Shane MacGowan

3. The kind of labourer described in “Poor Paddy Works on the Railway.”
4. In “The Old Main Drag,” the narrator meets these well-dressed men who are anything but respectable.
6. The holiday that frames the story of “Fairytale of New York.”
8. In “Thousands Are Sailing,” many leave Ireland by this means, heading for a new life across the Atlantic.
10. The narrator of “Fairytale of New York” wakes up in one of these inside the NYPD station.
11. The workplace of Paddy in the song “Poor Paddy Works on the Railway.”
13. Shane references bar fights, bruisers, and chaos — this boxing move fits right into many of his wild-night scenes.
14. A dominant theme in “Thousands Are Sailing” — being far from home.
15. The city at the centre of one of Shane’s most iconic songs.

1. The river celebrated in “The Broad Majestic Shannon.”
2. Mentioned in “The Old Main Drag,” a symbol of desperation on London’s streets.
5. A recurring figure in Shane’s songwriting — someone forced to leave Ireland in search of work or hope.
7. The London district at the heart of “A Rainy Night in Soho.”
9. Wandering characters — drifters, drinkers, dreamers — show up often in Shane’s songs, including this word.
12. The homeland celebrated, mourned, and mythologised throughout Shane’s songwriting.
14. Many later Pogues songs feel like poetic laments — musical versions of this type of tribute.