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THE TOWN I LOVED SO WELL (Phil Coulter) The Dubliners

In my memory
I will always see
The town that I have loved so well

Where our school played ball
By the gasyard 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
Called women from Creggan, the moor and the bog

While the men on the dole
Played a mother's role
Fed the children and then trained 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
That I earned my first pay
When I played in the 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'd learned of life
And I'd found a wife
In the town I loved so well

[INSTR]

But when I've returned
How my eyes have burnt
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 that old gasyard 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

1.- Songs are a good way to memorize structures, and they are especially useful for word order. Find these expressions in the first part of the song: 

Siempre veré la ciudad.                                       

Me entristeció dejarlo todo.

2.- The first two lines of each verse rhyme. Write the vowel sound that corresponds to each blank next to it. Correct on the board.
3.- Listen to the first part of the song and fill in the gaps with a rhyming word. 
      THE TOWN I LOVED SO WELL    The Dubliners
 1  In my                  
 2  I will always see
 3  The town that I have loved so well
 4  Where our school played                  
 5  By the gasyard wall
 6  And we laughed through the smoke and the smell

 7  Going home in the                  
 8  Running up the dark lane
 9  Past the jail and down behind the fountain
10  Those were happy                  
11  In so many, many ways
12  In the town I loved so well

13  In the early                   
14  The shirt factory horn
15  Called women from Creggan, the moor and the bog  (1) 
16  While the men on the dole
17  Played a mother's                   
18  Fed the children and then trained the dog

19  And when times got tough
20  There was just about                   
21  But they saw it through without complaining
22  For deep                   
23  Was a burning pride
24  In the town I loved so well

25  There was music                   
26  In the Derry air
27  Like a language that we all could understand
28  I remember the day
29  That I earned my first                   
30  When I played in the small pick-up band

31  There I spent my youth
32  And to tell you the                   
33  I was sad to leave it all behind me
34  For I'd learned of life
35  And I'd found a                   
36  In the town I loved so well

37  But when I've                  
38  How my eyes have burnt
39  To see how a town could be brought to its knees
40  By the armoured                  
41  And the bombed-out bars
42  And the gas that hangs on to every breeze

43  Now the Army's installed
44  By that old gasyard                  
45  And the damned barbed wire gets higher and higher
46  With their tanks and their                  
47  Oh my God, what have they done
48  To the town I loved so well

49  Now the music's                  
50  But they carry on
51  For their spirit's been bruised, never broken
52  They will not                  
53  But their hearts are set
54  On tomorrow and peace once again

55  For what's done is                  
56  And what's won is won
57  And what's lost is lost and gone forever
58  I can only pray
59  For a bright, brand-new                  
60  In the town I loved so well
(1) Creggan: a suburb from Derry, high on a hill.

Bogside: another suburb; the march on January 30th 1972 that ended
in a tragedy went from one to the other.
4.- Match these words from the song with their meanings. Your teacher will dictate to you the number of the verse in which each appears:

lane cárcel to burn dañar

jail
juventud
breeze
arder (fig.)

moor
orgullo
to hang (on)
rezar

dole
páramo
barbed wire
brisa

pride
calleja
to pray
persistir

youth
subsidio de desempleo
to bruise
alambre de espino

5.- Listen to the first part of the song and fill in the gaps with a rhyming word.
6.- Expressions are especially useful if they are productive, that is, if they can be slightly modified to form new expressions. Use the structures in exercise 2 above to translate these sentences: 

Siempre te recordaré                                          
Nunca te olvidaré                                          
A menudo hablo con ella                                          
A veces los echo de menos                                          
Siento decir esto                                          
Es difícil de entender                                          
Es fácil de arreglar                                          
Me alegro de verte

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This page was last revised on: 27/11/04