I understand that it's most likely the song people identify with the most; I have his back catalog, and a live recording released on Fantasy Records, where he performs the song in question. People also sing along on this recording, and I just think that it's beautiful in its own way. The song is a standard, and always will be.
Well, whilst I appreciate his frustration, some singers have never had a song as well known, covered and the like as Ralph has with SOL. Many, many highly talented singers will leave the planet without having had a recording contract, written and recorded a modern classic and made a reasonable, no more it would seem, living from song.
The tragedy is that this song is probably as relevant now in 2022 as when it was written. Whilst i will never tire of hearing it, especially from the master himself, wouldn't it be wonderful if the legacy of this song was that loneliness was a thing of the past like smallpox.
I find amazing that a poignant song with sad overtones has made me smile. One man & a guitar carries a relevant message that nearly all humanity has witnessed in some form.
Probably the nicest person in the business. Great to see him still appreciated more than twenty years after I met him in Doncaster and he spent absolutely ages chatting to just four people, representing three generations of fans. In the end, WE left him, apologising for keeping him so long after his concert. He told us there was no need to go yet, he'd be happy to stay longer. It's amazing to hear he still sings this better than anyone, with such feeling, after so many decades.
I first walked the streets of london when I was twelve, I had run away from a tiny village,went into care and heard this song, amazing and thank you so much xx
I remember this song when I was living on those same streets of London for a few months as a newly arrived Canadian with no money and with no job in the early 70's. I stayed for almost 5 years, and yes I finally found work. Those were heady times and wonderful memories, thanks to great musicians like Ralph McTell,who made me feel less homesick.
Ralph McTell never gets in the way of his songs. The simplicity and power of it brought tears to my eyes,. BTW, this is the first song I ever performed on guitar in public, at the age of 16.
One of my Dads favorite artists and he would play that song to family and friends over the years. Unfortunately he passed away recently so I'm listening to allot of Ralph McTell at the moment.
What a gent , what a song , what a voice . what a pleasure to see him again after all these years. "Ralph Albert and Sydney " an album I never tyre of listening to. Thanks Ralph .
Beautiful song...' In a world that doesn't care..' how relevant this line in the song today. Homelesness indeed abound the world over that often times we don't seem to care. Thanks Ralph for your song's message
Beautiful, The master Ralph McTell, "Such a beautiful amazing song., and performance. "The lyrics say it all... Your vocals are amazing sir. Bless you..♥♥🧡💜🎸🎸🎸🙏🙏🙏
My wife and I spent the festival running perimeter gates as part of the Oxfam team. I was walking to meet her at the Acoustic Crew Bar, and stopped to watch the last three songs of Ralph's set, leaning back against one of the big top supports, drinking it in, harmonising a bit... By the end of this, I was in floods. Just one of "those moments". Thanks for the video.
Me too! Walking up to see Richard Thompson (C19 Cancellation) then Acoustic Crew bar before Macca (nice loop). Saw RMcT when I was in single digits at Fairport Reunion Cropredy in the late 70's and never forgot it. His voice has not weakened, it was truly moving. A great late replacement for RT! Class.
A junior school teacher of mine (Mr Hill) used to bring his guitar in and sing this song. It sounds indulgent, but it resonated with me as education then, and still does. Everyone needs to hear this song
In 1972 in D.C., Ralph was one of those English guys we loved along with Fairport, Pentangle and Steeleye Span. Right up there with all the other "singer/sonwriters" then....so many.... We were SO lucky to have the best then. Nobody since has attained the skill and magic they had. Ralph was the handsome guy then with the soulful solid voice and great guitar playing. It was perfect and fit in with all our Burrito Brothers, Grateful Dead, Byrds, Airplane favorites. What a time! Thanks Ralph.
Missed listening to the old school, 70 this tear all of those days have passed me in a flash of of an eye. Still amazing music Ralph. Thanks and best wishes. Mike
I saw Ralph the first time in summer 1972, which I realise now was fifty years ago. This was at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. He was dishy when he was young.
