Londonderry Air aka Danny Boy
The "Londonderry Air" is an anthem of Northern Ireland. It is also popular among the Irish diaspora and very well known throughout the world. The tune is played as the Northern Ireland anthem at the Commonwealth Games. Danny Boy is a popular set of lyrics to the tune.
The title of the air comes from the name of the county in Northern Ireland. The air was collected by Jane Ross of Limavady, Londonderry, when she heard a local blind man, Jimmy McCurry, playing the tune on his fiddle, and was first published in book form by the Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland in 1855 in The Ancient Music of Ireland produced by George Petrie, in which it was listed as an "anonymous air". The title "Air from County Derry" is sometimes used (see also Derry-Londonderry name dispute).
Danny Boy
The most popular lyrics for the tune are "Danny Boy" ("Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling") written by the English lawyer, Frederick Edward Weatherly, in 1910 and set to the tune in 1913. Cher sang and recorded the song during the Vietnam war; at that time she said it was a love song sung by a grandfather to his grandson going off to war. Others believe the words are a love song of a woman to a man, though they are often mistakenly taken to be a call to arms, or a rebel song. Clearly if you think through the words of the song, they suggest a regret and sadness. A sadness inconsistent with a call to arms. These would not likely engender a martial spirit in the departing warrior. And the song might well have been sung to departing Irish volunteers for the Great War (aka, WW I) not as an encouragement but a tearful attempt at dissuasion.
