"Don't Pay the Ferryman" is a song by British-Irish artist Chris de Burgh. It was released in September 1982 as the lead single from his album '' The Getaway''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Sharon Mawer stated the song has become "a standard

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

classic" and one of de Burgh's most frequently played songs on radio, despite not reaching the Top 40 on its original UK release.

Background

The song tells the story of a man who boards a ferryboat and sets off. A storm approaches and the ferryman demands payment. The song's narrator warns the passenger not to pay the ferryman until the boat arrives at its destination on the other side. The repetitive lyrics are believed to have a connection with mythology. The song describes the ferryman as "the hooded old man at the rudder". The ferryman demanding his payment is also similar to the Greek ferryman of the dead, Charon. He demanded an obolus (coin) to ferry dead souls across the River Styx. Those who did not pay were doomed to remain as ghosts, remaining on the plane of the mare, the restless dead. In the

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of the song, lines from

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's ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' can be heard, spoken very low by British actor

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...

.
ct 5, Scene 1, lines 230 - 237BR> :BOATSWAIN: I'd strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep :And (how we know not) all clapp'd under hatches; :Where, but even now, with strange and several noises :Of roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling chains, :And moe diversity of sounds, all horrible, :We were awak'd; straightway at liberty; :Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld :Our royal, good, and gallant ship; This section of the song is omitted from the version of the song released as a single, which is approximately 20 seconds shorter than the album version.

Music video

The music video for "Don't Pay the Ferryman" was directed by Maurice Phillips.

Chart positions

It became de Burgh's first UK hit single almost eight years into his recording career when it entered the chart on 23 October 1982 and peaked at number 48, staying on the chart for five weeks.David Roberts. ''

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''. Guinness World Records Limited In

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, the single reached number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States. Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications) It was a major hit on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

chart, where it reached the Top five and spent 25 weeks in the Top 100.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notes

The song was referenced in the ''

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary television sitcom created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer park resi ...

'' episode "Dressed All Over & Zesty Mordant".

References

External links

Lyrics with guitar chords
of Don't Pay the Ferryman (Link to this site can also be found o

* {{Italic 1982 singles Chris de Burgh songs Songs written by Chris de Burgh 1982 songs Song recordings produced by Rupert Hine A&M Records singles Music based on The Tempest References on Greek mythology Songs about death