#skirmish #folk #acoustic #AI demo Thanks to @longbat for inspiring this trip down memory lane. I grew up in inner-ring Boston, in what became known as a "streetcar suburb" as the new technology of the late 1880's (horse cars and trolleys) made it possible to commute the 3 miles to downtown. It was an area of factories and refineries and chemical plants. Very blue-collar, and at the time transitioning from Yankee to Irish/Italian/Jewish/Polish. It's changed yet again, with Brazilian and Haitian immigrants replacing the earlier groups. A great place to grow up especially since you could take the T and not be dependent on your parents to drive you everywhere. I'm not sure I'd let my 9 year old take the MBTA in to see a Red Sox or Celtics or Bruins game, but no one thought twice about that. I'm about 2000 miles away without music tools, so I'm going to use Suno AI for a suitable demo. (As if you couldn't tell the singing is way better!)

HAMPSHIRE STREET (c) 2026 raspberry33

Inner-ring Boston, what’s known as a streetcar suburb Houses planted on hills in the 1880’s A dense neighborhood of big Victorian homes Many now divided to hold two or three families

The neighborhood was settled by Yankee stock But as Brahmins left for leafier places Irish, Italian, Polish and Jewish moved in Later we welcomed Asian and Haitian faces

Chorus: Hampshire Street – still there today A bit different now, but mostly the same Hampshire Street – I’ve been away for years There’s no one who remembers my name Because the melting pot gets stirred and refilled And that’s a very good thing.

verse 2: Stickball in the summer, tag football in fall Street hockey once cold weather arrived Basketball leagues at the YMCA For a kid, a great time to be alive

Dads worked construction or union jobs When there were hundreds of factories It’s different now, and costs a lot more Then when you could smell the Humble refinery

CHORUS

Verse 3: Way before Walkmans or iPods Music was shared with everyone nearby Transistor radios tuned to one of 2 AM stations R.K.O. or M.E.X. in junior high

(bridge) Things changed quickly in the seventies And then suddenly grown, we departed Scattered to colleges, jobs and new lives Though we’ll never forget where we started

CHORUS and out