All site ▾
All site▾
Free sheet music
Sheet music books
Digital sheet music
Musical equipment
My account
(log-in)
¥
¥
EUR €
USD $
GBP £
CAD $
CNY ¥
Français
Free Sheet Music ▾
▽ INSTRUMENTS
ACCORDION
BALALAIKA
BANJO
BASS
BASSOON
BLANK SHEET M…
BOOKS
BOUZOUKI
CELLO - VIOLO…
CHARANGO
CHOIR - VOCAL
CLARINET
CORNET
DOBRO - GUIT.…
DOUBLE BASS
DRUM
DULCIMER
ENGLISH HORN
EUPHONIUM
FLUGELHORN
FLUTE
GUITAR
HANDBELLS
HARMONICA
HARP
HARPSICHORD
HORN
LUTE, THEORB
MANDOLIN
MARCHING BAND
MARIMBA
OBOE
ORCHESTRA - B…
ORGAN - ORGAO
OTHER INSTRUM…
PANPIPES
PERCUSSION
PIANO
RECORDER
SAXOPHONE
TROMBONE
TRUMPET
TUBA
UKULELE
VIBRAPHONE
VIOLA
VIOLA DA GAMB…
VIOLIN - FIDD…
XYLOPHONE
ZITHER
NEW ADDITIONS
|
GENRES
|
20th century
Afro-americans
Ballad
Baroque
Bluegrass
Blues
Brazilian/Choro
Celtic
Celebrations
Classical
Classical modern
Contemporary
National Anthems
Jazz
New age
Opera
Ragtime
Renaissance
Romantic
Sonata
Tango
Traditional
Waltz
Occitan song
Song
Chinese traditional
Ethnic
Klezmer
Flamenco
Folk
Japanese traditional
March
Medieval
Musette
Orientale
Pasodoble
French popular
Popular Dance
Reggae
Swing
Latin/World
INSTRUCTIONAL
:
Blank sheet music
Children
Dictionaries
Instructional methods
Music theory
Musicology
Rhythmic Solfege
Solfeges
Studies
SACRED
:
African Hymns
Chassidic
Christian
Christmas
Gospel
Gregorian
Israeli
Sacred Hymns
Wedding
DIFFICULTY
|
Beginner
Easy
Intermediate
Intermediate/advanced
Advanced
TOP DOWNLOADS
|
TOP DOWNLOADS
TOP 100 SOCIAL RANKING
COMPOSERS
|
Member composers
Historical composers
All composers
INSTRUMENTATIONS
|
SOLO
DUET
TRIO
QUARTET
QUINTET
ENSEMBLE
ALL
ADVANCED SEARCH
|
Digital Sheet Music
HOME
|
NEW ADDITIONS
|
PIANO
|
Piano sheet music
Piano solo
Piano, Voice, Guitar
Piano duet
Easy Piano
Piano Method
Methods
Studies
Organ sheet music
Organ solo
Organ duet
INSTRUMENTAL
|
Strings
Violin
Viola
Cello
Doublebass
Harp
Woodwinds
Flute
Clarinet
Oboe
Saxophone
Bassoon
Brass
Trumpet
Horn
Trombone
Tuba
Guitar
Guitar Tabs
Piano, Voice, Guitar
Bass
Folk
Accordion
Banjo
Dulcimer
Ukulele
Mandolin
Chamber music
String quartet
Wind quintet
Brass quintet
Handbells
ORCHESTRA
|
Concert Band
Jazz Ensemble
Jazz combo
Brass band
Marching band
Methods
Orchestra
String orchestra
CHOIR / VOICE
|
Choir
SATB
TTBB
SSAA
3-parts
2-parts
Voice
Piano, Voice, Guitar
Piano, Voice
Voice solo
Voice duet
GENRES
|
20th century
Asian
Bluegrass
Blues
Broadway / Musicals
Celtic
Christmas
Classical
Children
Country
Fingerpicking
Flamenco
Folk Rock
French songs
Funk
Gospel
Halloween
Instructional
Instructional - Studies
Jazz
Klezmer
Latin / World
Latin Pop
Medieval / Renaissance
Metal / Hard
Movie / TV
Movie Walt Disney
New Age
Patriotic
Pop
Reggae
Rock
Rock Alt.
