Danny Boy

This article is about the folk song. For other uses, see Danny Boy (disambiguation).

"Danny Boy"
Song

"Danny Boy" is a ballad written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly and usually set to the Irish tune of the "Londonderry Air". It is most closely associated with Irish communities.

History

Although initially written to a tune other than "Londonderry Air", the words to "Danny Boy" were penned by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in Bath, Somerset in 1910. After his sister-in-law in the United States sent him a copy of "Londonderry Air", in 1913, Weatherly modified the lyrics of "Danny Boy" to fit the rhyme and meter of "Londonderry Air".

Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who made it one of the most popular songs in the new century; and, in 1915, Ernestine Schumann-Heink produced the first recording of "Danny Boy".

Jane Ross of Limavady is credited with collecting the melody of "Londonderry Air" in the mid-19th century from a musician she encountered.

Lyrics

1940 recording by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on RCA Bluebird, B-10612-B.

(There are a number of variations on these lyrics.)

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 flow'rs are dying
'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
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so.

And if you come, and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, as dead I well may be
I pray you'll 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 warm and sweeter be
And then you'll kneel and whisper that you love me
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.

or I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.

or And I shall rest in peace until you come to me.

or Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so.

Meaning

There are various theories as to the true meaning of "Danny Boy". Some listeners have interpreted the song to be a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora.

The 1918 version of the sheet music 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". In spite of this, it is unclear whether this was Weatherly's intent.

Usage

"Danny Boy" is considered to be an unofficial signature song and anthem, particularly by Irish Americans and Irish Canadians.

The song is popular for funerals; but, as it is not liturgical, its suitability as a funeral song is sometimes contested. In 1928, Weatherly himself suggested that the second verse would provide a fitting requiem for the actress Ellen Terry.

Recordings

"Danny Boy" has been recorded multiple times by a variety of artists. Several versions performed by notable artists are listed below in chronological order.

Year	Artist	Release	Notes and/or Peak Chart Position
1939	Gracie Fields	Shipyard Sally soundtrack
1940 1955	Judy Garland	Little Nellie Kelly soundtrack Miss Showbusiness soundtrack
1940	Glenn Miller and His Orchestra		#17 on Billboard. Arranged by Glenn Miller and pianist Chummy MacGregor.
1946	Deanna Durbin	Because of Him soundtrack
1950	Al Hibbler	Danny Boy	#9
1957	Sam Cooke	Sam Cooke
1959	Conway Twitty		#10 (Hot 100) and #18 (R&B) and #1 in Italy. His version was banned by the BBC.
1959	Harry Belafonte		Live at Carnegie Hall, New York City.
1960	Jim Reeves	Tall Tales and Short Tempers
1961	Andy Williams	Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing	#15 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart and #64 on Billboard. The B-side "Fly by Night" also charted.
1962	Connie Francis	Connie Francis Sings Irish Favorites
1964	Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles	Danny Boy	#76
1964	The Seekers	The Seekers (a.k.a. Roving with The Seekers)
1965	Johnny Cash	Orange Blossom Special
1965	Al Hirt	That Honey Horn Sound
1965	Jackie Wilson		#94 (Hot 100) and #25 (R&B). One of his mother's favorite songs.
1967	Ray Price		#60 (Hot 100) and #9 (Country)
1967	Sarah Vaughan	It’s a Man’s World	Original release: Mercury Stereo SR 611220; released as an audio CD on Verve label in April 2002.
1969	Cher	Jackson Highway
1969	Tom Jones	Las Vegas to London: The Best of Tom Jones Live
1972	Roy Orbison	Memphis	In Roy's version, the singer is Danny Boy who is recalling when his father (who has since died) said farewell to him.
1975	Joan Baez	Diamonds & Rust
1976	Elvis Presley	From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee	The song was one of Elvis's and his father Vernon's favorites and was played at Elvis' funeral.
1979	Kelly Family	The Kelly Family (untitled debut album)	The song was already on the singing family's first cassettes a few years earlier
1979	Thin Lizzy	Black Rose: A Rock Legend	Gary Moore and Phil Lynott often played the tune in jamming sessions in their early days. Under the name of Funky Junction, Thin Lizzy had previously recorded an instrumental version, titled Dan, on their Tribute to Deep Purple album in 1972.
1979	Willie Nelson	One from the Road
1987	Tony Bennett	Jazz	Featuring Stan Getz on tenor sax, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums.
1990	Carly Simon	My Romance
1994	Jerry Lee Lewis	The Locust Years...And the Return to the Promised Land
1995	Charlie Haden Hank Jones	Steal Away
1996	Eric Clapton	Change the World
1996	Shane MacGowan and the Popes	Christmas Party E.P.
1998	Sinéad O'Connor	The Sea of Dreams	Sinéad O'Connor performed the song, adding a third political verse, on whistler and piper Davy Spillane’s album The Sea of Dreams.
1998	Charlotte Church	Voice of an Angel
1998	Jacintha	Here's to Ben
1999	Harry Connick, Jr.	Come by Me
2000	Judy Collins		Judy Collins sang it at her Live at Wolf Trap concert (CD & DVD).
2001	The Irish Tenors	Ellis Island	The song would proceed to be re-released on the albums The Very Best of The Irish Tenors (2002), Heritage (2004), and Ireland (2010).
2002	Megan Mullally	Big as a Berry
2002	Rubén Blades	Mundo
2002	Johnny Cash	American IV: The Man Comes Around
2002	Eva Cassidy	Imagine
2003	Von Trapp Children	Volume 1
2004	Christy Moore	The Box Set 1964–2004
2004	Lena Martell	My Homeland
2004	Mormon Tabernacle Choir	America’s Choir	This arrangement was a cappella, and made by Mack Wilberg, then the associate director for the choir. He later made a second arrangement including orchestra as a bonus track for their 100th anniversary album while he was the chief director.
2005	Celtic Woman	Celtic Woman
2006	Marco T	Cuan grande es El	Himnos y Alabanzas
2008	Celtic Thunder	Act Two
2011	Girls' Generation	2011 Girls' Generation Tour	Five members of the South Korean girl group Girls' Generation (Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany and Seohyun) recorded a studio version and performed the song at The 1st Japan Arena Tour and 2011 Girls' Generation Tour.
2012	Celtic Thunder	Voyage II
2012	Vocal Point	Lead Thou Me On: Hymns and Inspiration
2013	Angelo Kelly	Off Road Live 2	Kelly Family member Angelo now sings Danny Boy with his oldest son
2013	John Butler Trio	Tin Shed Tales	John Butler solo for this song.
2013	John Laing	Awakened	The track is titled Londonderry Air (Danny Boy) on the album. It is done as a piano solo.

