What's Danny Boy about?
DD
Anybody know what Danny Boy is about? Is it a father singing to his son,
a fiance to her beloved, or what.
Thanks.
DD
Aramis
My father, who used to sing Irish songs among others in his younger
days, has
always held that it's about a father mourning his son's being called away
to war.
Slan leibh!
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
And when the braw moon glisters o'er
Oor wee bit bield and heathery moor
Will ye nay greet that we're sae puir
Lassie, for I lo'e ye?
Clara Duong
I was also told that it was a funeral song. The Londerry Aire has the same
melody and that's about being homesick. Both songs are very pretty.
Clara
---
cdu...@envirolink.org
Koala's Gum Tree:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1902/index.html
Canberra, Australia.
Meredith Lawrence
In article <31D15D...@siue.edu>, DD <dde...@siue.edu> wrote:
>Anybody know what Danny Boy is about? Is it a father singing to his son,
>a fiance to her beloved, or what.
You've been reading Piers Anthony, haven't you. :)
It's variable, I suppose. It's a soldier's farewell, whomever is sending
the boy off; I think that part is unimportant.
:)merry
Christopher Holland King
DD (dde...@siue.edu) wrote:
: Anybody know what Danny Boy is about? Is it a father singing to his son,
: a fiance to her beloved, or what.
: Thanks.
:
: DD
My barbershop chorus does an arrangement of "Danny Boy," and the ones
I've spoken to tend to agree that it's a father (or parent) sending their
son off to war. The speaker "must bide" while Danny goes off, either because
of age (parent) or because she's female (mother or romantic attachment). The
clincher for parent is in the solo, when the speaker talks about dying before
Danny's return, sounding as if they are too old to wait for the war's end. Either
way, it's a beautiful song, and a wonderful ballad.
My $0.02,
Chris
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Check out the Chapter Home Page at:
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Robert Ridout
I always thought A londonderry air was a love somg so I went and found this.
According to "Irish Aires and Dances" By David Harrington
A londonderry Aire
The common title contains a saucey double entendre ("A london Derriere".) An older title is " A londonderry
Love Song", but it has also appeared as "Danny Boy", "My Gentle Harp", and "Would God I Were the Tender Apple
Blossom".
The words to "Danny Boy" Are not as old as the melody and I have yet to find older lyrics.
j0...@netcom.com
me...@helios.oit.unc.edu (Meredith Lawrence) writes:
>In article <31D15D...@siue.edu>, DD <dde...@siue.edu> wrote:
>>Anybody know what Danny Boy is about? Is it a father singing to his son,
>>a fiance to her beloved, or what.
>You've been reading Piers Anthony, haven't you. :)
>It's variable, I suppose. It's a soldier's farewell, whomever is sending
>the boy off; I think that part is unimportant.
>:)merry
actually, the original version is about a farwell to a
man going off to the gallows. in the period it was
written, the brits would trump up charges against the Irish
......seems everything old is new again!
Tiocfaidh an la' muair beidh E'ire saoir aris
Fenn
j0...@netcom.com
Craig Reed
In article <4r79u0$n...@helios.oit.unc.edu>,
me...@helios.oit.unc.edu (Meredith Lawrence) wrote:
>In article <31D15D...@siue.edu>, DD <dde...@siue.edu> wrote:
>>Anybody know what Danny Boy is about? Is it a father singing to his son,
>>a fiance to her beloved, or what.
>
>You've been reading Piers Anthony, haven't you. :)
>It's variable, I suppose. It's a soldier's farewell, whomever is sending
>the boy off; I think that part is unimportant.
>
The truth is, "Danny Boy" was written by a father in Ireland after the start
of the First World War. The father in question had three sons, the first two
of which had joined the British Army & promptly gotten killed. The third son
also joined up, after which point the father wrote the song, fearing (rightly,
as it turned out) that he would lose his third son as well.
The Lyrics:
Danny Boy by ?????
Oh, Danny boy
The pipes, the pipes are callin'
From glen to glen
And down the mountainside
The Summer's gone
And all the roses fallin'
It's you, it's 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
It's I'll be here
In sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny Boy, Oh Danny Boy,
I love you so....
Paul Harvey tells the story of the writing of Danny Boy" in one of his "Rest
of the Story" episodes, which he has collected into book form.
+++++ tha...@nwlink.com (Craig Reed) http://nwlink.com/~tharkun
Presuming adequate education (meaning, at least, a 4 year degree in one of the
"hard" sciences...) on the part of the writer, it's SF if he honestly thinks
it could happen, and fantasy if he does not - John W. Campbell
Anthony Bruce Gilpin
> >In article <31D15D...@siue.edu>, DD <dde...@siue.edu> wrote:
> >>Anybody know what Danny Boy is about?
It's about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, depending on who's singing it.
Anthony Bruce Gilpin
Craig Reed wrote:
>
> The Lyrics:
>
> Danny Boy by ?????
Fred Weatherly, based on "Londonderry Air," also by Weatherly
michael.g...@gmail.com
Danny Boy lyrics were written by a lawyer in London around the turn of the century. They eventually got merged with the ancient tune Londonderry air. There was no story expressed by the guy who wrote the lyrics. So it's been speculative ever since. But the Paul Harvey story is simply crap.