Sacred / Church
Soul / Rap
Tango
Traditional
Video Game
Wedding / Love
CHRISTMAS
|
All Christmas
Christmas Piano
Christmas Guitar
Christmas Voice/Choir
Halloween
DIFFICULTY
|
Beginner
Easy
Intermediate
Intermediate/advanced
Advanced
Music Sheet Library ▾
HOME
|
NEW ADDITIONS
|
PIANO
|
Piano (all)
Beginner Piano
Easy Piano
Piano Solo
PVG
Best Sellers
New additions
GUITAR
|
Guitar (all)
Beginner Guitar
Easy Guitar
Guitar TAB
Guitar (without TAB)
Best Sellers
New additions
VOICE/CHORAL
|
Choral & Voice (all)
Solo voice
Choral 2-Part
Choral 3-Part
Choral SATB
Choral TTBB
Choral SSAA
Choral UNISON
Best Sellers
New additions
INSTRUMENTATIONS
|
BEST SELLERS
|
CHRISTMAS
|
GENRES
|
20th century
African
Asian
Bluegrass
Blues
Broadway / Musical
Celtic
Christmas
Classical
Country
Children
Eastern Europe
Exams
Fingerpicking
Flamenco
Folk Rock
French songs
Funk
Gypsy jazz
Gospel
Halloween
Instructional
Instructional - Studies
Instructional - Chords/Scales
Jazz
Klezmer
Latin / World
Latin Pop
Medieval / Renaissance
Metal
Movie / TV
Movie Walt Disney
New Age
Patriotic
Pop
Reggae
Rock
Rock Alternative
Sacred / Church
Soul / Rap
Tango
Traditional
Video Games
Wedding / Love
SECTIONS
|
ARTISTS
PUBLISHERS
CLASSROOM
GIFT IDEAS
BOOKS ABOUT MUSIC
PLAY-ALONG
ADV.SEARCH
Musical Equipment ▾
GUITAR
|
KEYBOARD
|
PERCU.
|
STUDIO
|
SOFT
|
PA
|
LIGHT
|
DJ
|
MIC
|
EFFECTS
|
WINDS
|
TRAD.
|
FLIGHT
|
CABLES
|
ACC.
|
GIFT
|
BRANDS
--INSTRUMENTS--
ACCORDION
AUTOHARP
BAGPIPE
BANJO
BASS
BASSOON
BOOKS
BOUZOUKI
BUGLE
CHORAL - VOCAL…
CLARINET
CORNET
DIDGERIDOO
DJ GEAR
DRUM
DULCIMER
ENGLISH HORN
EUPHONIUM
FLUTE
FRENCH HORN
GUITAR
HANDBELLS
HARMONICA
HARP
HARPSICHORD
LAP STEEL GUIT…
LUTE
MANDOLIN
MARCHING BAND
MARIMBA
MUSIC COURSE
OBOE
OCARINA
ORCHESTRA - BA…
ORGAN
PANPIPES
PERCUSSION
PIANO
RECORDER
SAXOPHONE
SYNTHESIZER K…
TROMBONE
TRUMPET
TUBA
UKULELE
VIBRAPHONE
VIOLA
VIOLIN - FIDDL…
VIOLONCELLO - …
XYLOPHONE
ZITHER
James Country Intermediate
Not classified
3
Piano & keyboards
Piano solo
9
Easy Piano
1
Guitars
Guitar notes and tablatures
3
Guitar
2
Banjo
1
Bass guitar
1
Voice
Choral TTBB
5
Choral SSAA
2
Choral SATB
2
Choral 3-part
1
Woodwind
Saxophone
6
Flute
4
Clarinet
4
Tenor Saxophone
1
Alto Saxophone
1
Woodbrass
Trumpet
2
Trombone
2
Brass Quintet: 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba
1
Strings
String Quartet: 2 violins, viola, cello
2
Harp
2
Violin
1
Percussion & orchestra
Orchestra
1
String Orchestra
1
Others
Home
Best Sellers
New releases
Methods
Studies
Sellers
Sellers
Americans
At Musicnotes
At Sheetmusicplus
At Virtualsheetmusic
Europeans
At Tomplay
At Prof-Editions
At Note4piano
At Noviscore
At Quickpartitions
International artists list
French artists list
Top artists
Top artists
POP
Adele
Daft Punk
Avicii
Pharrel Williams
Bruno Mars
Lily Allen
Birdy
John Legend
Passenger
Emeli Sand�
Beatles
NEW AGE / CLASSICAL
Yiruma
Ludovico Einaudi
John Williams
Piazzolla
John Rutter
Dmitri Shostakovich
Benjamin Britten
Ennio Morricone
