Jump to content

I'm Shipping Up to Boston

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"I'm Shipping Up to Boston"
Single by Dropkick Murphys
from the album The Warrior's Code and The Departed: Music from the Motion Picture
Released2006
StudioQ Division (Somerville)
GenreCeltic punk
Length2:34
LabelHellcat
Composers
LyricistWoody Guthrie
Producers
  • David Bianco
  • Ken Casey
Dropkick Murphys singles chronology
"The Warrior's Code"
(2005) 		"I'm Shipping Up to Boston"
(2006) 		"The State of Massachusetts"
(2008)

"I'm Shipping Up to Boston" is a song by the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys, with lyrics written by folk singer Woody Guthrie.

The original version of the song was released in 2004 on Give 'Em the Boot IV and was re-recorded for their certified gold selling 2005 album, The Warrior's Code. The song gained worldwide attention for its use in the 2006 film The Departed, which boosted the band's popularity.

The song's lyrics describe a sailor who lost a prosthetic leg climbing the topsail, and is shipping up to Boston to "find [his] wooden leg." These were taken from a fragment of paper that Ken Casey found while looking through Woody Guthrie's archives.[1] The Dropkick Murphys put music to the lyrics as they did with the song "Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight" from the 2003 album Blackout.

The single is the band's most successful so far and was certified 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.[2]

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 film. During President Joe Biden's April 2023 trip to Ireland, he went onstage for a speech to the song.[3]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard) 1
Chart (2012) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[4] 174
Ireland (IRMA) 54
Chart (2013) Peak
position
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[5] 45
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Czech Republic Modern Rock (IFPI)[6] 3

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[7] Gold 25,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[8] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[10] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other versions

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Juul, -Matt (March 13, 2015). "'I'm Shipping Up to Boston': 10 Years of A Working-Class, Boston Anthem". boston.com. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  2. ^ "Week Ending March 21, 2010: Pastor Sapp's Chart Miracle – Chart Watch". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  3. ^ Rousseau, Morgan (April 14, 2023). "Biden brings some Boston energy to Ireland with raucous Dropkick Murphys entrance". Boston.com. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  4. ^ "Dropkick Murphys – I'm Shipping Up to Boston" (in French). Le classement de singles.
  5. ^ "Dropkick Murphys – I'm Shipping Up to Boston". Swiss Singles Chart.
  6. ^ "CZ - Radio - Top 20 Modern Rock - Shipping Up To Boston - Dropkick Murphys" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "Italian single certifications – Dropkick Murphys – I'm Shipping Up to Boston" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  8. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Dropkick Murphys – I'm Shipping Up to Boston". Radioscope. Retrieved December 29, 2025. Type I'm Shipping Up to Boston in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  9. ^ "British single certifications – Dropkick Murphys – I'm Shipping Up to Boston". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 29, 2025. Select singles in the Formats field. Type I'm Shipping Up to Boston Dropkick Murphys in the "Search:" field.
  10. ^ "American single certifications – Dropkick Murphys – I%m Shipping Up to Boston". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I%27m_Shipping_Up_to_Boston&oldid=1356638192"