Frederic Weatherley, in 1910, wrote the lyrics for the song Danny Boy (set to the melody of The Londonderry Air in 1913):
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.
The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling,
It’s you, it’s you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow,
Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow,
It’s I’ll be there in sunshine or in shadow,—
Oh, Danny boy, Oh Danny boy, I love you so!
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
Ye’ll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Avé there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!
Danny Howell writes:
One of the lines includes the lyrics “But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,” and I have adapted the line as the collective title for my autobiographical notes: When All The Flowers Are Dying.
Whether my autobiographical notes are of any significance or not, I have included them in my blog, mainly for my own amusement but maybe they will be of interest to others too?
I have arranged these anecdotes in chronological order, most recent first, earliest last.