The Pogues: Dirty Old Town Meaning

Song Released: 1985

Dirty Old Town Lyrics

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

Clouds a drifting across the moon
Cats a prowling on their beat
Spring's a girl in the street at night
Dirty old...

1. anonymous

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   Feb 10th 2023 !⃝

   The song is set in Salford,England. It was written by Ewan Mc Coll who was born in Salford.
   In the original lyric the wind is a "Salford wind" and was changed to "smoky" to appease the local council.
   I have no connection with Salford or even the area around it. Just wanted to put the record straight.
2. anonymous

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   Dec 27th 2020 !⃝

   Defiantly Irish this is a 'rough diamond' among the trove of classic folk ballads.
   Shrouded between theme's of lust cries the brutality of last-centuries terrible sectarian violence endured by the authors home-land.
   'Flamming trains' and 'smokey winds' are metaphoric of the experiences of suburban warfare.
   Set among the grit of an industrialised homeland the words speak of poverty, repression and hope.
   Love shines through the haze of this song like a calling for the subsequent era of peace and hope.
   
   
   
3. anonymous

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   Feb 11th 2018 !⃝

   In the mist of an early morning, before arriving for a hard day of labor, cats (young men) meet their lovers for a love-making session, up against a factory wall, their love making hidden if anyone should venture by, by the smoky (thick foggy) morning air.

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