10 Greatest Hard Rock Songs Of The 2000s
1. Dropkick Murphys - "I’m Shipping Up To Boston"
If you hadn’t heard of Dropkick Murpys in 2006, Martin Scorsese was making it his business to change that. Their song “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” - a stomping reimagining of Woody Guthrie lyrics - was all over Oscar winner The Departed, and the hard edged Celtic punk worked wonders for the Massachusetts-based tale of corruption and deceit.
Way before the sea shanty boom of 2021, the Murphys spun a yarn of drinking and brawling on the high seas. “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” is the story of a sailor who loses his leg in the rigging of a ship, and decamps to Boston to retrieve it.
This is conveyed by the characterful bellow of Ken Casey and, particularly, the multitalented Tim Brennan, who deals with much of the world music influences that made the group so distinctive. The mandolin playing compliments the stop-start blasts of guitar and drums.
It’s a song built for any rabble rousing occasion and was immediately co-opted by every Bostonian sports team worth their salt. If this track doesn’t put you in the right frame of mind for a big game, nothing will.