I found this little tidbit recently. The song has been so done and overdone, parodied and maligned, yet remains poignant and something of an anthem to many Irish-Americans and, perhaps, to Irish everywhere:

"Danny Boy" was written by Frederick Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly's sister modified them to fit "Londonderry Air" in 1913 when Weatherly sent her copy. Ernestine Schumann-Heink made the first recording in 1915. Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who in turn made it one of the most popular songs in the new century. In 1928, Weatherly suggested that the second verse would provide a fitting requiem for the actress Ellen Terry.

"Danny Boy" was intended as a message from a woman to a man, and Weatherly provided the alternative "Eily dear" for male singers in his 1918 authorised lyrics.[1] However, the song is actually sung by men as much as, or possibly more than, women. The song has been interpreted by some listeners as a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora. Some interpret it differently,[who?] such a dying father speaking to his leaving Danny. The phrase, "the pipes, the pipes are calling", in this interpretation, could refer to the traditional funeral instrument.

The song is widely considered an Irish anthem, although ironically, Weatherly was an Englishman and was living in America at the time he composed it. Nonetheless, "Danny Boy" is considered by many Irish Americans and Irish Canadians to be their unofficial signature song.

The irony, for me, was that the person who is credited with the very first recording of the song, Madame Schumann-Heink, was a long-time resident of San Diego and was living here when that recording was made. An Englishman wrote it, an expatriate from Saxony sang it and many Irish embraced it. There's a lesson there somewhere.