Danny Boy
"Danny Boy" joins words by an English lawyer, Frederic Weatherly, to a traditional Irish melody, the Londonderry Air. Published in 1913, it has become one of the most loved and most debated songs of the last century.
- Words
- Frederic Weatherly, written 1910 in Bath, Somerset
- Tune
- The Londonderry Air, a traditional Irish melody collected by Jane Ross in the mid-19th century
- Published
- 1913, Boosey & Company
- First recording
- Ernestine Schumann-Heink, 1915
How the song came together
Weatherly wrote the poem in 1910 and adapted it to fit the Londonderry Air in 1913. Exactly how he came across the tune is disputed. One account says his sister-in-law Margaret sent it to him in 1913. A more colourful story has Margaret hearing Irish workers play it in an American mining camp and setting the poem to it herself.
The melody itself is much older. Jane Ross collected the Londonderry Air in the mid-19th century, and it was well known as an instrumental air long before Weatherly's words were attached to it.
What it means
The words are a farewell to a young man who is leaving, with the singer imagining their own death before he returns. There is no agreed reading. Many hear it as a parent saying goodbye to a son going to war or emigrating; others hear a lover's farewell. That openness is part of why it is sung at funerals and gatherings across the world.
We describe this song rather than print its words: the versions most people know come from later recordings and arrangements.
Early recordings
Ernestine Schumann-Heink made the first recording in 1915, and singer Elsie Griffin did much to popularise the song. Since then it has been recorded in jazz, classical, country and pop styles.
Chords in C
| C | C7 | F | C | | C | Am | D7 | G7 | | C | C7 | F | Fm | | C | G7 | C | C |
Take it slowly and let the long notes breathe. The same melody, played without words, is the Londonderry Air.
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