Dirty Old Town - NOT Pogues!

How hard is it?

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How to read this tab — notation key

+: Blow note
−: Draw note
b or ': Half-step bend
bb or '': Two half-step bend
bbb or ''': Three half-step bend
(###): Chord — relevant hole numbers in parentheses
< or *: Push the button in (chromatic harmonica)

Full reference and posting tips in the tab guide.

Tab

"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

Play on a harmonica— watch which holes to blow & draw, with sound