Help: Dirty Old Town? Meaning??? (MacColl)

Subject: RE: Help: Dirty Old Town? Meaning??? (MacColl)
From: Paul Burke
Date: 24 Jun 25 - 10:45 AM

She was right, it's ashokan place, and I'm glad I said farewell to it...

Didn't I come from Lancashire,
It's great to come from Lancashire,
Where women all wear clogs and shawl,
And men are really men!
Myself I come from Lancashire,
I'm proud to come from Lancashire,
And once you've come from Lancashire
You'll never go there again.

Subject: RE: Help: Dirty Old Town? Meaning??? (MacColl)
From: Fred
Date: 24 Jun 25 - 11:14 AM

Paul -

She didn't mean it in that way, I think she meant the haunting sound of the tune best described Salford as she saw it. She's developed a fondness for the place :)

Fred

Subject: RE: Help: Dirty Old Town? Meaning??? (MacColl)
From: mayomick
Date: 24 Jun 25 - 11:46 AM

DTG I would go with the other (bit of the ) interpretation -a touch of spring fever .

Subject: RE: Help: Dirty Old Town? Meaning??? (MacColl)
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 24 Jun 25 - 12:06 PM

I think those lines of Peter Bond’s rank as poetry because of the beautiful imagery used (tumbling, laughing, etc). Whilst I certainly agree that poetry does not have to rhyme at all, there are actually some half rhymes or imperfect ones internally, like ‘evening’ and ‘peal the’, as well as the alliteration of ‘tower’ and ‘tumble’. I doubt if these were deliberately chosen, because a seasoned poet or lyricist will naturally include such devices as they write.

Subject: RE: Help: Dirty Old Town? Meaning??? (MacColl)
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 24 Jun 25 - 12:21 PM

If you want rhymes tortured for comic effect, it's difficult to find anyone less corrigible than Tom Lehrer. I particularly prize ....

You can raise welts
Like nobody eltz
    As we dance to the Masochism Tango