Durham Town ( The Leaving Song )

[Brian007]

Hi ALL,

A lovely song about a man having to make a journey which involves him leaving his and my home town Durham



Hope you enjoy, Brian007

[JohnT]

Hi Brian. Nice one like Roger Whittaker. Some good sounds on the 900. He had a bit of license when he watched the ships on the Tyne. Perhaps he only mentioned it to go with song. River Wear didn’t fit but it is situated in Durham as we know. However enjoyed my listen. John

[Brian007]

Hi John T,

Thanks a lot for listening and commenting and pleased that you enjoyed it, Yes I read the story about how it was supposed to be about Newcastle but the words in the lyrics would match so he changed it to Durham good for us/

Brian007

[Jon D]

Hello there Brian,
A very nice performance of a number that is close to home well played my friend I enjoyed listening.

Jon D.

[Brian007]

Hi John D,

Thanks a lot for listening and commenting and pleased that you enjoyed it,

Brian007

[Hugh-AR]

Brian,

Great choice of voicing for that one.

From Wikipedia:

"Durham Town (The Leavin')" is a song, written and sung by Roger Whittaker, released as a single in 1969. Whittaker's original intent, to set the song in Newcastle, was abandoned in favour of nearby Durham because Whittaker agreed with his producer that "Durham" sounded better. While focusing the song on Newcastle, Whittaker had set its second verse "on the banks of the river Tyne", and as Whittaker had little to no familiarity with his chosen locale for the song, he retained the verse with its Tyneside setting for the song's finalized version set in Durham. While the Tyne flows eastwards through Newcastle, it is the Wear, 20 miles (32 km) to the south, which flows through Durham.

Here is Roger Whittaker singing it so you can hear the words.

Roger Whittaker- Durham Town Live



I had no idea that Roger Whittaker was from Kenya. That is where I was for a large part of my life. Went to school in Nairobi, and it was here that I taught myself how to play the piano .. and joined the school 'dance band' (pop band). Being classically trained, the music master was not too keen on the music we played .. so we all joined his choir. That smoothed things over a bit!

Roger Whittaker - Exclusive Interview with Terry Marshall



Comments from under the video:

His voice is so powerful even when talking I could listen to him all day. This interview is just over 20 years old. Roger Whittaker is 84 years old now (August 2020) and living in retirement in France with his wife Natalie. He performed his last series of sell out concerts in Germany, where he was a genuine superstar, in 2013. Roger had one of the greatest, most distinct and warm voices in popular music and it's likely his songs will be still be played when most of the other singers of his era will be long forgotten. And as this interview shows, he is a gentleman of the highest order. Great man, great singer, great song writer, and the world's greatest whistler!

Hugh

[Brian007]

Hi Hugh,

Thanks for having a listen and pleased that you enjoyed it, some interesting facts about the song in your posts,

Brian007