"Durham Town (The Leavin')" is a song, written and sung by

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (22 March 1936 – 13 September 2023) was a Kenyan-born British singer-songwriter and musician. His music is an eclectic mixture of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager ...

, released as a single in 1969. It spent 18 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 12. In 1976, the song reached No. 8 on

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' "Pop Music Playlist", while reaching No. 23 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart. The song was also recorded in French translation under the title "Mon pays bleu".

Background

Whittaker's original intent, to set the song in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, was abandoned in favour of nearby

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

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 Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography *River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England * River Tyne, Scotland *River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia Peopl ...

", 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 Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in ...

, to the south, which flows through Durham.

Releases

Under its original title "The Leaver", the song first appeared on Whittaker's 1969 album release ''This is...Roger Whittaker,'' recorded with producer

Denis Preston Sidney Denis Preston (''né'' Prechner, 16 November 1916 – 21 October 1979) was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiffl ...

at Preston's studio in

Lansdowne House Lansdowne House, now 9 Fitzmaurice Place, is the remaining part of an aristocratic English town house building to the south of Berkeley Square in central London, England. The initial name was for two decades Shelburne House, then its title ...

. The track—renamed "Durham Town (The Leavin')"—was issued as a single in October 1969. Whittaker later recalled: "I just didn't have any faith in that song at all. Far from promoting the single in Britain, I went off to Finland for a cabaret season and television appearances." Whittaker returned to Britain in November to find the song ascending the UK Singles Chart towards a No. 12 peak in January 1970. On the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

it was afforded a chart peak of No. 17. In Australia, the single—titled "The Leavin' (Durham Town)"—attracted enough regional success to chart nationally at No. 80. In 1970, the song was included on the North American

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

release of Whittaker's album ''

New World in the Morning ''New World in the Morning'' is a studio album by British singer-songwriter Roger Whittaker released by EMI in 1971. It features some of his most popular folk songs, including the international hit "The Last Farewell" as well as "A Special Kind of ...

'', whose title cut was coupled with "Durham Town" to form Whittaker's first US single. Whittaker recorded a French rendering of the song for the French and Canadian markets, entitled "Mon Pays Bleu (Durham Town)". The wake of the success Whittaker enjoyed with "

The Last Farewell "The Last Farewell" is a song by the British folk singer Roger Whittaker (music and vocals on the original recording) and Ron A. Webster (poem and lyrics). Whittaker hosted a radio programme in the United Kingdom, backed by an orchestra with arran ...

" in the summer of 1975 resulted in the reissue of "Durham Town" in the US and Canada, where the track became an

hit. The song was also included on the album ''The Last Farewell & Other Hits'', issued by RCA Victor in 1975.

Cover versions

The song has also been recorded by Anne and Laura Brand on the 1970 album ''The Pride O' The North'', by

Val Doonican Michael Valentine 'Val' Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening and novelty songs, noted for his warm and relaxed vocal style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in t ...

as "Leaving (Durham Town)" on the 1971 album ''Just A Sittin' And A Rockin' '', and by Finnish singer Robin as "Jäähyväiset" (1970). In 2016, the French version ("Mon pays bleu") was recorded and released as a single by the Canadian singer

Natasha St-Pier Natasha St-Pier (born 10 February 1981) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and television presenter. She is of Acadian heritage, and grew up in the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River valley of New Brunswick, but has spent most of ...

. The cover appeared as the title track of a tribute album to Whittaker produced by the Quebec singer

Mario Pelchat Mario Pelchat (born 1 February 1964) is a Canadian Francophone singer from Quebec. He received the Felix Award in 1990 and 1992. Biography Pelchat was born in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec and has performed since 1973. His first 45 RPM single was ...

, and was also released as a single..

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles Roger Whittaker songs Columbia Records singles Songs about England