Paul Mealor
John Rutter
Eric Whitacre
John Tavener
Christmas
Halloween
Easter
Wedding
Sacred
International Artists :
• Bay, James
• Taylor, James
• Dillon, James
FREE SHEET MUSIC
188,000+ free sheet music
SHEET MUSIC LIBRARY
1,500,000+ buy and delivery
DIGITAL SHEET MUSIC
2,000,000+ buy and print
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
200,000+ buy and delivery
Sheet Music Membership ($37.75/year)
Digital sheet music, access after purchasing
Post mailing
Digital sheet music
Sorting and filtering :
--INSTRUMENTS--
ACCORDION
AUTOHARP
BAGPIPE
BANJO
BASS
BASSOON
BOOKS
BOUZOUKI
BUGLE
CHORAL - VOCAL…
CLARINET
CORNET
DIDGERIDOO
DJ GEAR
DRUM
DULCIMER
ENGLISH HORN
EUPHONIUM
FLUTE
FRENCH HORN
GUITAR
HANDBELLS
HARMONICA
HARP
HARPSICHORD
LAP STEEL GUIT…
LUTE
MANDOLIN
MARCHING BAND
MARIMBA
MUSIC COURSE
OBOE
OCARINA
ORCHESTRA - BA…
ORGAN
PANPIPES
PERCUSSION
PIANO
RECORDER
SAXOPHONE
SYNTHESIZER K…
TROMBONE
TRUMPET
TUBA
UKULELE
VIBRAPHONE
VIOLA
VIOLIN - FIDDL…
VIOLONCELLO - …
XYLOPHONE
ZITHER
style (all)
AFRICAN
AMERICANA
ASIAN
BLUEGRASS
BLUES
CELTIC - IRISH - SCO…
CHILDREN - KIDS : MU…
CHRISTIAN (contempor…
CHRISTMAS - CAROLS -…
CLASSICAL - BAROQUE …
CONTEMPORARY - 20-21…
CONTEMPORARY - NEW A…
COUNTRY
FINGERSTYLE - FINGER…
FLAMENCO
FOLK ROCK
FOLK SONGS - TRADITI…
FRENCH SONGS
FUNK
GOSPEL - SPIRITUAL -…
HALLOWEEN
INSTRUCTIONAL : CHOR…
INSTRUCTIONAL : METH…
INSTRUCTIONAL : STUD…
JAZZ
JAZZ GYPSY - SWING
JEWISH - KLEZMER
LATIN - BOSSA - WORL…
LATIN POP ROCK
MEDIEVAL - RENAISSAN…
METAL - HARD
MOVIE (WALT DISNEY)
MOVIE - TV
MUSICALS - BROADWAYS…
OLD TIME - EARLY ROC…
OPERA
PATRIOTIC MUSIC
POLKA
POP ROCK - CLASSIC R…
POP ROCK - MODERN - …
POP ROCK - POP MUSIC
PUNK
RAGTIME
REGGAE
SOUL - R&B - HIP HOP…
TANGO
THANKSGIVING
VIDEO GAMES
WEDDING - LOVE - BAL…
WORSHIP - PRAISE
Relevance
Best sellers
Prices - to +
Prices + to -
New releases
A-Z
skill (all)
beginner
easy
intermediate
avanced
expert
Sellers (all)
Musicnotes
Note4Piano
Noviscore
Profs-edition
Quickpartitions
SheetMusicPlus
Tomplay
Virtualsheetmusic
with audio
with video
with play-along
You've selected:
James Country Intermediate
Sheetmusic to print
58 sheet music found
<
1
26
51
Take Me Home, Country Roads
Take Me Home, Country Roads
#
Guitar
#
INTERMEDIATE
#
John Denver
#
James D
#
Take Me Home, Country Roads
#
James D. Esmond
#
SheetMusicPlus
Solo Guitar - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1102964 By John Denver. By Bill Danoff, John Denver, and Taffy Nivert. Arranged by James D. Esmond. Cont...
(+)
Solo Guitar - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1102964 By John Denver. By Bill Danoff, John Denver, and Taffy Nivert. Arranged by James D. Esmond. Contemporary,Country,Standards. Individual part. 2 pages. James D. Esmond #706288. Published by James D. Esmond (A0.1102964). Fun Intermediate level arrangement of this great classic country tune. Great for personal enjoyment, playing out at restaurants, or having fun around the campfire!
