Irish Tune from County Derry

Recorded live, in concert, on February 16, 2024
Irish Tune from County Derry .............................Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
Collected in 1851 by Miss Jane Ross of Limavady, in County Derry,
this piece was first printed in The Petrie Collection of the Ancient
Music of Ireland (Dublin, 1855). The lyrics known as “Danny Boy”
were written in 1910 by English lawyer Frederick Weatherly. The
question of what the ballad means is open to some debate. Some
interpret it to be a message from a parent to a son, hoping for his
return from war. The lyrics evoke a sense of hope to the chance of
meeting again. Others argue that it refers to those who were part of
the Irish diaspora, who were displaced from their own country by
famine or poverty. Film director James Maycock said, “[It’s]
certainly about loss, departure, even death. But crucially, it’s also
uplifting - offering us that tantalizing hope of a possible reunion
with the departed.”