"I met my love by the gasworks wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town, dirty old town"

This guy doesn't even seem to know where he is... Is it the gasworks or the factory???

"I'm gonna make me a good sharp ax
Shining steel tempered in the fire
I'll chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town, dirty old town"

So what does that have to do with anything???