Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)

"Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)"
"Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)"
Song by Goats Don't Shave
from the album The Rusty Razor
Released	1991
Genre	Celtic rock, Folk rock
Length	3:47
Label	Cooking Vinyl
Songwriter(s)	Pat Gallagher
Producer(s)	Mudd Wallace

"Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal)" is a song by the Irish folk rock group Goats Don't Shave. It was a top 10 hit for the band in 1991, reaching #4 on the Irish singles chart.

This song is not to be confused with the Bridie Gallagher song "The Hills of Donegal".

Lyrics and meaning

The lyrics of the song tell of the speaker's desire to turn County Donegal, described to be fame-less and unknown, into a gambling hub, ala Las Vegas. He speaks of walling it off from the rest of Ireland while legalizing casinos and brothels. There are several references made to people from popular and business culture including Jack the Ripper, the Man in the Iron Mask, Neil Blaney, Brigitte Nielsen, Mike Tyson and Donald Trump.

Release and reception

It was first released by the Goats Don't Shave in 1992 with the release of their album, The Rusty Razor. The song found new popularity in the 2000s, not only among people from County Donegal, but people from all over Ireland. The album was a mix of modern material and traditional Irish folk written mostly by Pat Gallagher.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many other artists including The Dubliners.

Legacy

The song was blared from the Croke Park PA system after Donegal won the Sam Maguire Cup in 2012.^[1] It was again played on the Croke Park PA system just before Donegal were presented with the National League Division 2(football) Cup in April 2019.

References

^ "Live updates from the All-Ireland finals at Croke Park". RTÉ Sport. RTÉ. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012. 17:09 - Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal) is blared across the Croke Park PA. The first of many times it will be played tonight, I'm sure.

External links

Lyrics
Backing Track Archived 2009-05-02 at the Wayback Machine

[1] "Live updates from the All-Ireland finals at Croke Park". RTÉ Sport. RTÉ. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012. 17:09 - Las Vegas (In the Hills of Donegal) is blared across the Croke Park PA. The first of many times it will be played tonight, I'm sure.

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