Ralph McTell first recorded "Streets of London" in 1969, when he was 22 years old. He's now 75.

A BBC Article says that Ralph McTell has added a coronavirus verse to "Streets of London":

Changing the song was something he'd always resisted, he said. It was written when he was 22 and belonged to a particular time. But this was an extraordinary moment in history. "Give me a chance to think and try and write something."

This new verse was the moving result:

In shop doorways, under bridges, in all our towns and cities
You can glimpse the makeshift bedding from the corner of your eye
Remember what you're seeing barely hides a human being
We're all in this together, brother, sister, you and I.


Ralph is an optimist. In recent daily encounters he has detected a new mood of community.

In his area of west London, it has manifested itself in warmer greetings and observing the rules of social distancing. He is aware of the paradox that what pushes us physically apart might bring us closer.

---

And here's a really nice video illustrating the song and its history:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiWomXklfv8