Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad

An excellent book by an excellent writer!McCourt has awaken the intrest in all of us to get to the bottom of what this song is all about.I think he has done it, and each time I hear it ,I will think of this book,and of what the song means to me. Though there are numerous ideas about what the song means,who was it to and from etc.,he has shown that doesn't really matter.It is a song expressing deep love,and it can mean whatever the listener wants it to mean.I have dozens of versions and although they vary greatly I love them all.I am always happy to hear it by another singer whether a professional or just an ordinary person singing from the heart. As to whether or not the words were written in Ireland by an Irishman;it doesn't matter in the least,it's a great Irish song.When you stop and think about it,there's no way it could be anything else but Irish.Johnny Cash wrote "Forty Shades of Green" as he was flying over Ireland,a school teacher living in Ontario wrote "Maggie" to his lover,and if that isn't enough, the song "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" was written in America and had nothing at all to do with taking Kathleen back to Ireland,because she didn't come from there in the first place. However;all these songs are Irish .What you have to remember is that there over 50 million Irish dispersed all over the world including about 4 million in Ireland.This book would be a great gift for anyone with a song in their heart and a twinkle in their eye for there's sure to be some Irish in their blood.

The legend of the beloved Irish ballad is revealed in Malachy McCourt's Danny Boy, a seminal title probing its roots and underlying meaning. McCourt extensively traveled throughout Ireland interviewing musicologists, historians, celebrities and Irish icons in the course of his investigation. In Danny Boy, Irish folklore and history spice an exciting contribution to music history and appreciation.

Neither scholarly treatise nor lengthy tome, Malachy McCourt's Danny Boy is a short, but sweet, look at a favorite song. He traces, briefly, the history of the tune and the various words that have been sung to it; speculates on who the song's narrator is and what the story refers to; and, has several famous Irish and Irish-American people discuss what the song means to them. This strikes me as a good hostess gift if you're going to a St. Patrick's Day party, or a nice birthday or holiday gift for an Irish-American friend. I wonder why he didn't include a CD with various versions of the song? Maybe for the paperback edition.

This is an entertaining, albeit very brief essay on the 155-word ballad this writing documents. Mr. McCourt has an extremely engaging wit that he has transferred to paper several times before. It is this talent and the commentary it provokes that makes this worth a reader's notice. There will be very few who will need much more than an hour to absorb the book, and were it not for the humor, which is primarily off the main topic of the song, this very brief volume would have never come to pass."Some believe the only thing the Irish are serious about is saying goodbye", is a typical aside that leads to another anecdote by Mr. McCourt. He does give a brief background of the history of the music, and the almost 100 different sets of lyrics that have been set to it. The real surprise is for those that don't know who actually wrote the famous words. If the truth is as presented, I imagine it will set off a variety of hostilities. Before you read the book, take an informal poll, and note what country is associated with this song. I would hazard the results will be very consistent. Then you may pick up this book.How much value you place on bits of Irish humor will decide how you feel after reading this work. At 104 very small pages that are often partially filled with verse the reader must value a good laugh like a diamond. For the time that passes from start to finish, from first page to last, is very brief indeed.