Listen to Pulp cover ‘Whiskey In the Jar’
Cover songs have existed since the dawn of man. Whenever an artist tries to do justice to another person’s song, they usually have two tasks: do justice to the original, and bring something original to it that no one has heard before. It’s easy for artists to cover acts they are familiar to their audience, but it’s a different matter entirely to create a song that’s decades old, and Pulp were up to the challenge.
During their salad days, Pulp was trying their hand at writing their classics when they took a stab at the traditional Irish folk tune ‘Whiskey in the Jar’. The song had previously been reimagined by Thin Lizzy, who had already brought a rock edge by adding a lilting electric guitar to the mix. While Phil Lynott’s voice sounds like someone who frequents the pub more than a few times, it became something else entirely once Jarvis Cocker sang his version.
Recorded during the sessions for Different Class, the original guitar lick is coated in echo, with Cocker pouring over every word he’s singing, talking about the captains arriving and reaching for his revolver. Since most of this version is dominated by acoustic guitars, it’s easy to imagine Cocker as an onlooker on an empty dock, mindlessly strumming his guitar while telling this warped story of love lost.
Given the song’s lyrical themes, though, Cocker’s voice is often unsettling on this version, getting to the end of the verses where he talks about brandishing his pistol and blowing away anyone who stands in the way of him and Molly. By the time the song ends with Cocker locked away with his ball and chain, his tone is more disaffected than when he started. It’s as if this whole ordeal in the song almost means nothing to him, and he would do it again if it meant having some excitement in his life.
Combined with the atmospheric noise in the background, there’s a loungey feel to most of the song, especially when Cocker delves into his spoken word sections. Although there aren’t any notes, Cocker has the listener in his hand, channelling his inner Lou Reed on these sections.
While it might not have been a Pulp original, this tune would have fit perfectly on Different Class, having the same melancholic sound from songs like ‘Common People’ or ‘Something Changed’. It wasn’t even out of the question for Britpop acts like Pulp to be doing folk tunes. Back at the dawn of the genre, The Stone Roses had snuck in a bit of a song on their debut ‘Elisabeth My Dear’ to the tune of the traditional song ‘Scarborough Fair’.
This wasn’t even the last time that ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ got its time in the mainstream that decade. Half a world away, Metallica had tried their hand at their version of the tune, staying faithful to Thin Lizzy’s rendition and sounding like they were trying to soundtrack a drunken bar fight. Metallica might have their chance to make things sound dangerous on their version, but there’s a tortured soul in the middle of Pulp’s version of this tune.
