Welcome to uiboss.com on July 10 2009.
This is an internet experiment running to monitor browsing habbits of individuals through wikipedia contents.

Danny Boy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the folk song. For other uses, see Danny Boy (disambiguation).
 This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (March 2008)
The lists in this article may contain items that are not notable, encyclopedic, or helpful. Please help out by removing such elements and incorporating appropriate items into the main body of the article. (April 2009)
"Danny Boy"
Song
Published 1913
Genre Ballad
Writer Frederick Weatherly (Lyrics)

"Danny Boy" is a ballad written by Frederick Weatherly and usually set to the tune of the Londonderry Air; it is most closely associated with Irish communities.

Contents

[edit] Background

"Danny Boy" was written by Frederick Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly's sister modified them to fit "Londonderry Air" in 1913 when Weatherly sent her copy. Ernestine Schumann-Heink made the first recording in 1915. Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who in turn made it one of the most popular songs in the new century. In 1928, Weatherly suggested that the second verse would provide a fitting requiem for the actress Ellen Terry.

"Danny Boy" was intended as a message from a woman to a man, and Weatherly provided the alternative "Eily dear" for male singers in his 1918 authorised lyrics.[1] However, the song is actually sung by men as much as, or possibly more than, women. The song has been interpreted by some listeners as a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora. Some interpret it differently,[who?] such a dying father speaking to his leaving Danny. The phrase, "the pipes, the pipes are calling", in this interpretation, could refer to the traditional funeral instrument.

The song is widely considered an Irish anthem, although Weatherly was an Englishman and was living in America at the time he composed it. Nonetheless, "Danny Boy" is considered by many Irish Americans and Irish Canadians to be their unofficial signature song.

[edit] Controversy

"Danny Boy" enjoys some popularity as a funeral song for Irish Americans. However, because it is not liturgical, its suitability for funerals is sometimes contested.[2]

[edit] 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 flowers 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 there in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.
And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be
If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me
I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.

[edit] Recordings

"Danny Boy" has been recorded many times by a variety of artists. Many versions are listed below by notable artists in descending chronological order.

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] Film

[edit] Popular music

  • On The Beatles' 1970 final album Let It Be, at the end of the track "One After 909", John Lennon plays the (uncredited) opening of the song with altered, and unclear, lyrics.
  • In his faustian 1994 song "The Man Who Wrote Danny Boy", Joe Jackson implies that the author of "Danny Boy" created an immortal "perfect refrain".
  • Danny Boy is a rapper in the American hip hop group House of Pain. Track 9 of their debut album, Fine Malt Lyrics, is titled "Danny Boy" which ends with the lyrics and tune of the traditional song.[citation needed]

[edit] Television

  • Danny Boy 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. [3]
  • Sung by Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber) many times in the show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in the beginning of several of the scenes when he encounters Danny Tripp throughout the series. Rudolph also once sings the lead line as "Matty Boy" when he encounters Danny's partner, Matt Albie.
  • A recurring theme throughout The Adventures of Lano and Woodley, appearing as a jazz song and a campfire song, among others.
  • The song is a favorite of the character Bernard O'Toole, from Tekkaman Blade. The old soldier often sung it to himself, and D-Boy's support mecha, Pegas, ended up recording the song in his memory banks during his first appearance.
  • 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 Futurama episode "A Pharaoh to Remember", Zoidberg sings this song at Bender's fake funeral, in order to "express his sorrow."

[edit] Other

  • Musician Joe Jackson's song "The Man who Wrote Danny Boy" was released on his 1994 album Night Music. It is about a composer who sells his soul in order to write a melody as memorable and eternal as Danny Boy. He likens the genius of the song's immortality to that of Shakespeare and Bach.
  • Sung by boxer Barry McGuigan's father, Pat, before many of Barry's bouts.
  • Battle for Danny Boy, is an Iraqi insurgent checkpoint ambush against the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment where bayoneting was used for the first time since the Falklands war.[4]

[edit] Books

  • McCourt, Malachy (30 Mar 2005 (Reprint)). Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad. New American Library. pp. 128. ISBN 0-451-20806-4. 

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Danny Boy—the mystery solved!". http://www.standingstones.com/dannyboy.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. 
  2. ^ No blyine (2001-08-10), "'Danny Boy' cannot be played during Mass". National Catholic Reporter. 37 (36):11
  3. ^ Classic TV, ISBN 0-7935-4762-8, 1996, published by Hal Leonard Corporation
  4. ^ http://www.petrifiedtruth.com/archives/001676.html

[edit] External links

Wikisource
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Boy"
Personal tools
Visit joltnews for the latest headlines
Visit bloit.com for company information
Geed Media does computer consulting on long island.
This page viewed times. See Logs