I saw this slide by on my Google news feed this morning, and wondered if anybody else had caught it. It’s been announced that a ‘lost verse’ of the popular folk standard ‘Dirty Old Town’ will be revealed in a few weeks time at the ‘We Invented The Weekend’ Festival in Salford, Manchester.
As you probably know, the song is about Salford (not Dublin or Belfast as it is often assumed) the hometown of the song’s composer, Ewan MacColl. It was written as an accompaniment to MacColl’s 1949 play ‘Landscape With Chimneys’ but one particular verse apparently didn’t sit as well musically or lyrically as the others. It was dropped.... but not actually 'lost'.
With the song approaching its 75th anniversary, MacColl’s widow, the American singer Peggy Seeger has announced the news as a token to the songs long standing appeal and success. As well as The Pogues and The Dubliners, (whose covers Seeger incidentally finds lacking the appropriate spirit), the song has been covered by a wide range of artists, including Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, Frank Black and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
I only mention this at all really because the song seems to have had enjoyed a resurgence on our local open mic and gig circuit recently. Maybe long standing performers of the song will clamour for the extra verse, maybe they won’t, only time will tell. It’ll be interesting to see if anybody seizes on the additional lyrics to reignite their interest.
A new orchestral version of the song, created by Seeger with her son Neill MacColl and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra will also feature in an upcoming BBC Radio 4 "Archive on 4" episode. The radio documentary, presented by BBC Radio Manchester presenter and fellow Salford musician Mike Sweeney, will be broadcast on 6 July.
I’ll leave you with another version you potentially might not have heard, Frank Black’s storming live cover, performed in 2003 in Dublin. The tumultuous response of the crowd demonstrates how much the song has been taken to heart by the Irish, despite the songs resolutely Salford heritage.
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