“Danny Boy (The Londonderry Air)”
Description
The singer laments that her Danny Boy is called away. She promises to be waiting when he returns to her. Even if she dies, she will await him
Notes
Fuld reports that the name "Londonderry Air" came about because the tune "was collected by Miss J. Ross of the county of Londonderry." Little else seems to be known of its ancestry. Anne G. Gilchrist published an article, "A New Light upon the Londonderry Air" in JFSS (December 1934).
Fuld attributes the words to Weatherly (1848-1929) without supporting documentation, and many people seem unaware of it. He has six poems attributed to him in _Granger's Index to Poetry._ "Danny Boy" is not one of then. Three of the pieces ("The Holy City," "The Angels to the Shepherds Sang," and "When the Christ Child Came") are religious; the others appear to be for children. None proved very popular.
_Bartlett's_ (13th edition) cites three Weatherly pieces, none of them the same as the ones quoted in _Granger's_ -- though one of them, "Nancy Lee," has had some slight traditional popularity. But none have themes similar to this. If Fuld's attribution is correct, this seems to have been a unique item for Weatherly in style as in populatiry. - RBW
Same tune
- O, Jeanie Dear (File: HHH545)
References
- Silber-FSWB, p. 323, "Danny Boy" (1 text)
- Fuld-WFM, p. 337, "Londonderry Air"
- SHenry H3, p. 286, "The Londonderry Air" (1 tune, plus a text known not to have been traditional)
- DT, DANNYBOY*
- BI, FSWB323