Blog 3009 – 01.25.2024

Danny Boy

As a boy I associated today’s song with TV’s Make Room for Daddy and The Danny Thomas Show not knowing at the time that the song had a long and proud Irish history. Irish Immigrants like many immigrants in this country were not received with open arms. Their customs and their religion made them suspect in the minds of many, but they won their place in this great melting pot and made their songs a part of the American story.

Danny Boy is a popular love ballad, one any true troubadour would be proud to make part of his or her repertoire. It cannot be sung properly without feeling a special fondness for the Irish.

As a young man I first read one of my favorite books, Captains and the Kings, by Taylor Caldwell. It is the story of an Irish immigrant, Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh, and his rise to wealth and power in America. His Dad’s name was Daniel, he sent for his family to meet him in America, but died before they arrived. It that Daniel more than any other that comes to mind whenever I hear Danny Boy today.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5UGucaz8iwNZ2FGTEFmeHJ3Sms/view?usp=drivesdk&resourcekey=0-OkdCZGlJyd7CVRBI1iN9hA

Danny Boy