"Parisienne Walkways" is a song by guitarist

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

that reached number 8 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in May 1979. The song is featured on Moore's album '' Back on the Streets'' and features a vocal from

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

frontman,

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

, who co-wrote the song with Moore. Lynott also played bass guitar on the track, alongside Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey, thus reuniting the short-lived 1974 Thin Lizzy line-up which had recorded " Still in Love with You", "Sitamoia" and the single "Little Darling". The melody of "Parisienne Walkways" is based on the

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

Blue Bossa "Blue Bossa" is an instrumental jazz composition by Kenny Dorham. It was introduced on Joe Henderson's 1963 album '' Page One''. A blend of hard bop and bossa nova, the tune was possibly influenced by Dorham's visit to the Rio de Janeiro Jazz Fest ...

" by

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public ...

. It became Gary Moore's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. According to Richard Buskin, the opening line, "I remember Paris in '49", was an amendment of the line as it appeared in the original sheet music — "I remember Paris in the fall tonight" — and refers to Phil's missing father, Cecil Paris, and his birth-year, 1949. A lament for the father he never had, dressed up in romantic nostalgia. The guitarist continued to play the song as an encore at concerts throughout his career. A live version of the track, recorded at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, was released in 1993 as part of a limited edition 4-track CD single entitled "Parisienne Walkways '93" and went on to reach #32 in the UK Singles Chart. This version appeared on Moore's 1993 live album '' Blues Alive'' and was also included on the 2002 compilation album '' The Best Air Guitar Album in the World... II''. The original single and a 1983 live version feature as the first and final track on the 2006 compilation, '' The Platinum Collection''. Gary Moore played the song in concert while with the

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...

Band during 1981–82. Their performance on 5 November 1981, recorded at the

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

in London, and aired on the ''

King Biscuit Flower Hour The ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock music recording artists. History The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 19 ...

'' radio broadcast, was first released on CD in 1995 on the band's third album

King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake in Concert ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake In Concert'' is a live album of the Greg Lake Band recorded in concert November 5, 1981, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, that was broadcast live on the ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' radi ...

Track listing

1979 UK 7" single # "Parisienne Walkways" (Lynott, Moore) – 3:08 # "Fanatical Fascists" (Lynott) – 2:44 1993 UK 7" single # "Parisienne Walkways '93" – 5:01 # "Still Got the Blues" – 6:54 1993 UK CD single # "Parisienne Walkways '93" – 5:01 # "Since I Met You Baby" (with

B.B.King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shim ...

) – 4:40 # "Still Got the Blues" – 6:54 # "Key to Love" – 2:20

Chart performance

¹ 1993 live version

Personnel

– guitars, backing vocals, mandolin, accordion, production *

– lead vocals, bass guitar, double bass * Brian Downey – drums

Cover versions

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

covered it on their 1979 album ''

String of Hits ''String of Hits'' is the twelfth studio album by British instrumental (and sometimes vocal) rock group The Shadows, released in 1979 through EMI. Background The album was an attempt to cover recent hit singles in the Shadows' trademark instr ...

''.

Tribe of Gypsies Tribe of Gypsies are a San Fernando Valley, California-based Latin rock group, best known for band leader/guitarist Roy Z who has produced, written for, and played with such well-known artists as Judas Priest, Rob Halford, Sepultura and Bruc ...

recorded a cover for their 2000 album '' Standing on the Shoulders of Giants'', with a dedication to Phil Lynott's mother, Philomena. The track also appeared on ''The Spirit of the Black Rose - A Tribute to Philip Parris Lynott'' album in 2001.

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

and

Kerry Ellis Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at L ...

covered the song on their 2017 Album Golden Days. Former Gary Moore bassist

Bob Daisley Robert John Daisley (born 13 February 1950) is a retired Australian bass guitarist. He has collaborated on several occasions with Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, backing vocals, co-production and songwriting. He has also worked wi ...

recorded the song with

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

and

Ricky Warwick Ricky Warwick (born 11 July 1966) is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy. He is also the frontman for the Scottish hard rock band The Almighty, with whom he achieved chart success in ...

for the Daisley initiated ''Moore Blues for Gary (A Tribute to Gary Moore)'' album, released in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parisienne Walkways 1978 songs 1978 debut singles Gary Moore songs Songs written by Gary Moore Songs written by Phil Lynott Live singles Songs about Paris Albums produced by Chris Tsangarides