Dirty Old Town
| "Dirty Old Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the UK single | ||||
| Singlebythe Dubliners | ||||
| from the albumDrinkin' and Courtin' | ||||
| B-side | "Peggy Gordon" | |||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Folk,Pop | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Major Minor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ewan MacColl | |||
| Producer(s) | Tommy Scott | |||
| The Dublinerssingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Dirty Old Town" by the DublinersonYouTube | ||||
"Dirty Old Town"is a song written byEwan MacCollin 1949 that was made popular bythe Dublinersandthe Pogues.
History
[edit]
The song was written aboutSalford,then inLancashire,England, the area where MacColl was born and brought up. It was originally composed for the 1949 playLandscape with Chimneys,produced byJoan LittlewoodandTheatre Workshopand set in a North of England industrial town.[1][2]With the growing popularity offolk musicin the 1960s the song became a standard in the repertory of British folk club singers.[3]
In a BBC radio documentary about “Dirty Old Town”, Professor Ben Harker (author ofClass Act: The Cultural and Political Life of Ewan MacColl,2007, Pluto Press) explains that although MacColl later claimed the song was written as an interlude "to cover an awkward scene change", studying the script of the playLandscape with Chimneysreveals the song occurs at the beginning and at the end of the play. Harker argues the song is important to the play because “it captures the movement from dreamy optimism and romance to militancy, frustration and anger. That’s the trajectory of the song and of the play.”[3]
The first verse refers to the "gasworks croft" which was a piece of open land adjacent to Salford gasworks, and then speaks of the old canal, which was theManchester, Bolton & Bury Canal.The line in the original version about smelling a spring on “the Salford wind” is sometimes sung as “the sulphured wind”. But in any case, most singers tend to drop the Salford reference altogether, in favour of calling the wind “smoky”. (This is the case in MacColl's own 1983 recording of the song.[4])
The Pogues version
[edit]| "Dirty Old Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singlebythe Pogues | ||||
| from the albumRum Sodomy & the Lash | ||||
| Released | 19 August 1985 | |||
| Genre | Celtic rock | |||
| Length | 3:45 | |||
| Label | Stiff | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ewan MacColl | |||
| Producer(s) | Elvis Costello | |||
| The Poguessingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Dirty Old Town" by the PoguesonYouTube | ||||
Released onRum Sodomy & the Lashin 1985, the Pogues' version reached number 62 in the UK and 27 in the Irish charts when released as a single.[5]It has been certified Silver for sales.
The Pogues' version of the song is played during the team walk-on atSalford City FC.[6]
Reception
[edit]John LelandatSpincalled the song, "a sparse melancholy reminiscence of love in an industrial sewer. The Pogues are a crudely affecting bunch of romantics."[7]AllMusicsaid, "while Shane MacGowan may not have written" Dirty Old Town ", his wrought, emotionally compelling vocals made [it] his from then on."[8]
Charts
[edit]The Dubliners version
[edit]The Dubliners recorded "Dirty Old Town" as part of their 1966 albumDrinkin' and Courtin'.[9]Luke Kelly, lead singer of the Irish band, claimed in live performances that the song was a "love song" to Salford.[10]
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[11] | 10 |
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[12] The Pogues version |
Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^Ewan MacColl Songbook
- ^Rogers, Jude (29 June 2020)."Dirty Old Town — why Ewan MacColl wanted to take an axe to his neighbourhood".Financial Times.Retrieved16 April2022.
- ^abMike Sweeney (6 July 2024)."Dirty Old Town at 75".BBC Sounds.Retrieved10 July2024.
- ^Black and White(Media notes). Cooking Vinyl. 1990.Retrieved17 March2023.
- ^"Dirty Old Town".Irish Charts.
- ^Brent, Harry."'Dirty Old Town' is about ENGLAND - not Ireland - as secrets about famous Pogues and Dubliners song are revealed ".The Irish Post.Retrieved12 November2021.
- ^John Leland (December 1985). "Singles".Spin.No. 8. p. 32.
- ^Deming, Mark."Rum, Sodomy & the Lash– The Pogues ".AllMusic.Retrieved20 May2014.
- ^"The Dubliners, Drinkin' & Courtin'".Claddagh Records.Retrieved29 July2024.
- ^Dirty Old Town - Luke Kelly & The Dubliners.1976. Event occurs at 0s.
Luke Kelly: The next song isalso—this is very peculiar—a love song written to a place, not to a woman, but to a place. The place is outside of Manchester, called... a place called, Salford.
- ^"The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dirty Old Town ".Irish Singles Chart.
- ^"British single certifications – Pogues – Dirty Old Town".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved18 February2022.
External links
[edit]- Discussion of lyricsat The Mudcat Cafe
- Material on Salford Gasworksat The National Archives
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| Matches | |
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| Culture | |
