Danny Boy - Eric Clapton

Just last night, I tried this piano app Synthesia, and played it with my little nephew and his mum. I can't play any music instrument (only know the super basic thing on guitar!), so playing it - even only through the screen, and with colour-coded guides - was much fun. The app doesn't have too many songs, it has mostly classical tunes, children songs, traditional folk songs, and very few oldies (!), but these are enough for a beginner to play with. Then we saw Danny Boy on the list.

People in the house had always have this sentimental fondness of the song, especially since dad used to turn on the Adrian Brett's album Echoes of Gold (I always remember it as only 'Suling Emas'!) repeatedly when we were little kids. As I was a bit older, I found out the story behind this traditional Irish folk song about a message from a parent to a son; that's beautiful but rather painful.

Here's a cover version of the song that I've just found, played beautifully by Eric Clapton. To me; it's impossible not to get a little teary eyed while listening to this, knowing the heartbreaking event he had gone through back in the 90s. Think the original tune (and the lyrics) had always meant to be like what he intended for this cover version; simple and pure.