The centre of folk music is that "other folks will sing it too" - that's the way it's passed along and the message spreads. I would not dream to speak for Mr McTell but for me, at least, the audience singing along with a song that means something, or joining in the chorus of the drinking song (while endangering those near them by waving their glasses over their heads, sometimes) has always filled me with joy, even in the saddest song. I'll never take the stage at Glastonbury or fill a big venue, but stick me in some waterfront dive where all the patrons smell of fish and they not only know all the choruses but have experienced what we're singing about and we'll blow the roof off. And probably go home in tears too, but they'll be GOOD tears.
I've seen Ralph perform so many times in my life, I'd half expected him to be a little less able in his later years, but here he is as wonderful as ever with voice and guitar. The first album I owned was My Side of Your Window - I still have it, along with a lot of other of Ralph's albums. One of my lifetime musical heroes.
He gets quite annoyed that no one is interested in anything else he has done. A whole set staring out at an indifferent audience who suddenly become animated when he plays streets of London. Poor sod. At least it paid for his house. The anti nowhere league did a good version though.
@@Wizzy-Waywell I have heard Ralph sing SOL every time he has toured Australia. It was only in the later years' that the audience really joined with him and sang the song as one. It's a very moving song.
Eek...I was a young man dashing around the streets of London..heading to concert after concert ~ Now I'm the old man & needing to heed his words now! Music is my saving grace 🙏🎧😍
Gosh, that's lovely, and when gets the girls to sing on their own, gasp... what a gorgeous song. I've sung it hundreds a times, including on the streets of london when I started out as a busker. Thank you Ralph, for a beautiful, ageless song.
Love the sound of the audience singing along. Never seen him live but it's a big regret although this song is one of the first I ever learned. Never grows old..
He is incredible live and you also get to meet him after the show - if you can go - go, I had a bucket list to see the searchers, tick, the merseybeats, tick, Jerry and the Pacemakers, tick, Tom Paxton, tick, Glen Campbell, tick, and Vin Garbutt and Bert Jansh who both sadly died before I could get to see them perform, so don't regret it go and see him.
This song, along with The Boxer, is what prompted me to pick up my mum’s guitar and start trying to play it. Nearly 50 years on, I’m still learning. Better than I was, not as good as I’d like to be. And the crowd sang along, knowing all the words - that is music. ❤
Ralph McTell came along at the right time for me.....during my Folk period and spending years trying to learn guitar! "Streets" is a classic which sounds as fresh today as it did 53 years ago.
This is the first song that I remember being played on the guitar. My primary school teacher used to sing it while playing his guitar to us in class. I never grow old of hearing it and it takes me back to being 6 or 7
In the late 60’s early ‘70’s Ralph was one of those artists who was at the vanguard of the acoustic folk scene. There were others like Bert Jansch, John Renbourne, Richard Thompson , Davey Graham to name but a few. They made you want to pick up an acoustic guitar and of course the song you HAD to learn was Streets of London. Roll forward a few years and whilst at university in York , Ralph came to do a concert. (1975)I had to take drinks to his dressing room but was met at the door by his brother who opened the door only slightly to take the tray off me and very politely thanked me. I was disappointed not to meet Ralph but learned afterwards that he was actually being sick from nerves. Of course his performance was great but then I saw this and it took me straight back. It’s a wonderful song and a legacy to a true artist
Hey - another from York Uni. Me too I was there 71 to 74. Saw McCartney and Wings play Goodriche College dining room. Other acts I got to see were Kinks (Ray Davies a real showman), Steve Harley + Cockney Rebel (chaotic), Lindisfarne (disappointing), John Williams (guitarist) but best of all were Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee in Derwent College dining room. Roxy Music played too but for some reason I decided not to go see them.
@@harlech52 hey welcome 😀I was there 73-76 but missed McCartney because he had played there before I arrived. I was at the Kinks Williams and Harley concerts too ( Harley in Langwith Dining Room, Kinks in Central Hall). Didn't see Sonny Terry. Ten Years After were my 'freshers' concert but had sold out even before we got there. I saw Folkie Mike Harding who was hilarious and Sparks ( who played their first UK concert at York). I was on the college Ents committee and saw them unload. They had price tags on their equipment! I saw Fairport and Steeleye Span ( who had a drink in Goodricke bar before the concert) and then one of the guys on the door wouldn't let them in. I said 'I think you should, this is the band'. Happy days
This is what the BBC should have broadcasted - not loads of acts that no one has ever heard of
I agree, still some good acts on at Glastonbury but you have to go looking...
