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Oh Danny Boy
from Song Of Myself by Tobin Mueller
Jump to: LyricsLiner NotesSong Of Myself album Click here to download the mp3.
Lyrics

O Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.
The summer's gone and all the flowers are dying;
'Tis, '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.
And I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow;
Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so!

And if tyou come when all the flow'rs are dying,
And I am dead, as dead I well may be.
You come and find this place where I'll be lying,
Please kneel and say an Ave there for me.

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me;
And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be,
If you not fail to tell me that you love me;
I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow.
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow;
Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so.

- lyrics by Frederic Weatherly

Liner Notes

Song Notes: Oh Danny Boy is the first recording I made for this collection. It was my first recording after a collapsed lung and, boy, did it hurt to sing it! I was in pain from 5 days following. I kind of like that you can't really tell. It took more than 6 takes to get through it without coughing, and was exhausting. But the most important aspect of this performance is the piano, not the vocals.

The journey through which the chord progressions travel says it all for me. I wrote out all of these notes, making sure every chord, every note spoke to something specific in the emotion and visual nature of the lyrics. I am espcially proud of the third stanza. There are 40 different chords played. The last two notes in the right hand quote "Somewhere" (from West Side Story, Bernstein/Sondheiim) as a final open statement.

This song is usually song in a proud and masculine Irish tenor sort of way. I wanted to sing it from the point of view of the lost ghost in the lyrics. I hope it haunts.

Song Of Myself

Return to the Song Of Myself page.

Other lyrics pages from Song Of Myself

  1. Impossible Dream [Mitch Leigh/Joe Darion, from Man of la Mancha]
  2. Dignity [Bob Dylan]
  3. American Tune [Paul Simon]
  4. Blue Tattoos [Joni Mitchell]
  5. Blackbird [Paul McCartney]
  6. Being Alive [Stephen Sondheim, from Company]
  7. Frozen Man [James Taylor]
  8. I Have Been Deceived [Elton John/Bernie Taupin]
  9. Let's Pretend [Anderson/Wakeman/Bruford/Howe] (altered lyrics)
  10. Oh Danny Boy [traditional, lyrics by Federic Weatherly]
  11. No Place Like Home [Arlen/Mueller/Mankowski]
  12. Before There Were Gods [lyrics by Tobin Mueller, music by Mueller/Hedges]