N.Y. pub bans ‘Danny Boy’ on St. Patrick’s

[TJ Phaserman 2]

NEW YORK - It's depressing. It's not usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. And its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil.

 

Those are just some of the reasons a Manhattan pub has given for banning the song "Danny Boy" for the entire month of March.

 

"It's overplayed, it's been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time, and it's more appropriate for a funeral than for a St. Patrick's Day celebration," says Shaun Clancy, who owns Foley's Pub and Restaurant, just off Fifth Avenue opposite the Empire State Building.

 

The 38-year-old, who started bartending when he was 12 at his father's pub in County Cavan, promises a guest free Guinness for singing any other traditional Irish song at the pub's March 11 pre-St. Patrick's Day karaoke party. On other nights, guests will be rewarded with a surprise.

 

Not everyone agrees.

 

A pub near Detroit — AJ's Cafe in Ferndale, Mich. — is staging a "Danny Boy" marathon on St. Patrick's Day weekend, offering 1,000 renditions of the song over 50 hours.

 

The song's lyrics were written by English lawyer Frederick Edward Weatherly, who never visited Ireland, according to Malachy McCourt, author of the book "Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad." Weatherly's sister-in-law had sent him the music to an old Irish song called "The Derry Air." His new version was published in 1913 and became a huge hit when opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink recorded it in 1915.

 

Some say it is symbolic of the great Irish diaspora, with generations of Irish fleeing the famine and poor economic conditions starting around 1850. Others have guessed it is sung by a mother grieving for her son or even by a desolate lover — depending on how one hears lyrics like "The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying/ 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide."

 

In the 1940s, "Danny Boy" was recorded by Bing Crosby, became the theme song of television's "Danny Thomas Show" from 1953 to 1964 and has been a vehicle for vocal stars from Judy Garland, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash to Cher and Willie Nelson.

 

But for the rest of the month, Foley's will be "Danny Boy"-free.

 

"I'm glad! I'm glad! I'm glad!" exclaimed Martin Gaffney, 73, a retired passenger ship waiter who said Wednesday he planned to croon his old Irish favorites, like "Molly Malone" — whose theme is also hardly a barrel of laughs.

 

A sort of unofficial anthem of Dublin also known as "Cockles and Mussels," the song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plies her trade on city streets and dies young of a fever.

 

and this is one of the reasons i told my friends they better not sing this song at my funeral or im haunting their butts.

[trekz 7]

Danny Boy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

“Danny Boy” song

Published 1913

Genre Ballad, Irish folk

Writer Frederick Weatherly (Lyrics)

 

"Danny Boy" is a song whose lyrics are set to the Irish tune "Derry Air". The lyrics were originally written for a different tune in 1910 by Frederick Weatherly, an English lawyer who never actually visited Ireland, and modified to fit Derry Air in 1913. The first recording was made by Ernestine Schumann-Heink in 1915. Weatherly gave the song to Elsie Griffin, who made it one of the most popular in the new century. Weatherly later suggested in 1928 that the second verse would provide a fitting requiem for the actress Ellen Terry.

 

The song is widely considered an Irish anthem, and the tune is used as the anthem of Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, even though the song's writer was not Irish, and the song was and is more popular outside Ireland than within. It is nonetheless widely considered by many Irish Americans and Irish Canadians to be their unofficial signature song. It is frequently included in the organ presentation at Irish-American funerals.

 

Though the song is supposed to be a message from a woman to a man (Weatherly provided the alternative "Eily dear" for male singers in his 1918 authorized lyrics [1]), the song is actually sung by men as much as, or possibly more often than, by 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. The song has sent off many fallen firefighters, and is a standard with many fire department bands.

 

Lyrics:

Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen, and down the mountainside.

The summer's gone, and all the roses falling.

'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,

For I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow.

Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so.

But if you come, and all the flowers are dying

And if I'm dead, as dead I might well be.

Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying

And kneel and say an Ave there for me.

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,

And o'er my grave shall warmer, sweeter be,

And if you bow and tell me that you love me,

Then I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.

[Gummy 0]

"Danny Boy" is one of the best 'end of the night and I am loaded and want to sing' St. Paddy's Day Songs of all time.

Banning it seems foolish.

[Kor37 9]

This is ridiculous. "Danny Boy" is the quintessinal Irish ballad and is not at all sad. Its meloncholy and makes people yearn for their homeland.

[Wishfire 2]

You know, it's funny... I always thought it was a Scottish song...

[MrPsychic 1]

Didn't O'Brien and Bashir sing this song together while drinking? I know O'Brien sang The Minstrel Boy while on the Rutledge.

[TJ Phaserman 2]

i think it was in that 2 part episode where sisko's former commanding officer thinks the defiant is carrying founders

[Lady Britannia 0]

As far as I recall O'Brien and Bashir sang "Jerusalem"

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Lt. Riely sang "I'll take you home again Kathleen" - which was written in the US not Ireland - a bit of a melancholy song as well.

[Kor37 9]

Lt. Riely sang "I'll take you home again Kathleen" - which was written in the US not Ireland - a bit of a melancholy song as well.

As I recall, Kirk really loved that song.......

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

Well Riley being completely tone deaf didn't help much.