Fall River native sings ode to his birthplace in new song

He is a folk singer/songwriter who is proud of his roots. His songs deal with his gritty blue-collar hometown and the lives of his family and friends. Writing a song solely based on Fall River was a perfect match.

Mike Laureanno has written and recorded a new song entitled “I Come From Fall River” and it comes from a place of love for where he grew up.

“I wrote the song, “I Come From Fall River” because I felt that Fall River has gotten a bad rap for being stereotyped as a depressed mill town. To me, Fall River is sort of like a bulldog. She’s got a face only a mother can love and I’m damn proud to say that I love that face, because it’s the face of the people who built the city, who toiled to make a living and raise a family there. I was born in the south end and I come from a long line of immigrant Portuguese and French mill workers. They took great pride in their labor.”

​Laureanno, who is a winner of the 2017 Wildflower, TX songwriting contest, the 2016 Woody Guthrie songwriting contest and a 2016 Kerrville New Folk, TX finalist, leaves several recognizable references on the track and has a pulse on the old Fall River culture.

“By and large I find most people in Fall River are good hard working folks just trying to get by. Sure we’ve made mistakes and we need a little TLC, but the city’s got great bones. We just need to put back some honest flesh on ‘em. My grandfather used to say, “All work is honorable. It doesn’t matter if the pay is peanuts. A dirty shirt is honest work”. That stuck with me.”

Laureanno isn’t afraid to point out, both in the song and in his comments, what he feels were some of the cities failings.

“The burying of its namesake natural resource, the Quequechan River, destroying the historic downtown architecture, cutting a highway through the heart of the city, razing the beautiful old city hall and building an ugly concrete one above the highway… despite all that, the people of the city persevered and endured.”

All in all, however, Fall River is a place Laureanno is proud to call his hometown.

Mike has released four albums to date, Pushing Back Wintertime (2013), Road Signs (2015), Tightrope (2017) and Voting Day (2018).

Laureanno will be performing at The New Bedford Folk Festival on July 6-7. In particular, he will have a showcase on Sunday, July 7th at 2:30 p.m. on the Purchase Street Stage accompanied by his two brothers Frank and Tom on bass and drums.