Understanding through music

Read the Lyrics

Read the lyrics below and try to understand the meaning of this song.

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 here in sunshine or in shadow

Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

But when ye come, and all the flow'rs 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 Ave 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.

Think About It

1. This is a song about a yong man called Danny who is emigrating to the United States. His mother is singing the song.

2. Why do you think he must go and she must bide (stay)?

3. When he comes back, she says that she might be dead. How long do you think it will be before a poor emigrant can return home?

4. What does she ask him to do if he can return home again?

Understanding through Art

The Codex Mendoza was a document created by Aztec artists around 1541. Spanish colonial leaders invited local artists to create a native history of the Aztec empire; the story includes comments written in both the Nahuatl language and in Spanish. The first page shows the founding of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.

In the center of this page of the Codex Mendoza is an eagle standing upon a cactus on top of a rock. What do you think that symbol means?