Single:
Downtown entered the Australian singles chart* on 2 January 1965 and was a #1 hit. The song was #19 on the Top 100 of 1965.
Album:
The song was released in Australia on Petula Clark’s 1965 album Downtown.
Songwriter:
Tony Hatch
Producer:
Tony Hatch
Record label of Australian release:
Pye
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Songfacts:
On the surface, this song is about having a delightful time during a trip downtown. But what happens when the night is over and the singer returns to her everyday life? After all, the trip into the city is merely an escape.
While many listeners don’t process the song on this level, Petula does. An accomplished actress, she thinks of her songs as “mini movies” when she performs them, and considers the feelings behind them. This song, to her, isn’t so chipper. “I’ve always thought there was this loneliness and there’s even a slight feeling of desperation in it,” she said in a Songfacts interview.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/petula-clark/downtown
Lyrics:
When you’re alone, and life is making you lonely
You can always go downtown
When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
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