Dirty Old Town lyrics

The Pogues 🎸

I met my love by the gasworks wall
Dreamed the 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
Springs a girl from the streets at night
Dirty old town, dirty old town

Instrumental...

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 gasworks wall
Dreamed the 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

Song Details

Words & Music: Ewan MacColl, 1949

Ewan MacColl: Playwright, folksinger, labour activist - born James Henry Miller on the 25th January, 1915 in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire, England. His parents were Scottish.

Brief: The song was originally written about a town called Salford, in Lancashire — the town where Ewan MacColl was born. It was originally composed for an interlude to cover an awkward scene change in his 1949 play Landscape with Chimneys, set in a northern England industrial town. However, with the growing popularity of folk music, the song became a standard, and was popularized by The Dubliners and Irish-British folk punk band, The Pogues, whose version of the song, released in 1985, is one of the best-known recordings.

The song's lyrics paint a vivid portrait of a grimy, industrial town, but they also express a sense of nostalgia and affection for the place. The singer reminisces about the people, the relationships, and the memories associated with the town.

Category: Folk

Covers: The Levellers, The Waterboys, Jackie Washington, The Spinners, The Settlers, Donovan, Gary Shearston, Chad & Jeremy, Roger Whittaker, The Dubliners, Rod Stewart, The Clancy Brothers, Townes Van Zandt, The Specials, Emscherkurve 77, The Mountain Goats, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Frank Black, Lorraine Leckie, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Nolwenn Leroy, Bettye LaVette...

Album: Rum Sodomy & The Lash (January 1, 1985).

Song Chords below

Dirty Old Town Chords

Keys: D Major, G major, C Major
Time Signature: 4/4 (♩)
Tempo: 123 bpm

The song key is highlighted. Transpose to any other key.

Intro: 4/4...[D] % | % | % [G] % [D] % [Em] % [D] (I met my)

1. I met my [G]love by the gas works wall,
   Dreamed the [C]dream by the old ca-[G]nal.
   I kissed my [G]girl by the fact-’ry wall,
   Dir-ty old [D]town, Dir-ty old [Em]town.

2. Clouds are [G]drifting across the moon
   Cats are [C]prowling on their [G]beat
   Springs a [G]girl from the streets at night
   Dirty old [D]town, dirty old [Em]town
   

Instr: [C]  %  |  %  |  %   [F]   %  [C]  %  |

       [C]  %  |  %  |  %   [Dm]  %  [Am] %  |

3. I heard a [G]siren from the docks
   Saw a [C]train set the night on [G]fire
   I smelled the [G]spring on the smoky wind
   Dirty old [D]town, dirty old [Em]town

4. I'm gonna [G]make me a big sharp axe
   Shining [C]steel tempered in the [G]fire
   I'll chop you [G]down like an old dead tree
   Dirty old [D]town, dirty old [Em]town

5. I met my [G]love by the gas works wall
   Dreamed the [C]dream by the old ca-[G]nal
   I kissed my [G]girl by the fact'ry wall
   Dirty old [D]town, dirty old [Em]town
   Dirty old [D]town, dirty old [Em]town...

Back to Irish Lyrics D Back To Top