In popular culture

• A recording of the song by Shane MacGowan and the Popes is featured in the end credits of the 2013 HBO documentary film, "Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington"
• Sung by English tenor Vernon Midgley in Hear My Song
• Sung by the crowd in The Boxer (1997) before the hyped-up boxing match where both Catholics and Protestants are present.
• Sung at the end of the 1989 film Family Business at the wake of Jessie McMullen (played by Sean Connery).
• Harry Connick Jr. sings "Danny Boy" in the 1990 movie "Memphis Belle", and a sweeping instrumental version is also heard near the end of the film.
• A recording of the song by Irish tenor Frank Patterson is featured in the 1990 Coen Brothers film Miller's Crossing, in a scene in which a character played by Albert Finney fights off assassins with a Thompson gun.
• The Let It Be album and film by The Beatles featured a performance from the roof of Apple Studio on 30 January, 1969. As the performance drew to a close, John Lennon sang an impromptu line from "Danny Boy".
• "Danny Boy", rendered in jazz style, was the theme song for the long-running television show The Danny Thomas Show, also known as Make Room for Daddy, from 1953 to 1964.
• In Grand Theft Auto IV, Packie sings the song when he is drunk.
• In the first series of Round the Twist, characters could hear unseen ghosts on clarinet, saxophone and violin perform part of the song in each episode. Eventually, a choral rendition by the entire cast in the series' climax brought forth the ghosts to save the show's lighthouse from being destroyed.
• In the 1988 film Gotham, J. B. White performed the song as the character "Jimbo".
• In the 2001 film L.I.E., Brian Cox sings a verse of the song near the end of the film.
• In the Season 3, Episode 11 "Named Local Hero" of Spin City, James sings this song for an audition.
• In Episode 5, Season 3 of the BBC drama Ashes to Ashes, the characters Ray Carling and Sharon Granger sing this song for a Police talent show.
• In Episode 7, Season 16 of The Simpsons, the character Barney sings this song during an Irish wake on the sidewalk, for Moe's Tavern.
• In Episode 16, Season 2 of Modern Family, Ed O'Neill's character Jay Pritchett starts singing this song on a karaoke machine.
• In Episode 14, Season 1 of Ugly Americans, a baby Man Bird sings this song to his father right before he dies.
• In Episode 17, Season 3 of Futurama, Dr. Zoidberg sings the opening lines of this song at Bender's surprise funeral.
• In Episode 20, Season 5 of The Muppet Show, "The Leprechaun Brothers" (Swedish Chef, Animal and Beaker) sing a mangled version of the song.
• In Episode 1, Season 2 of Courage the Cowardly Dog titled "The Magic Tree of Nowhere", the eel sings the opening line and is later joined by Eustace, singing a variation of a lyric with him in unison, "If you will bend and tell me that you love me."

External links

• The Legend and History of the Song Danny Boy