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Danny Boy marathon aims to break Guinness Book of World Records

by Jamie Rhein (RSS feed) on Mar 15th 2008 at 10:05AM

There are high hopes in Ferndale, Michigan. Opposite to Shaun Clancy of Foley's Pub and Restaurant in Manhattan who is loathe to hear "Danny Boy" in March, A.J. O'Neil, owner of A.J. Café, has been hustling to get enough folks together to break the Guinness Book of World Records in a "Danny Boy" singing/playing the song marathon for a St. Patrick Day first.

Here's how it will work. Starting at 3 p.m. today, various musicians will take turns belting out the lyrics or playing the tune "Danny Boy." The goal is to have the singing and playing go non-stop for 50 hours. The end point is March 17 at about 5 p.m. [see article] The marathon is also a fundraiser. Gleaners Community Food Bank, Ferndale Youth Assistance, St. Patrick Senior Center in Detroit and Detroit Together Men's Chorus will benefit from the proceeds. Ah, creativity at its finest.

A few days ago, 600 people had signed up to participate but a few hundred more were needed. Folks can rap, sing, play an instrument, whistle, hum, whatever it takes to keep the song going over and over and over again.

I hope Mr. O'Neil still likes "Danny Boy" once this marathon is over. I'm sure he'll know the words. Let's hope he has the luck of the Irish and gets the record for his efforts.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Festivals and Events, Food and Drink, United States, News

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Al Grand Mar 23rd 2008 12:53AM

My Yiddish version of "Danny Boy" will be sung at the Marathon by Bea and Marian Sandweiss, a mother and daughter duet. In doing this translation I was careful to adhere faithfully to the original English rhymes while striving to preserve unblemished Yiddish. I was not satisfied until I was absolutely certain that I achieved a perfect match of verbal to musical cadence so that the lyric conformed to the accentuation and rhythm of each musical phrase. Words and music must be so inseparably wedded to each other that they are like one.

My Yiddish version of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" received a 2007 Drama Desk nomination for an award during last years off-Broadway run in New York City. It received over a dozen favorable reviews including this one in the New York Times by Lawrence Van Gelder: http://theater2.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/theater/reviews/08pira.html

Al Grand

http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/DYG

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