Ian, Janis - This Old Town Lyrics
This old town should have burned down in 1929
That's when we stood in line
Waiting for our soup while swallowing our pride
This old town should have burned down in 1931
When the rain refused to come
Dust filled up our lungs
And we thought our time had come
But this old town was built by hand
In the dustbowl of the motherland
There must be rock beneath this sand
I'll be damned - this town still stands
This old town should have burned down in 1944
When the last man went to war
This old town should have burned down in 1956
That's when the twister hit
All our hopes lay buried beneath the boards and bricks
And we almost called it quits
But this old town was built by hand
In the dustbowl of the motherland
There must be rock beneath this sand
I'll be damned - this town still stands
Somewhere in the distance
The city lights do shine
Sidewalks gleam with neon dreams
That call from time to time
When my children's children ask me
Why I didn't go
I'll say - the heart of any town
Is the people that you've known
And they always call you home
This old town was built by hand
In the dustbowl of the motherland
There is be rock beneath the sand
I'll be damned - this town still stands
Other Lyrics by Artist
- Ian, Janis - Welcome To Acousticville
- Ian, Janis - No One Else Like You
- Ian, Janis - Tenderness
- Ian, Janis - Take No Prisoners
- Ian, Janis - Ready For The War
- Ian, Janis - Breaking Silence
- Ian, Janis - Some People's Lives
- Ian, Janis - This House
- Ian, Janis - Through The Years
- Ian, Janis - This Train Still Runs
- Ian, Janis - Walking On Sacred Ground
- Ian, Janis - His Hands
- Ian, Janis - What About The Love
- Ian, Janis - Davy
- Ian, Janis - When The Silence Falls
- Ian, Janis - Hunger
- Ian, Janis - Searching For America
- Ian, Janis - Getting Over You
Rand Lyrics
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Ian, Janis This Old Town Comments
Thank you for posting this! It's wonderful! Love the story and the song. And now I know what one of Janis' Living Room Concerts is like. This lifelong Janis Ian fan thanks you!
Damn, so good.
Many thanks for posting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc-yG06NPq0
Hey Janis, is your guitar in a different tuning? Great version!
Mark Barry yeh what is that tuning !?!?
No - regular tuning. The song is in G but with a capo on the first fret. Although she is using a thumb pick and fingers, she is playing in a flat-picking style around G,D,C and Em. She is a very accomplished guitarist and maybe makes it sound like she is using an alternate tuning.
💓🎶
i knew this came from somewhere. thank you naci, and especially thank you janis
Good to hear Janis singing this. I really like Nanci's version.
She's going to be back in Portland! $25 at the door...hoping to take my spouse
I must see Janis Ian live. Wish I could afford a ticket.
Wow! I've listened to the Nanci Griffith version of this song hundreds of times, and I've never heard anything about the background of the song. I love this footage. This is fantastic. Thanks for the song Janis, and thanks for posting Joan.
wow, this looks like a very intimate performanace...*jealous*!!!! wish I could've seen it!
You can Book your own Living Room concert! Ive been to one, in the UK. Great day out, in a converted Barn, with 40+ people, we prepared food & drink for Each other, & Janis plus Mr. Clarke & her guy who sells the CD's, books, etc. Lovely memories!
Thanks for sharing, Joan!