Visit our special St. Patrick's Day section
I'm sorry to see that 'Danny Boy' has been allowed back into the only Irish bar in the world where we were safe from hearing it sung by drunks.
Foley's Bar in Manhattan won worldwide headlines when they banned the song, calling it too maudlin. The reintroduction came when a new whisky called 'Danny Boy' launched at the venue on Manhattan's West Side.
Which I'm sure was an occasion of sin for every 'Danny Boy' warbler between here and MuttontownLong Island to give it a good wail.
Its not that I don't like 'Danny Boy.' In the hands of the late Frank Patterson it was a beautiful moving air, a fabulous love song between a father and a son which could bring tears to the eyes.
It is just there is no song on earth that can be sung as badly as 'Danny Boy.' Like the 'Star Spangled Banner' it has got high notes that invite the kind of screeching that usually occurs only when your brakes fail at high speed.
The other problem is that other drunks invariably join in at that high point, making it like a male cat's convention when the only female in town is introduced and the brawl begins.
Even if you shut your ears to that there is worse to come, the dreaded 'Erin go Bawl' moment, when the singer breaks down and begins blubbering like a two-year-old with a wet diaper. The other drunks immediately find their emotions getting the worst of them and a sea of tears ensues.
Visit our special St. Patrick's Day section
However, no one stops singing and the effect is like a coyote convention on full moon night.
Also to be avoided at all costs is the 'designated Danny Boy singer.' Every group has one, the person, who after the required magic potions, is asked to step up to the plate.
After much protesting and throat clearing he manfully launches into the task. Woe betide anyone who asks for a drink or lets a cell phone go off while Caruso is killing his number. Fights are known to breakout when the Great One is interrupted.
The moral of the story is approach 'Danny Boy' with care, either as singer or listener. Avoid if at all possible if in the company of good cheer on St.Patrick's Day. Stick with the Teletubbies theme song instead. Its got no high notes, only one line 'Teletubbies" and everyone knows the words, er word.
Even The Muppets, though their rendition of the song is hilarious, prove the song should sometimes come with a health warning!
Here's the audio for Frank Patterson's version:
Here's the Muppets version of the Irish tune:
Originally published in 2010.
17 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.IrelandNorth | Mar 12, 2012, 10:07 AM EDT
allan07! Smart Wellingtonian horse/cow paraphrase. Is Northern-Irish not a form of Irishness, despite your previous criticism of Irish-Americans for hyphenation. Do Northern-Irish-British (double hyphenation?) not differ from English-British, Welsh-British and/or Scottish-British. The term "British" refers to the island of Great Britain (i.e. England & Wales and Scotland). For the majority of native Irish, the United Kingdom (UK) was the powerhouse of a Br[u]tish Empire.
Mick10000 | Mar 11, 2012, 11:04 AM EDT
Screw the critics ....if you want to hear it done right, search you tube for Danny Boy by Littwin.
DrSheilahere | Mar 11, 2012, 10:58 AM EDT
"Donegal X Press" fans. New album: Paid Off the Boom. Great. Google. Buy. Enjoy.
citizen69 | Mar 11, 2012, 07:18 AM EDT
@Alan07: Actually my comment is neither inaccurate or untruthful. Fred Weatherly made those points in his autobiography, Piano and Gown (1926).
Scotchtommy | Mar 11, 2012, 04:23 AM EDT
Regarding Danny Boy Now I know how the Irish beat the Black and Tans-- THEY SANG THEM TO DEATH
Madeliene | Mar 11, 2012, 01:04 AM EST
Pilib04 THANK YOU!
Madeliene | Mar 11, 2012, 12:54 AM EST
it was sung by his mother not his fathere and it is the very best Irish song we have ( although The Last Rose of Summer sung by Johns MacCormack comes darn close! Not maudlin TRUE my pop did not get "home" to see his mom before she passed- he did get to bend over her grave and tell her that he loved her after ward though piss off!
wdwrkr371 | Mar 10, 2012, 11:00 AM EST
Realist sorry my remarks have offended you. I didn't insinuate I should leave the US after eight hundred years but I should accept it is the US not Ireland and that it is governed by the US Government not some other foreign country.I can't say I read the agreement from cover to cover but I was part of voting in favor of it as a grass roots member of sinn fein at the time. I am pro agreement but like a lot of people I don't like having unionism waved in my face it like allan07 did it pushes buttons. My comments are not ignorant they are unpleasant to you the whole subject is which is why so many died. I stand by my statement I don't believe in the gun but still know the English stole the north simple as that you can argue it which ever way you want. I wish no harm on allan07 or his people but I do wish his government would please finally go home and leave us in peace.
