Oh Danny Boy - or how I now love a song I used to hate?

St Patricks day is almost upon us and I've been filling my head with Irish music and playing a lot of Irish gigs lately, with plenty more to come.   One thing that always annoys me about this time of year is all the play the "Irish Tourist" music seems to get - the "Tu Ra Lura Lura",  "Molly Malone" and worst of all the ubiquitous "Danny Boy".    All get played way to much and real Irish Music doesn't get the play it should.

I was practicing for one of the many upcoming gigs our local Irish group "Craobh Dugan" was playing, and wanted to see if I could come up with a mandolin solo - a nice air with lots of double stop and tremolo, and started to noodle around a bit.   The tune to Danny Boy came right out!   It was so ingrained in my brain that I played it well after just a couple of times through.  And I started to like the way it sounded on the mandolin.   So I kept at it and soon had a nice little solo going in C, then modulate up to D, and finally A that I was real happy with.  

What I did not expect is what a hook that tune put in me!  I can't stop playing it now - every time I pick up the mandolin (which is usually at least once a day) I have to play it, and I'm having fun doing it!!!

So being the musical historian that I am, once the thing hooked me I wanted to learn more about the song and tune and it's roots.    It may be old fashioned, but I went to the library and found an excellent book -  "Danny Boy - the Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad" by Malachy McCourt.   I read it in one sitting.   It's a nice history of the tune and where it came from (the tune is the Londonderry Air - and many attribute it to an unknown blind fiddler - but it was published in a tune book in 1855 so it could have been composed) and how an English lawyer (Frederick Weatherly) used that tune with words he had already written. He had actually written the words several years before he had heard the tune, and his sister in law suggested he try Danny Boy with this tune.   The rest is history - and if you like this sort of stuff the book is an excellent and fast read.

I also wanted to see if I could catch a nice instrumental version on youtube and Danny Boy has to be the most covered song on the site.   There are 100's, if not thousands of versions and though I went looking for an instrumental (and found a great one in Maynard Ferguson's version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4EAqOBt8f0 ) I did not expect the vocal versions to grab me so.  After all, it was the tune that had the hook in me........

I listened to the Johnny Cash version (I would have this one played at my funeral), Eva Cassidy (what a voice, so sad), Joan Baez (Great voice, annoying piano), Elvis (Did he cut this in Vegas a year before he died - what a voice - but too much clutter on the track), Judy Garland (its worth the wait to hear her hit the high note), Bing Crosby (The perfect Irish Crooner version - you can almost see Barry Fitzgerald and Bing in Going my Way), Roy Orbison (you have to wait a bit, but worth it), Colm Wilkenson (a nice soft and smooth version), George Benson (tasty guitar), Eric Clapton (very very tasty acoustic guitar), and on and on.

My favorite versions were an odd couple - Sinead O'Conner and Slim Whitman.  Sinead sings it acapella and softly forcing you to pay full attention. She feels this one, and shows respect for the song and tune all the way through.   Might bring a tear.     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSjvLG7IJAI

Slim - well I did not expect Danny Boy to a country rhythm would be worth a long listen, it works and give a totally different feel to the song and tune!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KL-B-qB_rY

So I'll be playing the Londonderry Aire a lot this month, and also diggin for more versions of a great song!!