London Still was a single from their 2003 album Up All Night, which remains to this day an unsung classic acoustic folk/blues/country album.

A lot of the songs on the Up All Night album dealt with issues of distance and homesickness, and London Still seemed to be their definitive homesick tune. The lyric “today I dream of home and not of London anymore” says it all.

Sung by Donna Simpson, the tune has a feeling of lazily living out life in the city but increasingly yearning for home. It describes tube trips over to Camden to wander around and buy records and in that way captures the romance of living in a foreign city.

The guitar work (which I’ll attribute to Josh Cunningham) is flawless and melodic, with cascading acoustic runs and resonating chords punctuating the story. Definitely a classic tune, from a band who are well worth a listen.

I’m a big fan of the Up All Night album, so I suggest you start there if you want to get to know The Waifs better. They’ve also got a new album out called ’sundirtwater’, which I can’t wait to hear.