Dirty Old Town

Hornpipe · 4/4 · G major

Written in 1949 by British folk singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl, Dirty Old Town was originally composed for his radio play Landscape with Chimneys to evoke the industrial atmosphere of Salford, Lancashire. Though often performed as an upbeat folk-rock anthem or a driving hornpipe in 4/4 meter within G major, its character remains deeply rooted in the gritty, melancholic realism of working-class urban life. Over the decades, the song has transitioned from a theatrical piece into a standard of the Irish and British traditional music revivals, famously recorded by artists like The Dubliners.

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