The Irish Rover: Phil Lynott and the Search for Identity

Phil Lynott, the lead singer of the rock band Thin Lizzy, was a complex character. An illegitimate black child who grew up in a working-class, Catholic district of Dublin, Ireland in the 1950s, Lynott spent his life searching for a sense of belonging, something which he explored through rock and rol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Popular music and society 2021-01, Vol.44 (1), p.26-48
Main Author: O'Hagan, Lauren
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bands
Belonging
Catholics
Children
Identity
Ireland
Lyrics
Phil Lynott
Portraits
rock music
Thin Lizzy
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Summary:Phil Lynott, the lead singer of the rock band Thin Lizzy, was a complex character. An illegitimate black child who grew up in a working-class, Catholic district of Dublin, Ireland in the 1950s, Lynott spent his life searching for a sense of belonging, something which he explored through rock and roll. This study uses Lynott's song lyrics to investigate his quest for identity. In particular, it identifies the many recurring themes and archetypes in his music that offered multifaceted self-portraits of his internal conflict between being black, Irish, illegitimate, a rockstar, a Lothario, a son, a father, and a husband, all at the same time.
ISSN:0300-7766
1740-1712
1740-1712
DOI:10.1080/20567790.2019.1653623