Saw this film at a screening at Tribeca Cinema in Manhattan and was lucky enough to have the director, producer, and others involved with the film do a Q&A afterward and elaborate on what drew them to the idea of making a documentary about just one song. I think the fact that so many people were able to get involved and tell their story about one or many memories that featured Danny Boy and what it meant to them says a lot about how this classic ballad has stood the test of time. It touches upon the creation of the London Derry Air in the early 1900's, its immigration to America with the waves of Irish coming through New York and Boston, its resonance with Hollywood, the connection it had with the African American community, the influence on notable rock stars, and culminating to its importance to the FDNY post 9/11 in New York. The film touched upon so many cultures, generations, and individuals that were shaped by one song. It truly showed how Danny Boy moved with the times and could be interpreted by so many different people enabling it to stay alive for 100 years. In sunshine and shadow, the song and the film have notes of longing, adversity, happiness, love, pain, and so many others that allow people from all walks of life to connect with it no matter what their cultural background is. Truly fantastic documentary and I highly recommend it.