Totally agree.
‘No one has heard of’ … you mean acts you haven’t heard of. Many will not have heard of Ralph McTell
@@NigelWest1950 then you need to look him up
@Macavity as bad as yours
This has been covered a trillion times but it's never better than when it's in the hands of the master.👏
I agree, good Glastonbury still has some good acts on
I understand that it's most likely the song people identify with the most; I have his back catalog, and a live recording released on Fantasy Records, where he performs the song in question. People also sing along on this recording, and I just think that it's beautiful in its own way. The song is a standard, and always will be.
I originally heard Anti Nowhere League's version, but this kicks ass.
A real master and a brilliant song. Came from heaven.
Well, whilst I appreciate his frustration, some singers have never had a song as well known, covered and the like as Ralph has with SOL. Many, many highly talented singers will leave the planet without having had a recording contract, written and recorded a modern classic and made a reasonable, no more it would seem, living from song.
Probably the most beautiful song ever written
Ralph McTell is a crowd-pleaser. Anyone can sing along with this song & probably enjoy it.
i agree
It's up there.
The sound of my childhood. Thank you Ralph.
I was in tears hearing the crowd singing his song - wonderful well done everyone
Me too!
One of the greatest songs ever written. It stands up there with "Starry starry night" and "Annie's song".
i agree ....true love ways
annies song
streets of london
The tragedy is that this song is probably as relevant now in 2022 as when it was written.
Whilst i will never tire of hearing it, especially from the master himself, wouldn't it be wonderful if the legacy of this song was that loneliness was a thing of the past like smallpox.
Absolutely great performance. Why won't the BBC show proper music like this
I find amazing that a poignant song with sad overtones has made me smile. One man & a guitar carries a relevant message that nearly all humanity has witnessed in some form.
The most beautiful song but also the saddest ❤️
Probably the nicest person in the business. Great to see him still appreciated more than twenty years after I met him in Doncaster and he spent absolutely ages chatting to just four people, representing three generations of fans. In the end, WE left him, apologising for keeping him so long after his concert. He told us there was no need to go yet, he'd be happy to stay longer.
It's amazing to hear he still sings this better than anyone, with such feeling, after so many decades.
That's just the kind of lovely man he is and always has been.
Well said morag .
In 2002 he replied to my email. Amazing!
@@robertcudlipp3426sss
Ralph will live forever with this song. Any young guitarist wanting to learn to fingerpick MUST listen to this song.
Just home from one of Ralph's concerts....fantastic night...what a voice, what a gentleman 😊
50 odd years later and still a class song by a class musician the likes of which does not exist today....
It does if you really want to hear it.
Saw him at the Bottom Line in September 1971 and have loved him ever since. This is such a beautiful song .
This wonderful song still has relevance today. Legend .
As long as humanity exists, this song will be relevant.
I first walked the streets of london when I was twelve, I had run away from a tiny village,went into care and heard this song, amazing and thank you so much xx
Glad you enjoyed it
This is the one.
Rather amazing. Sitting here bawling like a baby. I can't explain it, but this song reminds me of something we've lost maybe.
We've lost London.
We've lost our country.
Such an amazing song. I used to sing it at school. It really helped me feel empathy for others. It's amazing what music can do...
I remember this song when I was living on those same streets of London for a few months as a newly arrived Canadian with no money and with no job in the early 70's. I stayed for almost 5 years, and yes I finally found work. Those were heady times and wonderful memories, thanks to great musicians like Ralph McTell,who made me feel less homesick.
Beautiful song just as good today as it was back then 🌹
This song has never been more relevant!!..more lonely, forgotten ,homeless people than there was back then!😪
The Master and his craft at work
first heard this song whilst on holiday in perth western australia in december 1974,it brought tears to all the english expats eyes,great memories
Ralph McTell never gets in the way of his songs. The simplicity and power of it brought tears to my eyes,. BTW, this is the first song I ever performed on guitar in public, at the age of 16.
What a wonderful anthem , so special. Every time I hear it it’s like the first time.
