My first and only opportunity to perform "Danny Boy" occurred in the basement of a Catholic church when a seniors' group hired us to sing our "Greatest Hits of the 20th Century" program. Because the performance fell on St. Patrick's Day, they requested we add a few Irish songs to our repertoire. At the exact moment I sang the line, "And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me," a thunderous stampede was heard overhead: the school had just released its students for the day.
Which has (or perhaps should have) almost nothing to do with this review, although that hilarious juxtaposition of lyrics and distinctly non-musical sound prevented many eyes from misting up, which they normally would have given the powerful emotions often conjured by any performance of "Danny Boy," something Malachy McCourt, in his lovely little book, mentions repeatedly.
Who wrote the lyrics? Where did the Londonderry Air originate? Alright, it came from Londonderry but from whose pen--or possibly, in this case, from whose pipes or whose fiddle? Who is speaking/singing and what is her/his relationship to "Danny"?
No spoilers here, and McCourt doesn't necessarily provide a concrete answer to all these questions, but he does lay out enough information, both legendary and factual, to make this an enlightening read for lovers of the song. McCourt's writing is sometimes humorous, often beautiful, and always informative as can be seen from a summarizing paragraph towards the book's end:
"While 'Danny Boy' will always be touted as an Irish ballad, it was truly the product of many different worlds meshing together. Let it be the tune of a blind, Irish fiddler drifting across the sea, reaching an English barrister who would finally marry words and melody to create a song capable of describing, at least in part, the contents of the human heart. The song depicts the human condition, about the unknown and the black cloud of finality that accompanies it. The message is available to all those who want to hear it. 'Danny Boy' has a profound effect on people from all corners of the world, a trait it shares with the truest of any work of art."
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