$4.99 ≈
¥34.99
My Country 'Tis Of Thee
My Country 'Tis Of Thee
#
Piano solo
#
INTERMEDIATE
#
Sacred music
#
Keith James
#
Keith James
#
My Country 'Tis Of Thee
#
Keith James Productions
#
SheetMusicPlus
Piano Solo - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1235809 By Keith James. By Unknown. Arranged by Keith James. Christian,Classical,Patriotic,Praise & Worsh...
(+)
Piano Solo - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1235809 By Keith James. By Unknown. Arranged by Keith James. Christian,Classical,Patriotic,Praise & Worship,Sacred. Score. 3 pages. Keith James Productions #831311. Published by Keith James Productions (A0.1235809). A patriotic hymn set to solo piano at an intermediate level. Enjoy!Keith James Music On Facebook
$1.99 ≈
¥13.95
Jesse James
Jesse James
#
Guitar
#
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
#
Traditional
#
Bettina Schipp
#
Jesse James
#
songbooks.info
#
SheetMusicPlus
Solo Guitar - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1322015 Composed by Traditional. Arranged by Bettina Schipp. Blues,Country,Folk,Traditional. Individual ...
(+)
Solo Guitar - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1322015 Composed by Traditional. Arranged by Bettina Schipp. Blues,Country,Folk,Traditional. Individual part. 1 pages. Songbooks.info #910433. Published by songbooks.info (A0.1322015). These Folk and Gospel Songs and Traditionals were arranged for Guitar fingerpicking. They were written in the well-known tablature for string instruments as well as in classical musical notation - for slightly intermediate and advanced guitarists. The songs were recorded at a slow tempo and with a metronome in the background. Have fun making music...!Diese Folk und Gospel Songs und Traditionals wurden für das Fingerpicking mit der Gitarre arrangiert. Sie wurden in der bekannten Tabulatur für Saiteninstrumente sowie in der klassischen Notenschrift notiert - für leicht fortgeschrittene und fortgeschrittene GitarristInnen. Die Lieder wurden in einem langsamen Tempo und mit einem Metronom im Hintergrund aufgenommen. Viel Spaß beim Musizieren...!
$1.99 ≈
¥13.95
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Easy/Intermediate Level, Alto Sax)
#
Saxophone
#
EASY
#
Rock
#
Folk/Rock
#
James Taylor
#
How Sweet It Is
#
Tomplay
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Pla...
(+)
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Play online and print.
5.99€ ≈
¥46.86
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Easy/Intermediate Level, Tenor Sax)
#
Saxophone
#
EASY
#
Rock
#
Folk/Rock
#
James Taylor
#
How Sweet It Is
#
Tomplay
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Pla...
(+)
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Play online and print.
5.99€ ≈
¥46.86
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Easy/Intermediate Level)
#
Clarinet
#
EASY
#
Rock
#
Folk/Rock
#
James Taylor
#
How Sweet It Is
#
Tomplay
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Pla...
(+)
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Play online and print.
5.99€ ≈
¥46.86
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Easy/Intermediate Level)
#
Flute
#
EASY
#
Rock
#
Folk/Rock
#
James Taylor
#
How Sweet It Is
#
Tomplay
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Pla...
(+)
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Play online and print.
5.99€ ≈
¥46.86
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Easy/Intermediate Level)
#
Trumpet
#
EASY
#
Rock
#
Folk/Rock
#
James Taylor
#
How Sweet It Is
#
Tomplay
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Pla...
(+)
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Play online and print.
5.99€ ≈
¥46.86
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Easy/Intermediate Level, Soprano Sax)
#
Saxophone
#
EASY
#
Rock
#
Folk/Rock
#
James Taylor
#
How Sweet It Is
#
Tomplay
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Pla...
(+)
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Play online and print.
5.99€ ≈
¥46.86
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Easy/Intermediate Level)
#
Trombone
#
EASY
#
Rock
#
Folk/Rock
#
James Taylor
#
How Sweet It Is
#
Tomplay
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Pla...
(+)
Download this music sheet with backing tracks recorded by professional musicians. Free Unlimited Access to 80,000 music sheets for 14 days (cancel anytime). Play online and print.
5.99€ ≈
¥46.86
King Of The Road for Classical Brass Quintet
King Of The Road for Classical Brass Quintet
#
Brass Quintet: 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba
#
INTERMEDIATE
#
Rock
#
Randy Travis, Roger Miller
#
Keith Terrett
#
King Of The Road for Classical
#
Music for all Occasions
#
SheetMusicPlus
Brass Quintet - Intermediate - Digital Download By Randy Travis, Roger Miller. Arranged by Keith Terrett. Individual Part, Score, Set of Parts. 8 pages. Pu...
