Henry's Songbook

My home town, the kingdom of the wee man
My home town, the dominion of the chip van
My home town
Where centuries of sweat have stained and tanned the streets and walls
Lined the mansions and the halls
Where man and boy still love to watch and play the football game
And sunset for the cowboy is the last bus hame
It's still the same
My home town

My home town, the statue and the bingo
My home town, the wine bar and the wino
My home town
Where ghostly tramcars rumble through the fog of their folklore
Ancient chariots of yore
Where lofty cranes stretch out and point across the city sky
Like standing stones they're echoes of an age gone by
We wonder why
In my home town

My home town, the singers and romancers
My home town, the wideboys and the chancers
My home town
Where the midnight drunk will waltz the stage like all who came before
He knows the script he knows the score
Her humour is a plague of weeds that won't die down
She's a grand old princess looking for her long lost crown
She won't lie down
She's my home town

(as sung by Iain MacKintosh)

[1991:] Written for me by Alan Reid, [it] gives a different vision of the place, at once perceptive, nostalgic - and above all, melodic. (Notes Iain MacKintosh, 'Risks and Roses')

[1994:] I wanted an original Glasgow song for my 'Risks and Roses' album, so I approached Alan Reid. He came back with this song the next day. (Iain MacKintosh, intro Kirkcaldy)