Prophets, Prayers and Fairytales

Discovering Shane MacGowan, The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" and its prophetic message

Before November 30th, I’d never heard The Pogues song, “Fairytale of New York.” Then on December 1st, I read a story about the lead singer Shane MacGowan’s death the day prior, and about “Fairytale.”

I was surprised I didn’t know the tune, in spite of the fact I once lived in New York, and despite always enjoying Irish and Celtic music, including bands s…