Monday, June 1, 2009

Missing the Point

Along the lines of a friend's recent post, I've found that some of the songs I enjoyed as a kid lose much of their magic as I get older. I'm not simply talking about being over-played. I'm talking about songs that sound great, but the lyrics or performance or subject matter are so inane, they just ruin the experience.

For instance, I grew up on Conway Twitty's country-western rendition of the famous Irish ballad, "Danny Boy." There are a few varying interpretations of the song, but most would settle on either the story of a parent sending his son off to war or perhaps a dying father speaking to his only son. It's a somber, melancholic song to be sure and it is often played at funerals for this reason. Once I was old enough to appreciate the lyrics, however, I noticed a strange incongruity between the subject matter and the tone of Conway Twitty's version.


Be sure to listen past the 30 second mark for the full effect.

2 comments:

SuiginChou said...

LMFAO. :)

It totally fits, though, with what we've learned from Matt about the Irish take on funerals: how after the funeral, you go back home with everyone and get shitfaced-smashed and party-hardy to commemorate the deceased's awesomeness to you. I remember Matt suggesting something like that about a year ago. That, and "Danny Boy" being so heavily associated with the Irish, makes this Conrad fellow's jolly performance of the song oddly appropriate ...

... but naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, it's still mostly inappropriate. XD

Dan said...

Hahaha, that's great stuff. Seriously, if you want to hear a great country western rendition of Danny Boy, I love Ray Price's version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRx-3O4oe5o

I don't like the instrumentation on this version (he recorded it with a full orchestra), but his voice is still pretty great.