I'm Shipping Up to Boston
"I'm Shipping Up to Boston" is a song with lyrics written by the folk singer Woody Guthrie, music written by A. Barr, K. Casey, M. Kelly, J. Lynch and M. Orrell and performed by the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys.
The original version of the song was released in 2004 on Give 'Em the Boot IV and would be re-recorded for their certified gold selling 2005 album, The Warrior's Code. The song gained worldwide attention for its use in the 2006 Academy Award-winning Best Picture, The Departed and the soundtrack for the film. This boosted the band's popularity.
The song's simple lyrics describe a sailor who had lost a prosthetic leg climbing the topsail, and is shipping up to Boston to "find my wooden leg." These were taken from a fragment of paper that Ken Casey found whilst looking through Woody Guthrie's archives. The Dropkick Murphys put music to the lyrics as they also did with the song "Gonna Be A Blackout Tonight" from the 2003 album Blackout.
The single is the band's most successful to date and was certified double platinum. It reached No. 1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and sold over 1,044,000 digital copies without ever entering the Hot 100 chart.
The video features the Dropkick Murphys performing the song on the waterfront in East Boston. The band is also seen "hanging out" with hooligans while being chased by Boston police officers. The "hanging out" parts were later replaced with footage from The Departed for a second video tying in to the movie.
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
| Ireland | 54 |
In other media
In sport
For sports teams around Boston it is used as a de facto anthem for the city.Rugby
- In rugby union the song is used as the entrance music for Ireland, Connacht Rugby and London Irish in their home games.
American football
- The New England Patriots frequently use the song during home games. The Dropkick Murphys performed the song live during the NFL kickoff game in 2015 that was hosted in Foxborough. The Boston College Eagles football and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football teams are also known to play the song before kick-offs at home games.
Basketball
- The Boston Celtics frequently use the song during home games.
Ice hockey
- In the National Hockey League, the song is used by the Philadelphia Flyers whenever they are about to start overtime at Wells Fargo Center, followed by a brief playing of "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.
- The song is used in the video game NHL Slapshot, where it is used on the menus, when goals are scored, and during faceoffs during the game. The song is also featured in the video game NHL 11.
Baseball
- The song was used to "pump up the crowd" before Boston Red Sox playoff games during the 2013 season. It was performed on the field by the Dropkick Murphys before game 6 of the 2013 American League Championship Series and game 6 of the 2013 World Series.
- The song was featured on The Boston Pops Orchestra's 2009 album The Red Sox Album.
In film
- It is used heavily in the film The Departed.
In television
- A soundalike version written by James S. Levine is used as the theme for the TV series Rizzoli & Isles.
- The instrumental part of the song was used in episode six of Luck.
- The song is played in the seventh episode of the first season of and over the end credits of this same episode.
- The song is played in instrumental form in episodes of the Northern Irish comedy series Derry Girls.
- The song is played in the thirteenth episode of the nineteenth season of The Simpsons.
Video games
- The song is provided as downloadable content for the music video games Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2.
Other versions
- The song was covered by Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom, and appeared on their 2012 compilation album Holiday at Lake Bodom.