The Town I Loved So Well

The first three verses are about the simple lifestyle he grew up with in Derry, while the final two deal with the Troubles, and lament how his placid hometown had become a major military outpost, plagued with violence.

Coulter, a nationalist, drew on both his own experience and that of his father (a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary) to create a more nuanced lament for Derry, although he added that extreme unionists initially dismissed it as a "rebel song.

"[1] The Town I Loved So Well was written against a backdrop of the Troubles in Derry, and released in 1973 on The Dubliners Plain and Simple album, which Coulter produced.

[citation needed] The song has also been translated and covered in other languages, including by Tri Yann, a Breton band, under the title "La Ville que J'ai Tant Aimée" with lyrics in French.

[8][9] Dafydd Iwan recorded a translation in Welsh ("Y Dref a Gerais i Cyd", 'The Town I Loved So Long'), with Hannes Wader recording a German version ("Kleine Stadt") - a tribute to Wissembourg in northeastern France, favourite town of his -, and Lillebjørn Nilsen a Norwegian version ("Byen Jeg Kjente Som Min").