"The sound of the town" Tuam Favorite Tip by sourbugger

Favorite thing: The band the 'Saw doctors' are all Tuam men, born and dragged up. They tour all over the world. Perhaps best known as a raucous stage act, they have a devoted following in Ireland, an almost manical devotion in Tuam. They are also known right across America.

They still play hometown gigs occassionally, and band members can often be found having a quiet drink in a local bar.

Many of their songs refer to their hometown such as a personal favourite of mine about the N17 (the road from Galway to Tuam) whose lyrics lie below :

Well I didn't see much future
When I left the Christian brothers school
So I waved it goodbye with a wistful smile
And I left the girls of Tuam
And sometimes when I'm reminiscing
I see the prefabs and my old friends
And I know that they'll be changed or gone
By the time I get home again

Chorus:
And I wish I was on that N 17
(Stone walls and the grasses green)
Yes I wish I was on that N 17
(Stone walls and the grasses green)
Travelling with just my thoughts and dreams

Well the ould fella left me to Shannon
Was the last time I travelled that road
and as I turned left at Claregalway
I could feel a lump in my throat
As I pictured the thousands of times
That I travelled that well worn track
And I know that things would be different
If I ever decide to go back

Chorus:

Now as I tumble down highways
Or filthy overcrowded trains
There's no one to talk to in transit
So I sit there and daydream in vain
And behind all these muddled up problems
Of living on a foreign soil
I can still see the twists and turns on the road
From the square to the town of the tribes