(+)
Brass Quintet - Intermediate - Digital Download By Randy Travis, Roger Miller. Arranged by Keith Terrett. Individual Part, Score, Set of Parts. 8 pages. Published by Music for all Occasions
An arrangement of the evergreen top hit song from 1964 ''King of the Road'', set for classical Brass Quintet.
"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a hobo who, despite being poor (a "man of means by no means"), revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records.
The popular crossover record hit No. 1 on the US Country chart, No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Easy Listening surveys. It was also No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and in Norway. Miller recalled that the song was inspired when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, "Trailers for sale or rent".[6] This would become the opening line of the song.
The song has been covered by many other artists, including George Jones, Dean Martin, Val Doonican, Jack Jones, James Booker, The Fabulous Echoes, Boney M., R.E.M., Johnny Paycheck, Glen Campbell, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Boxcar Willie, Randy Travis, Rangers, James Kilbane, John Stevens, the Statler Brothers, Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson, Giant Sand, Peligro, The Proclaimers, Ray Conniff Singers, The Reverend Horton Heat, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jim White. James "The King" Brown (an Elvis impersonator) performed the song for a 2001 Audi commercial on German TV.[7] Of R.E.M.'s version, a shambolic, drunken, offhand rendering, guitarist Peter Buck would later comment, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song."
"King of the Road" was performed live by Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton during Miller's posthumous induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the 1995 CMA Awards ceremony.
The song is featured in Wim Wenders' 1976 film Im Lauf der Zeit (In the Course of Time; English title Kings of the Road). It is also played at the beginning of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Brokeback Mountain, Into the Wild (2007), Traveller (1997), and Swingers (1996). Miller performs it in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show. The recording by The Proclaimers is included in the film The Crossing (1990). Near the end of their official music video, the pair are shown reading a newspaper whose headline is "Roger Miller, King of Plugs".
Miller's recording appears in an episode of the Super Dave TV show, where Super Dave Osborne (Bob Einstein) sings along while sitting at a piano mounted on top of his tour bus. The bus eventually goes into a low tunnel, slamming into the piano and Osborne and pushing them off the bus and onto the ground.
A send-up version by English entertainer Billy Howard was a British chart hit in 1976.
A German take by the band Wise Guys exists, the parody referring to speeding on the Autobahn.
$14.99 ≈
¥105.10
Sacred Piano Solos Book
Sacred Piano Solos Book
#
Piano solo
#
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
#
Sacred music
#
Various
#
Sacred Piano Solos Book
#
SheetMusicPlus
Piano Solo - Advanced Intermediate - Digital Download Composed by Various. Arranged by James Michael Stevens. Sacred, Christmas, Easter, Lent, Wedding. She...
(+)
Piano Solo - Advanced Intermediate - Digital Download Composed by Various. Arranged by James Michael Stevens. Sacred, Christmas, Easter, Lent, Wedding. Sheet Music Single. 64 pages. Published by James M Stevens Music ASCAP
Released June 2021, this is a collection of hymn arrangements and original sacred songs all written in 2020 and 2021 including titles: I Sing the Mighty Power of God, Amazing Grace, Holy, Holy, Holy, I Vow to Thee My Country, 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime, Have Thine Own Way Lord, O Sing A Song of Bethlehem, Lord I Want to Be A Christian, and others. Difficulty levels range from intermediate to early advanced.
James Michael Stevens is a prolific composer residing in Nashville, TN and serves as the Music Department Chairman of Welch College.
$18.99 ≈
¥133.14
Irish National Anthem (Unofficial) for String Orchestra
Irish National Anthem (Unofficial) for String Orchestra
#
String Orchestra
#
INTERMEDIATE
#
Patriotic
#
trad
#
Keith Terrett
#
Irish National Anthem
#
Music for all Occasions
#
SheetMusicPlus
String Orchestra - Intermediate - Digital Download Composed by trad. Arranged by Keith Terrett. 20th Century, European, Patriotic. Score, Set of Part...
(+)
String Orchestra - Intermediate - Digital Download Composed by trad. Arranged by Keith Terrett. 20th Century, European, Patriotic. Score, Set of Parts. 10 pages. Published by Music for all Occasions
Londonderry Air arranged for String Orchestra.
A big band version of the song is used as the theme for The Danny Thomas Show (a.k.a. Make Room For Daddy).
