It is a strangely haunting number but the lyrics seem peculiarly throwaway and carelessly crafted - yet that does not appear to matter. The song did its job and now, many years later - the members of The Dream Academy - Nick Laird-Clowes, Kate St John, and Gilbert Gabriel are all in their late sixties but still making music.
I give you "Life in a Northern Town" with lyrics:-
⦿
I must apologise for another absence. Shirley and I are heading for the North Yorkshire market town of Malton on Monday morning. We will be staying in "The Talbot" hotel (see top picture) . I have paid for this two night stay with a gift voucher that my two children generously presented to me in 2023 to mark my seventieth birthday.
Malton holds a special place in my heart because it is where my father was born and raised and it is where my paternal grandparents are both buried - though strangely, I have never slept there before. So it will be a break but also a little bit of a pilgrimage too.
I will be back at this keyboard on Wednesday night. Adios! or as we say in in Yorkshire, "See thi!"
Have a lovely break and please take photos?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your break & pilgrimage, Neil!
ReplyDeleteIf I am not mistaken, the train from York to Scarborough stops in Malton and Seamer along the way. But those train stops many times in the past, when Steve and I went for our annual holiday in "Scarbie", is about as far as my knowledge of Malton goes.
Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteMalton doesn't look so far but it's a two hour drive! And you haven't even left Yorkshire.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest a visit to the Rare Bird Distillery and the enticing area known charmingly by the name, Scagglethorpe.
I am glad that the song I posted moved you. There's just something about it. Safe travels and enjoy your time away.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lovely hotel. Enjoy your getaway.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy! I think that couple get-aways are so good in that they allow us to shift our energies and attention to each other, leaving behind the daily responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the escape,
ReplyDeleteI recognized the chorus but didn't know any of the words so thanks for that, Neil. I enjoyed that!
ReplyDeleteHope you and Shirley have a wonderful time!
Great to visit these special places and reenergize the memories.
ReplyDeleteHave fun in Malton! I can't believe the Dream Academy members are all in their late 60's. Cripes!
ReplyDeleteI loved the original song , so much, this version has a lovely energy to it mr pudding
ReplyDeleteI have often sat outside the station waiting for visitors to arrive and also on the bus from York to Scarborough I have passed through. Enjoy your short holiday.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your little break. I hope the weather is kind to you.
ReplyDeletewent to a wedding in Malton once.... got changed into me suit in t'co-op car park if i remember rightly? Bizarrely.... wedding Malton.... reception Castle Howard.... i stayed in Pickering for the night..... oh well, Malton's quite nice and quaint, innit.... peace preserved slightly by the A64 bypassing it.
ReplyDelete