I'm Shipping Up to Boston

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

"I'm Shipping Up to Boston"
Promotional 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
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Woody Guthrie
Producer(s)
  • 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)

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 my 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 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.[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

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

In other media

In sport

At sporting events, the song is often used as a de facto anthem for Boston.

Rugby

American football

Association football

Basketball

Ice hockey

Baseball

Darts

In film

In television

Video games

Other versions

References

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