Londonderry Air arranged for String Orchestra.

A big band version of the song is used as the theme for The Danny Thomas Show (a.k.a. Make Room For Daddy).

"Danny Boy" was used to represent Northern Ireland at the start of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, sung by a choir of children on the Giant?s Causeway.

On November 25, 2014, the Vancouver Canucks used the song in honor of the recently deceased Pat Quinn, who played and worked in many executive capacities for the team.

There are various theories as to the true meaning of "Danny Boy". Some listeners have interpreted the song to be a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora.

The 1918 version of the sheet music included alternative lyrics ("Eily Dear"), with the instructions that "when sung by a man, the words in italic should be used; the song then becomes "Eily Dear", so that "Danny Boy" is only to be sung by a lady". In spite of this, it is unclear whether this was Weatherly?s intent.

Why the name Londonderry Air? Londonderry and Derry refer to the same place, a city in the north of Ireland, and also to the surrounding county. Supposedly the city of Derry was founded by St. Colmcille, although archaeological evidence shows that people were living there thousands of years earlier. There is an excellent museum in the city, which is worth a visit if you want to find out more. The name of the city was actually "Doire", corrupted to "Derry" by people who can?t pronounce Irish. It thought to derive from an Irish root meaning "oak tree".

Moving quickly along in history, about a millenium later the government of England was having a difficult time colonizing Ireland because of the fierce and warlike clans living there, especially in the north of the country, Ulster. The monarchs of England, almost all of whom were notorious cheapskates, were continually looking about for ingenious ways to conquer places without actually having to put up the money themselves, or run the risk of unpopularity if they lost. In the case of Ireland, some of these schemes of the "Brish gummit" (as it is termed nowadays in Ulster) are still producing unfortunate long-term consequences.

In 1608, King James I gave the city of Derry to the City of London corporation. I guess the deal could be summed up by saying that if the City of London could figure out a way to chase all the inhabitants out of Derry, they would be allowed to keep the loot, minus a percentage for the King of course. If they lost, well too bad. In celebration of this historic agreement, the name of Derry was officially changed to Londonderry. (For further information, check out the Northern Ireland Tourist Board?s History of Derry.)

The linguistic outcome of all this today is that, if you think that King James?s deal with the City of London was a good idea, you call both the city and county "Londonderry". If you do, you are probably a supporter of the Unionist movement that seeks to keep Ulster a part of the United Kingdom. If you think it was a bad idea, you call both "Derry", and you are probably a supporter of the Irish Nationalist cause. Or you might just be someone who thinks it?s confusing for kings to be going around changing the names of places all the time for no good reason.

You can find plenty of discussion about the political side of the question elsewhere, but here let?s look at the musical side. We have an air, collected in county Derry/Londonderry, and it doesn?t have a title. What do we call it?

If you were a proper Victorian, there?s no way you were going to call it the Londonderry Air, much less the Derry Air, because of the improper sentiments that these titles might suggest. My parents tell me that in their youth in Australia, it was usually called the Air from County Derry. (This would, I suppose, support Winston Churchill?s theory that Australia was inhabited by "convicts and Irishmen".)

My mother also sends the following information, referring to an arrangement of the tune by the Australian composer Percy Grainger:

Just another note about Danny Boy, that I grew up in Australia believing to be the Air from County Derry. We were looking through some LP?s last night (back to vinyl yet!) and found a Mercury Wing Classical Favorites stereo LP SRW18060, COUNTRY GARDENS and other favorites by Percy Grainger {played by} Eastman-Rochester Pops, Frederick Fennell, conducting. The cover notes included the following: "Irish Tune from County Derry was harmonised in memory of Irish childhood friends in Australia." Considered by many to be Grainger?s masterpiece of harmonization, the tune was collected many years ago by Miss Jane Ross of New Town, Limavady, Ireland. Grainger has set it for many instrumental combinations. So there?s another variant on the name for it. It doesn?t say who wrote the notes, but the bits in quotes for each of the works on the record are Grainger?s original comments.

The references to Londonderry Air that I?ve seen don?t go back any earlier than the late 1930s. For example, the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) in February 1940. Bing Crosby?s version was recorded in July 1941 (reference). (So many different things I could check up on!) Londonderry was an important American naval base during WWII, but the US hadn?t come into the war in 1940.

