Danny Boy is a poignant poem of a parent whose son has just been called to serve in the military, and is desperately afraid that he will never see his son again. The pipes are CALLING, not merely playing; and they are calling FROM GLEN TO GLEN, not just the glen near Danny's home. The fact that Danny MUST GO and the parent MUST BIDE is directly related to the fact that the pipes are calling--and the only explanation is that the pipes are calling young men to war.
The parent cannot accurately foretell the future, and in the first verse says that Danny may return home after the war in summer or winter--he doesn't know which season and at this time considers the possibility that they will be reunited on earth.
In the second verse, the parent considers the possibility that they will never see each other again on earth. There are two possibilities: the parent could die before Danny returns, or Danny could die in the war--obviously the latter is more likely unless the parent is advanced in age or has an advanced disease. Why does the parent only consider the former possibility, especially since it has already established in the first verse that the parent cannot foretell the future. The parent obviously considers it poor taste to bring up the fact that Danny may die in the war: he wants Danny to fight with honor and courage and not fear death; yet the parent obviously knows the dangers of war. Being young, Danny probably takes a cavalier attitude toward his impending separation, but the parent nevertheless wants to impress upon Danny that they may never see each other again and projects his own death to add more gravity and meaning to their parting.
Danny Boy is a poignant poem of a parent whose son has just been called to serve in the military, and is desperately afraid that he will never see his son again. The pipes are CALLING, not merely playing; and they are calling FROM GLEN TO GLEN, not just the glen near Danny's home. The fact that Danny MUST GO and the parent MUST BIDE is directly related to the fact that the pipes are calling--and the only explanation is that the pipes are calling young men to war. The parent cannot accurately foretell the future, and in the first verse says that Danny may return home after the war in summer or winter--he doesn't know which season and at this time considers the possibility that they will be reunited on earth. In the second verse, the parent considers the possibility that they will never see each other again on earth. There are two possibilities: the parent could die before Danny returns, or Danny could die in the war--obviously the latter is more likely unless the parent is advanced in age or has an advanced disease. Why does the parent only consider the former possibility, especially since it has already established in the first verse that the parent cannot foretell the future. The parent obviously considers it poor taste to bring up the fact that Danny may die in the war: he wants Danny to fight with honor and courage and not fear death; yet the parent obviously knows the dangers of war. Being young, Danny probably takes a cavalier attitude toward his impending separation, but the parent nevertheless wants to impress upon Danny that they may never see each other again and projects his own death to add more gravity and meaning to their parting.