Paddy Reilly - The Town I Loved So Well

This time we'd like to do a song
That was written by a friend of ours, Philip Coulter
And it comes from the city of Derry
Which has been a very troubled spot
For the last twenty six or seven years
And we'd love to do his marvellous song:
"The Town I Loved So Well"

In my memory I will always see
The town that I have loved so well
Where our schools 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 Craigeen, the Moor and the Bog
While the men on the dole played the mother's role
Fed the children and then walked the dogs

And when times got rough, there was just about enough
But they saw it through without complaining
For deep inside was a burning pride
For the town I loved so well

But when I'd returned, how my eyes were 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 that old gasyard wall
And the damned barbwire gets higher and higher
With their tanks and 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'll not forget, still their hearts are set
On tomorrow and peace once again

For what's done, it's done and what's won is won
And what's lost, it's lost and gone forever
I can only pray for a bright brand-new day
In the town I loved so well

Thank you
Thank you very much