THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

117-John McDermott-Danny Boy.

1992-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 2.29. The lyrics are set to the traditional Irish melody ‘Londonderry Air.’ Prudish Victorians who were concerned that ‘Londonderry Air’ bore too close a resemblance to the phrase ‘London Derriere,’ preferred to refer to it by the title ‘An air from County Derry.’ Heaven only knows what they would have made of some of today’s lyrics.

The lyrics to ‘Danny Boy’ were written in 1910 by by Frederick Weatherly, who was born on October 4th, 1848, in Portishead, Somerset, England, he died on September 7th, 1929, after a short illness at the age of 80. During his lifetime, Weatherly who was also a lawyer wrote the lyrics for an estimated 3,000 songs, including the religious ‘The Holy City,’ (1892) and the wartime song ‘Roses of Picardy’ (1916.)

Weatherly originally wrote ‘Danny Boy’ to a different tune, and there are conflicting stories as to how he came about finding the one that is now known, but in all probability the melody was introduced to Weatherly by his sister-in-law Margaret Enright who was an Irish American. According to Weatherly’s great grandson Anthony Mann, Enright visited Weatherly in 1912, and sung him ‘Londonderry Air,’ which is a traditional Irish melody that had originated in ‘County Londonderry’ sometime in the 17th Century, and had become popular with Irish settlers in America over many years. Margaret Enright probably knew of ‘Londonderry Air’ through the Irish Folk song collector Jane Ross, (1810-1879) who collected a number of traditional songs and then sent them to George Petrie, (1790-1866) who published them with other songs as ‘Ancient Music of Ireland,’ in 1855.

‘Danny Boy’ has continued to grow in stature over the years, and is often performed on important occasions,such as major sporting events, it is also one of the most requested songs to be played at funerals. There are various interpretations as to what the songs lyrics actually mean. Some think it refers to Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland, and some have even suggested that it might refer to a gay relationship, but the most accepted one is that the song is a message from a parent to his son who is going off to war, or participating in the Irish uprising.

‘Danny Boy’ has been recorded multiple times, with the first being by Elsie Griffin (1895-1989) in 1915. Many of Pop Music’s biggest names have performed the song, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Bing Crosby, although no version of the song has ever charted inside the top 40 in the UK, or America.

The version I have chosen is the 1992 recording by John McDermott, who was born on March 25th, 1955, in Glasgow, Scotland, and then emigrated with his family to Canada in 1965. McDermott is a ‘tenor’ who is best known for singing ‘Celtic Music,’ and has toured the world both as a solo artist, and as part of ‘The Irish Tenors,’ of which he was a member from 1998-2000. McDermott has issued 34 Albums between 1992-2014, and in 2000 he launched the ‘McDermott House’ in Washington D.C., a transitional home for homeless veterans.

‘Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling, From glen to glen, and down the mountain side. The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling, It’s you, it’s you must go and I must bide.’