U2 - Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
: A Powerful Shane MacGowan Tribute
Over the past number of months, some of Ireland's finest musical talent have been paying tribute to one of the country's greatest ever songwriters, Shane MacGowan. From Bruce Springsteen and Kingfishr to Johnny Depp and Imelda May, artists from Ireland and beyond have been putting their own spin on MacGowan's extraordinary catalogue. Now, it's the turn of one of Ireland's biggest bands.
U2 have taken on Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, bringing their own unmistakable sound to one of Shane MacGowan's most memorable songs.
U2 Bring Their Own Sound to a Shane MacGowan Classic
Originally released in 1988, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
perfectly captures what made Shane MacGowan such a unique songwriter. There's punk attitude, Irish storytelling, dark humour and poetic brilliance all packed into the same song.
U2 don't simply attempt to recreate the original. Instead, they take the essence of MacGowan's songwriting and run it through their own musical filter.
Driving basslines, textured guitars and that unmistakable U2 sense of scale give the track a bigger, more expansive feel, while the spirit of MacGowan remains firmly at its heart.
It's a fitting approach. MacGowan never sounded like anyone else, and U2 have wisely avoided trying to make this sound like a straight Pogues cover.
Instead, they've created something that feels like a genuine tribute.
The Edge perhaps sums up MacGowan's appeal best.
Shane MacGowan was full of contradictions—and that's where the truth of him lived. He could be precise about what mattered and gloriously careless about everything else. If that sounds like a kind of performance, maybe it was. But as Oscar Wilde put it, "a mask tells us more than a face.
The crooked grin, the wildness, the old-Ireland inflections—they weren't disguises so much as signals. A way of placing himself in a lineage that ran from the pub storyteller to the punk stage. Somewhere between John B. Keane and The Clash, he found a voice that felt both ancient and completely of its time.
What he did with that voice was remarkable. He pulled together threads that shouldn't quite fit—folk tradition, political memory, gallows humour, romance - and made them sound inevitable.
His songs sound like they have always existed. He dissolved himself into them and, in the process, created the Shane MacGowan myth. The details of his life barely surface, but you learn exactly what he cared about. And that's the point.
20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan
U2's contribution appears on 20th Century Paddy - The Songs of Shane MacGowan
, a major collection celebrating the life and work of the legendary Irish songwriter.
Curated in close partnership with Victoria Mary Clarke and Siobhan MacGowan, the album brings together an impressive international line-up of artists to reinterpret MacGowan's songs.
Alongside U2, the collection features artists including Bruce Springsteen, Hozier, Tom Waits, The Libertines and Glen Hansard, making it a suitably ambitious tribute to one of Ireland's most influential lyricists.
Final Verdict
U2 were never going to make a quiet or understated tribute to Shane MacGowan. Their version of Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
brings the song into their world while retaining the attitude and spirit that made MacGowan's writing so distinctive.
It works because it feels less like an attempt to replace the original and more like four musicians tipping their hats to a songwriter who helped define Irish music for generations.
The single, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, is available through all streaming platforms.
Photo Credit: Anton Corbijn
