iRide.2020.04.30 Danny Boy

There was a fleeting and ethereal light playing across the face of the the Pine Valley Mountains as I began my ride. I stopped a couple of times, but the light faded before I could even raise the camera to my eye. Third time lucky: at the pheasant pens the light lasted long enough for me to take a panorama (below), but even so I did not manage to capture the delicacy of the moment. Perhaps a time-lapse sequence would have worked better if only I had the time!

Trench digging on W3000S continues apace. The pipes have arrived and are calling for attention. I spoke with one of the crew, who told me that up above the North Cattle Guard the asphalt has been milled. That means that essentially the road no longer exists until the new one is completed. It seems that the joint forces of pipeline and road construction have won.

After taking the photo of the pipes I acquired an earworm (aka 'the pipers maggot' according to a thorough article in The New Yorker) and thereafter repeatedly sang the first line of the famous and eponymous song, 'Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling'. There are mysteries surrounding the song, which are covered by Wikipedia and more extensively in three highly detailed pages [1] [2] [3] on the Standing Stones website by Michael Robinson.

Unfortunately, although a fine song and a compelling melody, Danny Boy seems to encourage maudlin sentimentality in performances by singers as varied as drunks in bars and world-class performers (who really should have know better) in widely broadcast events.

According to the linked information, excessive rubato may be the specific reason that the version of the melody we are now familiar with was first recorded in the way that it was. Jazz pianist Bill Evans cut a version of the tune that explores its construction and nuances without any of the gush so often overlaid on the piece.

The good news is that tomorrow will bring an entirely different earworm.

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