The Measure of Dreams: “A Rainy Night In Soho” and its Echoes in Bob Dylan’s World
Shane MacGowan’s “A Rainy Night In Soho” is a profoundly evocative piece of songwriting that has, since its 1986 release, garnered a cherished status among aficionados of poetic lyricism and heartfelt balladry. It is emblematic of MacGowan’s ability to distill complex emotions — love, memory, the inexorable passage of time — into vivid, relatable narratives.
The artistic kinship between Bob Dylan and Shane McGowan culminated most recently in Dylan’s live interpretation of MacGowan’s seminal work. The timing of this cover, in May 2025, following Shane MacGowan’s death in November 2023, elevates the performance from a simple musical acknowledgment to an elegiac statement within the traditions of folk and rock music, where tributes to departed peers carry substantial weight.
“Poguetry in Motion”
“A Rainy Night In Soho” first emerged as a standout track on The Pogues’ 1986 extended play, Poguetry in Motion. The EP itself, including “A Rainy Night In Soho,” showcased a band honing its unique voice, capable of both boisterous anthems and moments of tender reflection. The song immediately distinguished itself, offering a more introspective counterpoint to some of the band’s more raucous material.
At its heart, “A Rainy Night In Soho” is a testament to Shane MacGowan’s exceptional lyrical prowess. The narrative unfolds through evocative imagery: the titular rainy night in London’s Soho, the “ginger lady by my bed,” contributing to an atmosphere heavy with nostalgia and emotion.
The song quickly became recognized as a cornerstone of MacGowan’s songwriting legacy and a significant piece within the broader canon of modern folk-influenced music. Its quality is such that it has been described as having “been entered into the canon of Irish folk music itself.” The song’s enduring appeal is further evidenced by the range of artists who have chosen to interpret it.
Notably, Nick Cave recorded the song as a B-side to his 1992 duet with MacGowan on “What a Wonderful World.” Years later, in a moving tribute, Cave performed “A Rainy Night In Soho” at Shane MacGowan’s funeral in December 2023. Other artists, including Bono and Johnny Depp, have also offered their renditions.
Dylan’s Landmark Cover of “A Rainy Night In Soho”
May 13, 2025. On this evening, at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Arizona, during the kickoff of Willie Nelson’s “Outlaw Music Festival Tour,” Bob Dylan performed “A Rainy Night In Soho” live for the very first time.
Accounts from the performance describe Dylan, seated at an upright piano, delivering a rendition where guitars substituted for the original’s characteristic penny whistles, creating a soundscape that was distinctly Dylan’s own. The poignancy of the moment was amplified by Dylan’s age (83 at the time) as he sang lines reflecting on time and mortality: “I’m not singing for the future/I’m not dreaming of the past/I’m not talking of the first times/I never think about the last.”
Bob Dylan’s admiration for Shane MacGowan’s work is well-documented, and his choice of “A Rainy Night In Soho” felt, to some observers, as if the song was “custom built for Dylan” himself. Dylan’s performance was widely interpreted as a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to his late contemporary. The fact that this was reportedly the only Pogues song Dylan has ever performed live makes the selection of “A Rainy Night In Soho” particularly deliberate, highlighting a specific appreciation for this more poetic and romantic side of MacGowan’s oeuvre.
The setting of the performance at the “Outlaw Music Festival,” a tour co-headlined with Willie Nelson, also subtly frames MacGowan’s song within a broader tradition of independent-spirited, “outlaw” songwriting, aligning MacGowan, with his punk-infused folk authenticity, alongside figures like Dylan and Nelson, who have long embodied a similar spirit of artistic integrity and narrative depth.
Dylan’s rendition of “A Rainy Night In Soho” was met with uiniversal acclaim, perhaps most touchingly from those closest to Shane MacGowan. His sister, Siobhan MacGowan, expressed that the tribute “would mean the world to him,” recalling, “When I was a kid I listened to the constant sound of @bobdylan playing in Shane’s room”. Shane’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, echoed these sentiments, stating that her late husband “spent hours and hours and hours listening to Dylan and watching footage of him and he was very grateful for the mutual respect.” This familial endorsement lent a deeply personal and validating dimension to Dylan’s musical homage.
Dylan, MacGowan, and The Pogues Through the Years
The 2025 cover of “A Rainy Night In Soho” was the culmination of a long history of mutual respect and intermittent connections between Bob Dylan and Shane MacGowan, and by extension, The Pogues.
The admiration flowed in both directions. As noted by many in his intimate circle, Shane MacGowan was a devoted listener of Bob Dylan’s music from a young age. Dylan, in turn, publicly acknowledged MacGowan’s talent. During a concert in Dublin in November 2022, with MacGowan in attendance, Dylan greeted him from the stage as “one of our favorite artists” and specifically praised “Fairytale of New York,” noting its special place in the hearts of his band.
An early professional link was forged in the autumn of 1989 when The Pogues were invited to open for Bob Dylan on his North American tour. This engagement, detailed in Pogues accordionist James Fearnley’s memoir, Here Comes Everybody: The Story of The Pogues, unfortunately, did not feature Shane MacGowan.
MacGowan collapsed at London’s Heathrow Airport as the band was about to depart and consequently missed the Dylan shows, with the rest of The Pogues continuing the tour dates. While MacGowan’s personal absence was a misfortune, the invitation itself signified a level of peer recognition from Dylan. This missed opportunity perhaps lent even greater significance to their later, more direct interactions, representing a connection that was eventually more fully realized.
Beyond the 1989 tour and Dylan’s 2025 cover, direct personal interactions solidified their connection. The most notable recent encounter occurred in Dublin in November 2022. Following Dylan’s concert at the 3Arena, where MacGowan was a special guest and received the aforementioned on-stage greeting, the two songwriters met.
Shane MacGowan himself recounted a memorable conversation with Dylan, not about Dylan’s own celebrated music, but about the filmmaker Sam Peckinpah and his movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, for which Dylan composed the soundtrack and had an acting role. MacGowan noted that Dylan “liked the fact that I didn’t want to bang on about his music.”
The relationship between Shane MacGowan’s “A Rainy Night In Soho” and Bob Dylan is a compelling narrative of artistic respect and connection, culminating in a poignant musical tribute. MacGowan’s song, born from a period of creative ferment for The Pogues and marked by its own complex studio genesis, stands as a masterpiece of lyrical depth and emotional honesty. Its themes of enduring love, memory, and the search for meaning resonate with a universal power, qualities that undoubtedly appealed to a fellow wordsmith of Dylan’s caliber.
It is Dylan’s 2025 live debut of “A Rainy Night In Soho” that serves as the most profound testament to this artistic dialogue. Performed with a palpable emotional charge and received with deep appreciation by MacGowan’s family, the cover transcended mere performance to become an elegiac honor and a powerful affirmation of MacGowan’s songwriting genius from one of the world’s most revered musical figures.
Dylan’s cover highlights how artistic legacies are not solely forged in isolation but are also shaped and amplified through the acknowledgments, interpretations, and ongoing conversations between artists. Dylan’s live interpretation of “A Rainy Night In Soho” offers a potent, living form of tribute, carrying an emotional weight that ensures MacGowan’s poetic vision continues to echo.
Have a comment or question? Email me at fhbals@gmail.com
Like this article? I’m doing a series on Bob Dylan’s 2024–25 Outlaw Tour covers, so you might also like:
