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.
In all the years I’ve listened to Irish music, played whistle, and(in recent years) been singing I’ve never learned nor played Danny Boy. I’ll be performing on Patty’s Day and if, by some coincidence, it get’s requested I’ll be more than happy to tell them to “bugger off with that kitchy stereotypical nonsense”.
It’s still one of the world’s great melodies. The Irish Free State should have commissioned new words–2 in Irish and 1 in English–and declared it the new national hymn back in 1922; at a stroke they’d have reclaimed it from the english, and created an irish name for that doesn’t sound like derriere.
Very few national anthems have good tunes. The French (La Marseillaise) have the best are the clear winners, although I gather the melody was actually written by an italian.
That tune has nothing in common with traditional Irish airs (it doesn’t sound even remotely close to the tune it’s supposedly drawn from)…either the woman who claimed it made it up herself or had truly abysmal transcription skills. The words are pure music hall…as Irish as minstrel show stuff is African American.
I wouldn’t shed a tear if the very knowledge of that turkey fell off the edge of the earth. I do not and will not play it.
Good national anthems are a bit different than a good tune. It should be accessible to the population, not every on has a seven register voice range, so the song should be limited in range. Garrison Keiller often mentions that the Star Spangled Banner should be sung in the key of G to make the high note less troublesome (I always wonder how the tune was sang as a British drinking song). It should be short, so that the population can pay attention, and don’t furrow their brow waiting for the words “play ball”. This is why Francis Scott Key’s poem was chopped down to a quarter of it’s length, gutting it’s meaning leaving only questions and no answers. Color guard from around the world are thankful that they don’t have to dip the flags for the extended period. Like a Flag, I think a good anthem should be simple, to make it easily recognizable, and slightly abstract to make it timeless. Granted, all those traits are not mutually exclusive, I just don’t know if “Danny Boy” qualifies.
But that’s just my opinion.
Anyone have the name (and perhaps a MP3) of the tune Danny Boy was based on?
The fact is that “Danny Boy” is one of the world’s most beloved songs. As I have mentioned before, the great 20th century composer and violinist, Fritz Kreisler, considered the melody to “Danny Boy” the most beautiful melody that he had ever heard. Whether it ought to be played in an Irish pub in NYC on St. Patrick’s Day, I can understand why some people would take the point of view that it shouldn’t. However, I probably would be more inclined to be responsive to the wishes of the general public.
Recently there was a thread in the whistle forum with a link to a YouTube video of some guys playing Danny Boy on a slide potato. I thought that was wonderful.
I really hadn’t given Danny Boy much thought, didn’t really know how it went, but after the slide potato version it was in my head. I have to admit, I like the tune. I decided I’d learn it just for myself.
I guess I’m a very bad person. This probably proves I’m a hopeless musician, too. Oh well!
It is a lovely melody. I just don’t much appreciate the music hall/parlor-song feel to the lyrics. When I read the news story about it’s banning this morning I gave a cheer. I rank it right up there with so many other “beloved”, but to my ear detestable, songs for the green-beer crowd. Brings to mind the Robbie O’Connell song You’re Not Irish.
If folks want to play/sing it “all the more” that’s fine I suppose…just not in his pub
I’m certainly not advocating banning green-beer songs from ever being sung anywhere…hey, whatever floats your boat…but I heartily applaud the gentleman’s show of taste and sense of culture. It’s his pub. I guess he can run it however he sees fit.
In order not to offend too many of the “green beer crowd”, when they ask for “Danny Boy”, you could say that it had already been played for the evening. A wee lie couldn’t hurt too much, could it? But if they became too upset, you could then ask: how about “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” instead?
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