Realist | Mar 10, 2012, 10:31 AM EST
wdwrkr371: "the cow can go home and after eight hundred years finally get the hint he is not wanted in the horses shed and whats more never had permission to stay in the first place"? Well following your logic, surely you should leave the United States after significantly less than 800 years? My friend, your comments are both offensive and ignorant. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and by definition, British. I suggest you read the 1998 Belfast Agreement and moderate your language in future. Do you understand?
wdwrkr371 | Mar 10, 2012, 09:38 AM EST
Allan07 The cow can go home and after eight hundred years finally get the hint he is not wanted in the horses shed and whats more never had permission to stay in the first place. Jesus at this point you lot are just an annoyance If you want to be British go live in England. I live in the U.S so I became a US Citizen it's a simple concept. Sad part is I bet when you go to England they consider you Irish you can't win peace time or no you will never have a legitimate home except for the one you reject. Finally if as you say the Irish were never united in any of the ways you stated maybe it's because of the constant never ending to this day distraction & interference from the neighbor from hell. The Island is at peace, you still have your precious Queen so shut up.
allan07 | Mar 10, 2012, 05:59 AM EST
The song has always been called the Londonderry air. I have no time for the PC lot whom now want to change it to the Londonderry/Derry air. How silly. Lets change Father Christmas to person Christmas and man holes to person holes. Grow up and dont be biggots forever. The composer called it the Londonderry air thats it end off. No it nothing to do with a Unified Ireland. The people of Ireland are not United by belief, background, culture, language, history, religion, opinion, thought or anything else. Accept it for thats the way it is. Just because a horse and a cow both live in a shed they are not the same. As for myself I am Northern Irish, British and that never going to change. (Not this side of hell freezing over). citizen69 - who knows what Fred Weatherley said years ago. I dont believe religion would have been mentioned so your comment is probably inaccurate and untruthful.
citizen69 | Mar 09, 2012, 03:24 PM EST
@pilib04: The so-called third verse you quote is not part of the original lyrics. Fred Weatherley, the author of Danny Boy stated that he wanted both Unionists & Nationalists of Ireland to sing this song. He also said the song had no hint of rebellion or bloodshed.
RedBranch | Mar 09, 2012, 02:37 PM EST
The Derry/Londonderry Air should, indeed must be the national anthem of a unified Ireland! Bythebay, Right On!
Dubhthach | Mar 09, 2012, 12:56 PM EST
When I hear a bad rendition of "Danny Boy", I always think of it as "The Londonderry Aire", with the wrong words.It always makes me feel a lot better. As to the singing of maudlin songs, it used to be the custom in Gaeltacht pubs for the patrons to sing "Mo Ghile Mear" at last call. Of course, that may have been because the taps were being turned off. The Germans, by contrast [the army, at least]used to play a quick march, such as the "Zapfenstreich Marsch"- which means something like "The Turning Off The Taps March]".
Dubhthach | Mar 09, 2012, 11:17 AM EST
Another example of song snobbery, you have to be a professional to sing a song these days. Lighten up and enjoy the day, I suppose you'll want to outlaw guinness next, I mean any civilized person should drink chardonnay.
pilib04 | Mar 09, 2012, 11:09 AM EST
Niall, let it go. It's a great song that has survived the test of time in both Ireland and among the diaspora. The third (or lost verse) is by far the best: But should I live, and should you die for Ireland, Let not your dying thoughts be all of me, But breathe a prayer to God for our dear sireland, That He will hear, and He will set her free. And I will take your place and pike, my dearest, And strike a blow, though weak that blow may be. To help the cause to which your heart was nearest, And you will rest in peace until I come for thee.
jamieLM | Mar 09, 2012, 10:39 AM EST
Just one of life's little irritants. Pack some ear plugs. As an RN in the NICU, I see the hopes and dreams of parents resting on the survival of their extremely sick/tiny infants. Looking at the larger picture of what's going on in the world, this seems like really "small stuff" to me. Excellent performance of Danny Boy by Patterson, though.