boston to find it. Why it's there, I don't know. Maybe he's just confused.

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