"Danny Boy" was used to represent Northern Ireland at the start of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, sung by a choir of children on the Giant’s Causeway.
On November 25, 2014, the Vancouver Canucks used the song in honor of the recently deceased Pat Quinn, who played and worked in many executive capacities for the team.
There are various theories as to the true meaning of "Danny Boy". Some listeners have interpreted the song to be a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora.
The 1918 version of the sheet music included alternative lyrics ("Eily Dear"), with the instructions that "when sung by a man, the words in italic should be used; the song then becomes "Eily Dear", so that "Danny Boy" is only to be sung by a lady". In spite of this, it is unclear whether this was Weatherly’s intent.
Why the name Londonderry Air? Londonderry and Derry refer to the same place, a city in the north of Ireland, and also to the surrounding county. Supposedly the city of Derry was founded by St. Colmcille, although archaeological evidence shows that people were living there thousands of years earlier. There is an excellent museum in the city, which is worth a visit if you want to find out more. The name of the city was actually "Doire", corrupted to "Derry" by people who can’t pronounce Irish. It thought to derive from an Irish root meaning "oak tree".
Moving quickly along in history, about a millenium later the government of England was having a difficult time colonizing Ireland because of the fierce and warlike clans living there, especially in the north of the country, Ulster. The monarchs of England, almost all of whom were notorious cheapskates, were continually looking about for ingenious ways to conquer places without actually having to put up the money themselves, or run the risk of unpopularity if they lost. In the case of Ireland, some of these schemes of the "Brish gummit" (as it is termed nowadays in Ulster) are still producing unfortunate long-term consequences.
In 1608, King James I gave the city of Derry to the City of London corporation. I guess the deal could be summed up by saying that if the City of London could figure out a way to chase all the inhabitants out of Derry, they would be allowed to keep the loot, minus a percentage for the King of course. If they lost, well too bad. In celebration of this historic agreement, the name of Derry was officially changed to Londonderry. (For further information, check out the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s History of Derry.)
The linguistic outcome of all this today is that, if you think that King James’s deal with the City of London was a good idea, you call both the city and county "Londonderry". If you do, you are probably a supporter of the Unionist movement that seeks to keep Ulster a part of the United Kingdom. If you think it was a bad idea, you call both "Derry", and you are probably a supporter of the Irish Nationalist cause. Or you might just be someone who thinks it’s confusing for kings to be going around changing the names of places all the time for no good reason.
You can find plenty of discussion about the political side of the question elsewhere, but here let’s look at the musical side. We have an air, collected in county Derry/Londonderry, and it doesn’t have a title. What do we call it?
If you were a proper Victorian, there’s no way you were going to call it the Londonderry Air, much less the Derry Air, because of the improper sentiments that these titles might suggest. My parents tell me that in their youth in Australia, it was usually called the Air from County Derry. (This would, I suppose, support Winston Churchill’s theory that Australia was inhabited by "convicts and Irishmen".)
My mother also sends the following information, referring to an arrangement of the tune by the Australian composer Percy Grainger:
Just another note about Danny Boy, that I grew up in Australia believing to be the Air from County Derry. We were looking through some LP’s last night (back to vinyl yet!) and found a Mercury Wing Classical Favorites stereo LP SRW18060, COUNTRY GARDENS and other favorites by Percy Grainger {played by} Eastman-Rochester Pops, Frederick Fennell, conducting. The cover notes included the following: "Irish Tune from County Derry was harmonised in memory of Irish childhood friends in Australia." Considered by many to be Grainger’s masterpiece of harmonization, the tune was collected many years ago by Miss Jane Ross of New Town, Limavady, Ireland. Grainger has set it for many instrumental combinations. So there’s another variant on the name for it. It doesn’t say who wrote the notes, but the bits in quotes for each of the works on the record are Grainger’s original comments.
The references to Londonderry Air that I’ve seen don’t go back any earlier than the late 1930s. For example, the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) in February 1940. Bing Crosby’s version was recorded in July 1941 (reference). (So many different things I could check up on!) Londonderry was an important American naval base during WWII, but the US hadn’t come into the war in 1940.
Need an anthem fast? They are ALL in my store! All my anthem arrangements are also available for Orchestra, Recorders, Saxophones, Wind, Brass and Flexible band. If you need an anthem urgently for an instrumentation not in my store, let me know via e-mail, and I will arrange it for you FOC if possible! keithterrett@gmail.com
Contact Publisher Related Scores
$8.99 ≈
¥63.03
<
1
26
51