Need an anthem fast? They are ALL in my store! All my anthem arrangements are also available for Orchestra, Recorders, Saxophones, Wind, Brass and Flexible band. If you need an anthem urgently for an instrumentation not in my store, let me know via e-mail, and I will arrange it for you FOC if possible! keithterrett@gmail.com

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This album contains 5 of Johann Sebastian Bach\'s most famous and versatile pieces for saxophone quintet, all very well suited for the beginners who want to get to know the baroque repertoire. They are also suitable for performances at events such as: weddings, Christian and church ceremonies, Easter, and academic recitals or concerts. They can be used in music institutions and by teachers as repertoire material and study methods, either for performance or instrumental technique. This collection includes a totally free bonus for you to enjoy: Martin Luther\'s A Mighty Fortress is Our God, a Renaissance sacred song for choir, which has been adapted for this set. You can also buy each one individually by checking right at the end of each description of each work.

1: Air on the G String - The original piece is part of Johann Sebastian Bach\'s Suite No. 3 for orchestra, in D Major, BWV 1068, written for Prince Leopold of Anhalt. The so-called \"Air on the G String\" dates from one of these latter employments. In the service of the Prince of C�then, Bach composed not only the famous Brandenburg Concertos, but also several orchestral suites, from the third of which comes the \"Air on the G String\". This curious title derives from a later arrangement of this piece for violin solo, in which the melody is played entirely on the lower, higher string of the instrument. ID: S0.1189781

2: Arioso - The Cantata 156 (BWV 156) was written for the third Sunday after Epiphany in 1729, and was first performed on January 23 of that year. The text is by Picander, one of Bach\'s favorite librettists. Of the four cantatas written by Bach for the feast, it was the last and only one scored for solo voice. This is a choral cantata, employing a choral melody in several movements. Cantata 156, in fact, employs two different choral melodies and texts in the second and sixth movements. A cantata is a sung symphony consisting of several parts, one of which is the Arioso, which is the initial instrumental part. ID: S0.1189985

3: Jesu, joy of man\'s desiring - This is one of Bach\'s most beautiful cantatas, made famous by the Jesus the Joy of Men chorus. It was originally composed for Advent 1716 in Weimar. Years later, already in Leipzig, Advent was tempus clausum, there was no music in the churches. Bach then reworked it for the Feast of Mary\'s Visitation. It is the final chorale of the cantata \"Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben\". Although it is the 32nd cantata composed by Bach, of those that have survived, it was given BWV 147 in the complete catalog of his works. ID: S0.1190041

4: O Jesulein s�ss, o Jesulein mild - The Jesulein s��, the Jesulein mild is an original traditional German choral melody for voice and continuous bass arranged by Johann Sebastian Bach around 1735. With lyrics by Valentin Thilo, O Jesulein s�ss is a sacred melody adapted and catalogued as BWV 493. The first translation is by Dirk van Hogendorp, who made it more of a song for the time of suffering. ID: S0.1190181

5: Minuet in G major - This famous piece has traditionally been attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, as it appears in the Notebook for Anna Magdalena , a notebook that Bach gave to his wife Anna Magdalena in 1725 and which was to be filled with the favorite selections of Bach family members. However, recent research has concluded that this minuet, sometimes referred to as BWV Anhang 114. was probably composed by Christian Petzold, a German composer and organist contemporary with Bach. ID: S0.1190377

Bonuses: A Mighty Fortress is Our God, by Martin Luther - Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott is a hymn written by Martin Luther probably before 1529. The melody was also considered his work for a long time, but it was created at least with the collaboration of Johann Walter. The song is of great symbolic power for Protestantism.

The national anthem of the USA arranged for full orchestra. There are also versions for Brass Quintet & String Orchestra in my stores.


"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the Defence of Fort M'Henry, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the then 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven" (or "The Anacreontic Song"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it soon became a well-known U.S. patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being very difficult to sing. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. � 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of U.S. officialdom. "Hail, Columbia" served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody is identical to "God Save the Queen", the United Kingdom's national anthem, also served as a de facto national anthem. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent U.S. wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them "America the Beautiful", which itself was being considered before 1931, as a candidate to become the national anthem of the United States.

John Stafford Smith (30 March 1750 ? 21 September 1836) was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Stafford Smith is best known for writing the music for "The Anacreontic Song", which became the tune for the US patriotic song "The Star-Spangled Banner" following the War of 1812, and in 1931 was adopted as the national anthem of the United States.

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