Dirty Old Town – NOT Pogues! Harmonica Tabs

“Dirty Old Town” is not Irish. It was written by Ewan MacColl about
Salford, the town where he grew up. During rehearsals of a play about
the industrial north by MacColl, they found that a scene-change was
taking too long, so he sat down and wrote “Dirty Old Town” to cover
it, completing it in about ten minutes.

It is a tragedy that the Pogues ever got hold of “Dirty Old Town” and
ruined it by raucous shouting. The melody and lyrics are dreamy and
wistful: “dreamed a dream by the old canal”, “clouds are drifting
across the moon”, “smelled the spring on a smokey wind” (Salford
Council objected to “Salford wind”!)”saw a train set the night on
fire” – wonderful imagery.

The trouble with starting on 3+ as many tabs do, is that you can’t get
the E (in key of G) which is needed. So I suggest moving up the harp
and starting on 7+, like this.

6+ 6- 7+ 8+ 8- 7+ 8+ 7+ 6+
I found my love by the gasworks croft

8+ 9+ 10- 9+ 8+ 8- 7+ 8+
Dreamed a dream by the old canal

10- 9+ 8+ 8- 7+ 8+ 7+ 6+
Kissed my girl by the fact’ry wall

6- 7+ 8+ 8- 8- 7+ 6- 7+
Dirty old town, dirty old town