One of the best songs ever .
What a class act Ralph you still got 👍❤️👍
Ralph must have sung this thousands of times, but each time sounds as if it’s the first. He shows respect for his song and for his audiences.
Uploaded another one i filmed at Glastonbury "From Clare to Here", hope you enjoy that as well
One of my Dads favorite artists and he would play that song to family and friends over the years. Unfortunately he passed away recently so I'm listening to allot of Ralph McTell at the moment.
@@paulbanner9612 Sorry to hear about your loss. My parents died a long time ago, but still think about them most days. Sounds trite but time can heal.
What a gent , what a song , what a voice . what a pleasure to see him again after all these years. "Ralph Albert and Sydney " an album I never tyre of listening to. Thanks Ralph .
Beautiful song...' In a world that doesn't care..' how relevant this line in the song today. Homelesness indeed abound the world over that often times we don't seem to care. Thanks Ralph for your song's message
My dad's favourite song. R.i.p dad x
Listening to this since he wrote it, remember it every time I’m taking my own troubles too seriously. Bless Sir
Beautiful, The master Ralph McTell, "Such a beautiful amazing song., and performance. "The lyrics say it all... Your vocals are amazing sir. Bless you..♥♥🧡💜🎸🎸🎸🙏🙏🙏
This song will outlive many generations but it will still be very fresh and relevant to generations yet unborn 👍👍
Still as good now as it was nearly 50 years ago. Ralph McTell's voice is just as good now.
I was welling up listening to Ralph and his backing band i.e. the audience, and I'm an Aussie..!
My wife and I spent the festival running perimeter gates as part of the Oxfam team. I was walking to meet her at the Acoustic Crew Bar, and stopped to watch the last three songs of Ralph's set, leaning back against one of the big top supports, drinking it in, harmonising a bit... By the end of this, I was in floods. Just one of "those moments". Thanks for the video.
Glad you enjoyed it, was also working there on the Camper-van Fields, Oxfam do a great job..
Me too! Walking up to see Richard Thompson (C19 Cancellation) then Acoustic Crew bar before Macca (nice loop). Saw RMcT when I was in single digits at Fairport Reunion Cropredy in the late 70's and never forgot it. His voice has not weakened, it was truly moving. A great late replacement for RT! Class.
@@charlesmaasz247 funnily enough, I'll be in Cropredy in two weeks' time, compering the Rock On The Lock charity event that kicks off convention week.
Still gets me all these years later.
@@richharding7927 We've been getting the kit together today for Cropredy again. Our first one was Tippler's Tales in 1978....
This song crossed every border on the planet. Congrats Sir. 😎
Amazing song , sung by an amazing singer .👏👏
I wanted to say a big thank you Ralph. You are the best 👍
This man is a legend.
Uploaded another one i filmed at Glastonbury "From Clare to Here", hope you enjoy that as well
The audience sing along as if it was rehearsed. It was always in the background when I was a kid and was it seems for many others. Nice one Ralph.
Beautiful wasn't it?
A junior school teacher of mine (Mr Hill) used to bring his guitar in and sing this song. It sounds indulgent, but it resonated with me as education then, and still does. Everyone needs to hear this song
I remember a student teacher coming to my junior school and singing this
Still gives me goosebumps. Love him and this one in a million song. Tks Ralph. ❤️❤️🥳🤗🇦🇺
Just class , makes my heart flutter.. Always has !
A beautiful breathtaking classic song. 💚💐
the Master Thank you so much i love the song will play it till the day i die god bless Xxx
In 1972 in D.C., Ralph was one of those English guys we loved along with Fairport, Pentangle and Steeleye Span. Right up there with all the other "singer/sonwriters" then....so many.... We were SO lucky to have the best then. Nobody since has attained the skill and magic they had. Ralph was the handsome guy then with the soulful solid voice and great guitar playing. It was perfect and fit in with all our Burrito Brothers, Grateful Dead, Byrds, Airplane favorites. What a time! Thanks Ralph.
Missed listening to the old school, 70 this tear all of those days have passed me in a flash of of an eye. Still amazing music Ralph.
