Danny Boy by Malachy McCourt

INTRODUCTION
    Anyone who has ever claimed Irish roots or been within earshot of a pub on the 17th of March has, knowingly or not, catalogued the tune of “Danny Boy” in the music box of their memory. The mystery and myth surrounding the air has elevated it from beloved ballad to sacred script. As if passed from generation to generation through a game of “whispering down the lane,” where one child whispers a story into the ear of another, and the story transforms along a chain of children, the story of this song has metamorphosed.
    Officially, “Danny Boy” is a song of two verses totaling 155 words. Speculation about the meaning of these words is as ripe as when the song was first published in 1913, a year before World War I broke out in Europe. While the lyricist is known to us, the composer’s name is still uncertain. Here, then, I have tried to throw the requisite light on the melody’s murky origins so that all singers can raise their voices with fervor or in sorrow or with passion, and attain a deeper understanding of the song that has inspired so much emotion for generations.
    It is generally assumed that “Danny Boy” is an Irish song, but most people will be surprised to learn thatwhilst the air is sprung from Hibernian roots, a biddable British barrister by the name of Fred may well have penned the words while riding to court on a commuter train. A great many questions have been raised regarding the nuances and connotations of the song. “Danny Boy” speaks to Irish society, politics, religion, war, economics, sports, and, of course, the history of Irish art and music, a song that encompasses and encourages intense nationalistic pride. In these pages we’ll go back to the Land of Derry, where legend says the tune to our boy Danny was born, and along the way, we’ll attempt to uncover two of the biggest uncertainties surrounding “Danny Boy”: The origin of the melody (known as the Derry air or the Londonderry air) and exactly who is addressing Danny in the song.
    From a performance perspective, it’s understandable how John McDermott and Rosemary Clooney might have been inspired to add “Danny Boy” to their repertoires, but we’ll also discover how latter day crooners such as Eric Clapton and the late Freddie Mercury could not resist the call of the pipes. Ballad singers, wedding singers, pub singers, opera singers, pop singers and even non-singers continue to reprise this song, because the sentiments affect the heart and the music of it has endured for three hundred years, making it one of the greatest perennials of all time.
    Oh, Danny boy, the pipes,
    the pipes are calling
    From glen to glen and down
    the mountain side
    The summer’s gone
    and all the flowers are dying
    â€˜Tis you, ‘tis you must go
    and I must bide.
    But come ye back
    when summer’s in the meadow
    Or when the valley’s hushed
    and white with snow
    â€˜Tis I’ll be here in sunshine
    or in shadow
    Oh, Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love
    you so!
    And if ye come,
    and all the flow’rs are dying
    If I am dead, as dead
    I well may be,
    Ye’ll come and find the place
    where I am lying
    And kneel and say an Ave there
    for me.
    And I shall hear, though soft you tread
    above me,
    And all my grave will warmer,
    sweeter be,
    For you will bend and tell me that
    you love me,
    And I shall sleep in peace
    until you come to me.
    â€“Frederick Edward Weatherly

An Ave there for me

    The Melody
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    T here’s an odd bunch roaming this earth, generally known as collectors. They purchase, exchange, swap, and steal all manner of material goods: stamps, pottery, paintings, baseball cards, furniture, and coins; they even stockpile and trade items like Coca Cola bottles and old shoes. The oddest of the lot might actually be the folk song singer, almost always collectors as well as performers. It is not at all unusual for the singer to offer a long