Dirty Old Town – Irish Song Lyrics

“Dirty Old Town,” though frequently performed by Irish musicians and often assumed to be an Irish folk song, was actually written by English songwriter Ewan MacColl in 1949. The song was created as part of a play called “Landscape with Chimneys” set in MacColl’s hometown of Salford, near Manchester, England. The lyrics paint a gritty portrait of industrial urban life, with references to the gasworks, factories, and canals that characterized northern English industrial cities.

The song gained prominence in the Irish music scene when The Dubliners began performing it in the 1960s, but it was The Pogues’ powerful 1985 recording that truly cemented its place in the Irish repertoire. Lead singer Shane MacGowan’s raw, emotive delivery resonated strongly with Irish audiences and diaspora communities who connected with the song’s themes of working-class life and urban hardship. This cultural adoption illustrates how folk music traditions evolve across borders, with “Dirty Old Town” becoming so thoroughly integrated into Irish musical culture that many are surprised to learn of its English origins.

Lyrics

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

Clouds are drifting across the moon
Cats are prowling on their beat
Springs a girl from the streets at night
Dirty old town, dirty old town

I heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
I smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town, dirty old town

I’m gonna make me a big sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
I’ll chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town, dirty old town

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