On St. Patrick’s day it is customary in the good ole U S of A to slug down green beer and sing “Danny Boy” on the top of your lungs at just about every local dive bar. This has become an American past time for just about every bar goer but this year you can get yourself some free beer only if you refrain from singing this song at one bar.
Shaun Clancy, the owner of Foley’s Pub and Restaurant, has banned the well-known Danny Boy lyrics for the entire month of march. Clancy is so serious about banning the “Danny Boy” lyrics that he promises his patrons a free Guinness if they can sing any other traditional Irish song in place of that particular tune! He means business!
Why no Danny Boy lyrics? The answer is actually a good one and Clancy says to those that are challenging the lack of Danny Boy lyrics saying, “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.” As if that wasn’t enough about the lack of Danny Boy lyrics Clancy goes onto make another good point by saying,“It’s depressing. It’s not usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day. Its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil.”
One patron of the pub has been noted as being excited about the lack of “Danny Boy” lyrics that he will not be hearing this March. He likened the Danny Boy lyrics to the political commercials on television right now meaning that the first time you watch them it’s fine, the second time even it’s not so bad, but about the third time you just want to turn it off. It’ll be interesting to see just how many patrons learn a truly traditional Irish song in place of the Danny Boy lyrics to get their free beer!
Not convinced that the Danny Boy lyrics are somewhat depressing? Here they are:
“Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From glen to glen, and down the mountainside. The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling. ‘Tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide. But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow, For I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow. Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so.
But if you come, and all the flowers are dying And if I’m dead, as dead I might well be. Ye’ll come and find the place where I am lying And kneel and say an Ave there for me. And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me, And o’er my grave shall warmer, sweeter be, And if you bow and tell me that you love me, Then I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.”
Whether you appreciate the Danny Boy lyrics or even the song, one thing is for sure, if you hope to hear it you shouldn’t head on over to Foley’s this March as there will not be so much as a hum of the song in the air. Of course, other pubs and restaurants are known for playing the song for more than a day at a time! So, if you are missing out on the Danny Boy lyrics you won’t have to go far to hear them.