Songfacts®:

• In America, Tin Pan Alley is the section of New York City where hit songs of the day were written and published from about 1890-1930. In the UK, Tin Pan Alley refers to Denmark Street, a musical hub from roughly 1920-1980 where various studios and publishers were located. Elton John, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones all spent time there. The area inspired the song "Tin Pan Alley" by the Irish singer David Keenan, who included it on his debut album, A Beginner's Guide To Bravery.
• Keenan told Songfacts how he came to write this track. "The song 'Tin Pan Alley' came to me when I was living in London in a Rubik's Cube block of flats," he said. "I spent my days walking the cobbled streets in the pouring rains, content enough observing as an outsider. Back at the desk in the flat were pictures of these great songwriters from the '60s and '70s in a derelict housing estate called Tin Pan Alley. And me amongst them sharing cigarettes and stories, down but not out, moving through with a real sense of hope. The days spent patrolling the place on my own, the nights singing quietly with the guitar much to the lamentation of my housemate, gave it a sense of grace, I think."