There is nothing incongruous about “Danny Boy” sung in Spanish. Why not? Because of the San Patricios. Who the heck are they? During the Mexican-American War, many immigrants from Ireland crossed the border to fight with Mexico; that’s what they were called under their Irish banner. Why did they do that? They were treated better by the Mexicans.
While describing that scenario to a class at the Braille Institute, several years ago, as St. Patrick’s Day approached, it occurred to me to emphasize the point by translating, “Oh, Danny Boy’ into Spanish. My musical colleague Tommy Dodson kindly created an arrangement and recorded it for us.
As St. Patty’s Day nears again, Tommy decided to do a reprise of that version on his, “Tommy’s Tableaus.” (Link below)
Here are the Spanish lyrics:
POBRE DANIEL
(Danny Boy)
Letra de Curtis W. Long
Pobre Daniel,
La gaita ya se oye,
De aquí hasta allá,
Por todo el monte ahí.
Se fue el verano
Y también las flores.
Pobre Daniel,
Te fuiste tú de mí.
Regresa a mí,
Cuando vuelva el verano.
En el invierno,
Vuelve a mí, también.
Mi corazón
Se rompe con el tiempo.
Pobre Daniel, Pobre Daniel,
Del corazón.
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