"The Town I Loved So Well" james and alfredo cover The Dubliners

[alfstone]

This one should have been for St.Patrick Fest.

In the last weeks, for some unknown reason, I miss Ireland so much...I've been there several times, and under normal circumstances, I would go there right now. 

So...I was listening on an Irish traditional music Facebook page this wonderful song by Luke Kelly, downloaded the chords, setup other tracks on BIAB, asked good old James to join (thank you, James!), and...

...enjoy!

In my memory I will always see
The town that I have loved so well
Where our school played ball by the gas yard wall
And we laughed through the smoke and the smell
Going home in the rain, running up the dark lane,
Past the jail and down behind the fountain,
Those were happy days in so many, many ways
In the town I loved so well.

In the early morning, the shirt factory horn
Call the women from Creggan, the moor and the bog
While their men on the dole played a mother's role
Fed the children and then walked the dog.
And when times got tough, there was just about enough
But they saw it through without complaining
For deep inside was a burning pride
In the town I loved so well.

There was music there in the Derry air
Like a language that we all could understand
I remember the day when I earned my first pay
When I played in a small pick-up band
There I spent my youth and to tell you the truth
I was sad to leave it all behind me
For I learned about life and I found a wife
In the town I loved so well.

But when I returned how my eyes have burned
To see how a town could be brought to its knees
By the armoured cars and the bombed out bars
And the gas that hangs on to every breeze
Now the army's installed by the old gas yard wall
And the damned barbed wire gets higher and higher
With their tanks and their guns oh my God what have they done
To the town I loved so well.

Now the music's gone but they carry on
For their spirit's been bruised, never broken
They will not forget but their hearts are set
On tomorrow and peace once again.
For what's done is done and what's won is won
And what's lost is lost and gone forever
I can only pray for a bright, brand new day
In the town I loved so well

[thetworegs]

You can't beat guitar and vioce but then that bass or cello enters the arena with the violin and the magic happens a beauty of a collab hats of to you gents Bravo

[Bluesberry]

Beautiful...

[BerryPatch]

Lovely version of a track I was unfamiliar with. Heart wrenching stuff really. I can only imagine what it was like to live in Northern Ireland (a place which, aside from the Troubles, doesn't seem all that different from where I'm from in Atlantic Canada) with all the instability throughout the years. Love the instrumentation you add throughout the track and the cutting of the guitars from the final verse really adds a somber quality. Beautiful, just beautiful

[Jean Pierre]

It's nice to hear you again Alfredo

I love this song, since I heard it around 1970 by Pierre bensusan, who you know well

I did a version of it in 2017, I'm not sure if you heard it...it was a bit faster but in the same tone I think..and I also made extensive use of the BIAB guys
Very nice song, and you interpreted it so well, Alfredo

I'll gladly bring it up again, for St Patrick's Day

[Greeny (No longer active)]

So pure... so beautiful. The playing is sublime and James sings it so well and naturally. The embellishments are gorgeous too. An amazing and touching collaboration.

[Oldrottenhead]

Thanks Alfredo. I knew this song as a kid but never really knew it's depth, always thought of it as a twee folk song, until now. Was tough to sing as it was a bit deep for my vocal range. I think vox are a bit loud in the mix but that could be me just hearing all my mistakes lol. Thanks yet again for reintroducing me to a song I thought I knew.

[alfstone]

Thanks Alfredo. I knew this song as a kid but never really knew it's depth, always thought of it as a twee folk song, until now. Was tough to sing as it was a bit deep for my vocal range. I think vox are a bit loud in the mix but that could be me just hearing all my mistakes lol. Thanks yet again for reintroducing me to a song I thought I knew.

Thanks to you (and many thanks you all), James. I'm glad you could re-discover under a different point of view this great song. I agree, maybe the key of G is too low for you, and in fact I'm planning to raise it up to A for your voice in the next days. I don't agree  about the loudness of your voice, instead, since in my opinion in this kind of songs, lyrics and vocals must be at the centre of the attention of the listener, so focus on your voice, so intimate and emotional. As soon as the new version in A will be ready, I'll mail it to you. 

Alfredo

[maxit]

a wonderful, heartbreaking version, bravissimi !!!

[StephenM]

wow, the longing and the vivid memory portrayed in the song and in the music and vocals.(nice work ORH)..it's big...
what a wonderful song and i didn't know it...but glad I do now... I have a few folks I know who have been and just love Ireland...but this is about more than a country or a town...this is about the burning soul...burning as in yearning... wonderful...
and good Doctor... I hope and pray you get to go again soon...