If I Should Fall from Grace with God

This is the title track of the Pogues' third album, If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988). There's also an earlier midtempo bouncy version on the Straight to Hell soundtrack (1987).

It's the album where they really hit their stride, and arguably it's their best. It's one of those vast, near-flawless "Big Statement" records like London Calling, Exile on Main Street, or Pretenders II. It's also the last one where the music was mostly "Irish". It's as if they finally sat down here and said everything there was to say about being about what it means to be Irish to a bunch of "Irishmen" who'd mostly grown up in England. Having gotten that off their chests, they started to branch out. On the next two albums, the Irish thing was just one theme out of many. "Metropolis", "Turkish Song of the Damned", and "Fiesta" are the first rumblings of all that.

Track listing:

1. If I Should Fall from Grace with God
2. Turkish Song of the Damned
3. Bottle of Smoke
4. Fairytale of New York
5. Metropolis (instrumental)
6. Thousands Are Sailing
7. South Australia (CD only)
8. Fiesta
9. Medley
   1. The Recruiting Sergeant
   2. The Rocky Road to Dublin
   3. Galway Races
10. Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six
11. Lullabye of London
12. Battle March Medley (instrumental) (CD only)
13. Sit Down by the Fire
14. The Broad Majestic Shannon
15. Worms