Thanks and best wishes. Mike
Glad you enjoyed it
I saw Ralph the first time in summer 1972, which I realise now was fifty years ago. This was at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. He was dishy when he was young.
Got to be one of the best songs ever written, well played and sung Ralph, never get tired of hearing and playing it Thanks. 😉
Beautiful just beautiful, Thanks Ralph & Glastonbury crowd the eyes are getting moist♥️✌️
Glad you enjoyed it
The centre of folk music is that "other folks will sing it too" - that's the way it's passed along and the message spreads. I would not dream to speak for Mr McTell but for me, at least, the audience singing along with a song that means something, or joining in the chorus of the drinking song (while endangering those near them by waving their glasses over their heads, sometimes) has always filled me with joy, even in the saddest song. I'll never take the stage at Glastonbury or fill a big venue, but stick me in some waterfront dive where all the patrons smell of fish and they not only know all the choruses but have experienced what we're singing about and we'll blow the roof off. And probably go home in tears too, but they'll be GOOD tears.
how well written Mr Booth, i too will join in a chorus or two and possibly shed a tear at the memories conjured up..
@@GrahamBriggs Yes me too....
No, ah shant , ahm practicing orange
Takes me back to my 21st birthday on 14/02/1978 when we gate crashed the end if a Ralph McTell concert at Reading University. Awesome.
50 years old, something has to be right with this song. Timeless
This song makes me cry and get goose bumps. I love it so much..
Magic Mctell……….well sung girls……….what a treat from a legend……thankyou🇦🇺
Had the greatest pleasure in meeting this wonderful man many years ago in Australia, absolute legend and a gentleman.
Beautiful. Takes me back nearly 50 years and picking up a guitar for the very first time at school. Life was much simpler and uncomplicated then.
Sadly still applicable today, what a wonderful song by a wonderful troubadour.
I've seen Ralph perform so many times in my life, I'd half expected him to be a little less able in his later years, but here he is as wonderful as ever with voice and guitar.
The first album I owned was My Side of Your Window - I still have it, along with a lot of other of Ralph's albums.
One of my lifetime musical heroes.
Such a great writer, singer and guitar picker.
So down to earth and modest as well - he doesn't quite get the Northern sence of humour though
I would imagine that the audience singing along would be very moving for Mr. Ralph McTell. Beautiful performance.
Uploaded another one i filmed at Glastonbury "From Clare to Here", hope you enjoy that as well
He gets quite annoyed that no one is interested in anything else he has done. A whole set staring out at an indifferent audience who suddenly become animated when he plays streets of London. Poor sod. At least it paid for his house. The anti nowhere league did a good version though.
It's the same every time he's sung SOL for many years.
Jeeze it was moving for me so the hairs must have stood up on the back of his neck
@@Wizzy-Waywell I have heard Ralph sing SOL every time he has toured Australia.
It was only in the later years' that the audience really joined with him and sang the song as one.
It's a very moving song.
One of the GREAT songs
Eek...I was a young man dashing around the streets of London..heading to concert after concert ~ Now I'm the old man & needing to heed his words now! Music is my saving grace 🙏🎧😍
Got goosebumps listening to this. Well done to all Ralph's backing singers AKA the Glasto crowd👍
My wife and I saw Ralph in Stratford upon Avon quite a few years ago and he performed this - lovely bloke and a timeless classic
Timeless! As true today as it was when originally recorded.
Timeless, beautiful and moving
Brilliant!!!!
Thank-you🙏 for Reminding Me. 💭🤺🐸
There are no words……..❤️
Uploaded another one i filmed at Glastonbury "From Clare to Here", hope you enjoy that as well
Wish I had written this. Nothing to do with royalties, all about the legacy. Masterful.
Simply wonderful Ralph thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
This song is so good! Sunday Apr 23, 2023
Beautiful! Ralph Mctell still has a great voice and the live version doesn't get any better than this.
Thanks for listening
a masterclass of a lovely song sung by a lovely musician with lovely people.
This brilliant song has stood the test of time and more relevent now than when it was written all those years ago ..Ralph McTell....
Gosh, that's lovely, and when gets the girls to sing on their own, gasp... what a gorgeous song. I've sung it hundreds a times, including on the streets of london when I started out as a busker. Thank you Ralph, for a beautiful, ageless song.
