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"Danny Boy" is a
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, written by English songwriter
Frederic Weatherly Frederic Edward Weatherly, KC (4 October 1848 – 7 September 1929) was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He was christened and brought up using the name Frederick Edward Weatherly, and appears to have adopted the spelling 'F ...
in 1913, and set to the traditional Irish melody of " Londonderry Air".


History

In 1910, in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
, the English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly initially wrote the words to "Danny Boy" to a tune other than "Londonderry Air". An alternative story is that Margaret Weatherly sent him a copy of "Londonderry Air" in 1913, Weatherly modified the lyrics of "Danny Boy" to fit its
rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
and meter. Another alternative version of the story has Jess singing the air to Weatherly in 1912 with different lyrics. Another alternative story is that Frederic did not set the poem to any tune, but that his sister-in-law Margaret Enright Weatherly, who together with her husband Edward were living near Ouray, Colorado at the Neosho mine, set the poem in 1913 to the tune of the "Londonderry Air" which she had heard as a child in California played by her father and other Irish railroad workers. Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who made it one of the most popular songs of the new century. Ernestine Schumann-Heink produced the first recording of "Danny Boy" in 1915. Jane Ross of
Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years betwee ...
is credited with collecting the melody of "Londonderry Air" in the mid-19th century from a musician she encountered.


Lyrics

The 1913 lyrics by Frederick E. Weatherly:


Meaning

There are various conjectures about the meaning of "Danny Boy". Some interpret the song to be a message from a parent to a son going off to war or participating in the Irish uprising (as suggested by the reference to "pipes calling glen to glen") or emigrating as part of the
Irish diaspora The Irish diaspora ( ga, Diaspóra na nGael) refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner and Meeder, The ...
. The 1918 version of the sheet music with Weatherly's printed signature included alternative lyrics ("Eily Dear"), with the instructions that "when sung by a man, the words in italic should be used; the song then becomes "Eily Dear", so that "Danny Boy" is only to be sung by a lady". Nonetheless, it is unclear whether this was Weatherly's intent.


Usage

* Percy Grainger's Irish Tune from County Londonderry adapts the Danny Boy/Londonderry Air melody for wind ensemble in 1918. * The song is popular for funerals; but the '' National Catholic Reporter'' wrote in 2001 that it "cannot be played during Mass."


Select recordings

"Danny Boy" has been recorded multiple times by a variety of performers. Several versions are listed below in chronological order. *1940
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
''
Little Nellie Kelly ''Little Nellie Kelly'' is a 1940 American musical-comedy film based on the stage musical of the same title by George M. Cohan which was a hit on Broadway in 1922 and 1923. The film was written by Jack McGowan and directed by Norman Taurog. ...
'' soundtrack. Garland also sang it live at her concerts in Ireland and Scotland and most famously at her New York Palace Theatre debut in 1951. *1940 Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released a single that climbed to #17 in "Pop Memories 1890-1954" (not ''Billboard'' charts); Arranged by Glenn Miller and pianist Chummy MacGregor. *1941
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
''
Merry Christmas The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late Novemb ...
''. "Danny Boy" was paired with " I'll Be Home for Christmas" on its original single. Recorded July 5, 1941. *1941 Deanna Durbin in the film '' It Started with Eve'' *1950
Al Hibbler Albert George Hibbler (August 16, 1915 – April 24, 2001) was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blue ...
released a single that rose to #9 on the R&B chart *1957
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an internati ...
sang the song from the album "An Evening with Harry Belafonte", where he began the song with a spoken recitative, before singing the 2 verses. He repeated the second half of the first verse the second time around. The Recitative goes: "The Time, a time of strife. The Place, the place is Ireland, This Irish legend had it, and the last rose of summer fell, and all the young men of Ireland Were together to stake a blow For Ireland's Freedom and Ireland's liberty, There songs for those who stayed at home, and songs for those who went away, and all O'er Ireland was sad". *1959
Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...
's version charted at #10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, #18 on Top R&B.( banned by the BBC) *1961
Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
used the song's title for his album '' Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing''. The single hit #15 on the U.S. adult contemporary and #64 on the Hot 100 charts. *1964 Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles released a single that peaked at #76 on the Hot 100. *1965 Jackie Wilson's version rose to #94 on the Hot 100 and #25 on the R&B charts. *1967 Ray Price's single hit #60 on the Hot 100 and #9 on the Country charts. *1976
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
on his album From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee *1990 The song was used in the film ''Miller's Crossing'' sang by Irish singer Frank Patterson. *1992
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...
recorded an instrumental version released as a bonus track for '' Change the World'' *1992 John McDermott released the song as an independent single. *1993 Shining Time Station used the song, performed by Rory Dodd, in the episode "Mr. Conductor's Evil Twin" *1998
Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching ...
released the album ''
Voice of an Angel ''Voice of an Angel'' is the debut studio album by then-12-year-old soprano Charlotte Church, released in 1998. The Sony Music recording was extremely popular, selling millions of copies, and made Church the youngest artist in history with a ...
'' by Sony Classical Records. *1998
Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...
sang the song over
Davy Spillane Davy Spillane (born 1959 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician, songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle. Biography Irish music At the age of 12, Spillane started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him ...
's uilleann pipes on Spillane's album ''The Sea of Dreams''. Actor-filmmaker Gabriel Byrne said this version is his favourite. *2002 Eva Cassidy included her acoustic version on the album '' Imagine''. *2002
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...
recorded the song on his album '' American IV: The Man Comes Around'', working with producer Rick Rubin in what would come to be the last album released during his lifetime. Cash had previously recorded the song for his 1965 album '' Orange Blossom Special''.


References


External links

* * *
The Legend and History of the Song ''Danny Boy''


from
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...
Libraries * Libera (choir):
''Danny Boy''
(solo: Isaac London; concert in Armagh Cathedral); Libera Official, 2014 (Youtube).
''Danny Boy''
a cappella (solo: Isaac London; concert in Guildford Cathedral, 16/05/2015); Libera Official, 2015 (Youtube). {{DEFAULTSORT:Danny Boy 1913 songs Songs written by Frederic Weatherly Labelle songs Irish folk songs Folk ballads