Dirty Old Town

"Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and The Pogues.

For the 2003 film, see Dirty Old Town (film).

"Dirty Old Town"
Single by The Dubliners
from the album Drinkin' and Courtin'
B-side"Peggy Gordon"
Released1968
GenreFolk, Pop
Length2:53
    LabelMajor Minor
    Songwriter(s)Ewan MacColl
    Producer(s)Tommy Scott
    The Dubliners singles chronology
    "Maids When You're Young Never Wed An Old Man"
    (1967)    		 "Dirty Old Town"
    (1968)    		 "Hand Me Down My Bible"
    (1971)

    History

    The song was written about Salford, Lancashire, England, the city where MacColl was born and brought up. It was originally composed for an interlude to cover an awkward scene change in his 1949 play Landscape with Chimneys, set in a North of England industrial town,[1][2] but with the growing popularity of folk music the song became a standard. The first verse refers to the gasworks croft, which was a piece of open land adjacent to the gasworks, and then speaks of the old canal, which was the Manchester, 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.[3])

    A portion of the canal referenced by the song
    Salford Docks, another place mentioned in the song

    The Pogues Version

    Released on Rum Sodomy & the Lash in 1985, the Pogues' version reached number 62 in the UK and 27 in the Irish charts when released as a single.[4] It has been certified Silver for sales.

    The Pogues' version of the song is played during the team walk-on at Salford City FC.[5]

    Reception

    John Leland at Spin called the song, "a sparse melancholy reminiscence of love in an industrial sewer. The Pogues are a crudely affecting bunch of romantics."[6] AllMusic said, "while Shane MacGowan may not have written "Dirty Old Town", his wrought, emotionally compelling vocals made [it] his from then on."[7]

    Charts

    The Dubliners version
    Chart (1968) Peak
    position
    Ireland (IRMA)[8] 10

    Certifications
    Region CertificationCertified units/sales
    United Kingdom (BPI)[9]
    The Pogues version     		Silver 200,000‡

    ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

    References
    1. Ewan MacColl Songbook
    2. Rogers, Jude (29 June 2020). "Dirty Old Town — why Ewan MacColl wanted to take an axe to his neighbourhood". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
    3. Black and White (Media notes). Cooking Vinyl. 1990. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
    4. "Dirty Old Town". Irish Charts.
    5. Brent, Harry. "'Dirty Old Town' is about ENGLAND - not Ireland - as secrets about famous Pogues and Dubliners song are revealed". The Irish Post. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
    6. John Leland (December 1985). "Singles". Spin. No. 8. p. 32.
    7. Deming, Mark. "Rum, Sodomy & the Lash – The Pogues". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
    8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dirty Old Town". Irish Singles Chart.
    9. "British single certifications – Pogues – Dirty Old Town". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
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