Richard Thompson & David Byrne - Dirty Old Town

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I Kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Clouds are drifting across the moon
Cats are prowling on their beat
Spring's a girl from the streets at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town


I Heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
I Smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I'm gonna make me a big sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
I'll chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Richard
• Thompson
• David
• Byrne
• Dirty
• Old
• Town
• talking
• heads
• Ewan
• MacColl
• Pogues

[JohnInSale]

Fab Verion Of A Classic Song !!!

[johnnyaught]

The song is about courting a girl in Salford which was at the time a very smoky dirty industrial city. The gas yard croft is a bit of spare ground in front of the gas works. There was nowhere very romantic to take a girl in Salford so a walk down the canal tow path would be a reasonable option. Many factories were built along the canal banks.

[gaconnochie]

@djangolad Folk music does evolve and there are many versions of various traditional tunes. Though this isn't a traditional tune. The words were sang incorrectly whilst the songwriter was still alive and kicking. I imagine the Dubliners simply made a mistake when singing gasworks wall and others learned the mistake from them. It is a big mistake though as it takes the song away from its roots. The 'gasworks croft' was a real place.

[melodiantime]

GOING OUT TONIGHT, TO MY GOOD FRIEND, JIM SOUTAR.

[badyin]

Great song

"It's the Pogues who screwed up the opening line" They can screw up anything

[leobluesy]

great song to hear and to play

[djangolad]

Folk music is meant to evolve. Lyrics rarely remain as they were first written and what's more it's not important.

[gaconnochie]

@andytownboy It should be "gaswork's croft" but various people have changed it for some reason. An early Clancy version has it "where the gaslight falls"

[panr317]

where and when WAS this? Excellent

[andytownboy]

The opening line is "gaswork's croft" as written by Ewan MacColl and sung here by RT. It's the Pogues who screwed up the opening line.