Glad you enjoyed it
Just imagine being there in the middle of this. ❤
Has me in tears every time I hear this.
Love the sound of the audience singing along. Never seen him live but it's a big regret although this song is one of the first I ever learned. Never grows old..
He is incredible live and you also get to meet him after the show - if you can go - go, I had a bucket list to see the searchers, tick, the merseybeats, tick, Jerry and the Pacemakers, tick, Tom Paxton, tick, Glen Campbell, tick, and Vin Garbutt and Bert Jansh who both sadly died before I could get to see them perform, so don't regret it go and see him.
oh, this is fab, loving this live version
The story of the song is as true today as it was then
This song, along with The Boxer, is what prompted me to pick up my mum’s guitar and start trying to play it. Nearly 50 years on, I’m still learning. Better than I was, not as good as I’d like to be.
And the crowd sang along, knowing all the words - that is music. ❤
He played the Whitla Hall at Queen’s University Belfast in , I think, 1972. Nothing changes. That mellifluous voice…and the guitar!!
Ein wunderschönes Lied....Danke
Taught this to my Year 4 class in my first year as a teacher in 1981 ... kids love it.
How fantastic,so simple, but just so bloody fantastic 👍
First song I ever learned to sing and play. Thanks Ralph. :-)
Ralph McTell came along at the right time for me.....during my Folk period and spending years trying to learn guitar! "Streets" is a classic which sounds as fresh today as it did 53 years ago.
Still up there with best of Britfolk,well done.
This is the first song that I remember being played on the guitar. My primary school teacher used to sing it while playing his guitar to us in class. I never grow old of hearing it and it takes me back to being 6 or 7
Same here. I was rubbish at the guitar and had no real desire for it, but learned this one - what a song.
In the late 60’s early ‘70’s Ralph was one of those artists who was at the vanguard of the acoustic folk scene. There were others like Bert Jansch, John Renbourne, Richard Thompson , Davey Graham to name but a few. They made you want to pick up an acoustic guitar and of course the song you HAD to learn was Streets of London. Roll forward a few years and whilst at university in York , Ralph came to do a concert. (1975)I had to take drinks to his dressing room but was met at the door by his brother who opened the door only slightly to take the tray off me and very politely thanked me. I was disappointed not to meet Ralph but learned afterwards that he was actually being sick from nerves. Of course his performance was great but then I saw this and it took me straight back. It’s a wonderful song and a legacy to a true artist
His brother is called Bruce, he was my manager in 1980.
Hey - another from York Uni. Me too I was there 71 to 74. Saw McCartney and Wings play Goodriche College dining room. Other acts I got to see were Kinks (Ray Davies a real showman), Steve Harley + Cockney Rebel (chaotic), Lindisfarne (disappointing), John Williams (guitarist) but best of all were Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee in Derwent College dining room. Roxy Music played too but for some reason I decided not to go see them.
@@harlech52 hey welcome 😀I was there 73-76 but missed McCartney because he had played there before I arrived. I was at the Kinks Williams and Harley concerts too ( Harley in Langwith Dining Room, Kinks in Central Hall). Didn't see Sonny Terry. Ten Years After were my 'freshers' concert but had sold out even before we got there. I saw Folkie Mike Harding who was hilarious and Sparks ( who played their first UK concert at York). I was on the college Ents committee and saw them unload. They had price tags on their equipment! I saw Fairport and Steeleye Span ( who had a drink in Goodricke bar before the concert) and then one of the guys on the door wouldn't let them in. I said 'I think you should, this is the band'. Happy days
when the girls sang the chorus it became ethereal
timeless,everlasting tune.a song of lovely London.
Uploaded another one i filmed at Glastonbury "From Clare to Here", hope you enjoy that as well
Quelle belle chanson ! thank you Monsieur Ralph Mc Tell
Wonderful song, wonderful unique singer. Thank you for all the music over the years Ralph x💗🎶📀
Uploaded another one i filmed at Glastonbury "From Clare to Here", hope you enjoy that as well
and what a beautiful guitar player he has always been...
Taught me a lot about finger picking so unique not up the neck stuff like Jansh nothing fancy but note perfect.