When you start humming this morning as you don your green attire, as you always do on March 17, think twice before launching into "Danny Boy."

An original Irishman, Shaun Clancy, has banned the singing of "Danny Boy" in his Manhattan pub for all of March. He says it's a depressing song, poorly sung by most people, and it rarely plays a part in festivities in his native land. Also, its lyrics came from an Englishman rather than someone, say, red-haired with a name containing an apostrophe.

So Mr. Clancy's no longer interested in pandering to the Americans who overindulge in its wistful lament over the pipes, the glen, the meadow, etc.

"The Irish are not known for being a depressed group of people," the owner of Foley's Pub and Restaurant, across the street from the Empire State Building, told ABC News. "For the song associated with them to be 'Danny Boy' -- that's kind of akin to the Yankees winning the World Series and the fans breaking out into 'Ave Maria.' "

Mr. Clancy's prohibition has attracted a lot of attention, including hundreds of e-mails for and against "Danny Boy." Some accused him of merely seeking publicity (which, if so, obviously succeeded). One wrote, apparently sarcastically: "Shame on ye, Clancy! I hope yer proud. Yes, ye got yerself noticed alright. Well done, me lad."

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper commended Mr. Clancy. "Just as St. Patrick's Day has long been a bigger deal here than in Ireland, 'Danny Boy,' is more of a stateside cliche than a true Irish anthem," he wrote. "It was written by an English lawyer who never set foot on Irish soil."

He noted that there are some great versions of the song, such as by the Pogues and Celtic Woman, but a number of dreadful ones (e.g. Cher) as well. Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby and Conway Twitty are just a few of the others to record it, for better or worse.

This isn't the first "Danny Boy" controversy.

The Diocese of Providence cracked down in 2001 on the use of secular songs at Catholic funeral Masses -- with "DB" identified as the most notorious violator. The diocese relied on Catholic doctrine that Mass is for liturgical music from sacred text or written specifically for Mass.

Most churches ignore such strict standards when it comes to "Danny Boy," as it has been especially popular for the funerals of fallen police and firefighters, including those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The police and fire departments in New York contain many Irish members, and the sirens calling them to the World Trade Center could be viewed as similar to the "DB" bagpipes summoning a lad to military duty.

The Catholic Church generally leaves it up to individual parishes to decide what songs to allow. But when the Providence diocese issued a reminder of guidelines that "Danny Boy" and its ilk were verboten, one retired police officer wrote: "I want 'Danny Boy' sung at my funeral Mass and, if it isn't, I'm going to get up and walk out."

Melachy McCourt several years ago wrote, "Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad," to explain the song's history. He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, however, that he was never able to figure out for certain what lyricist Frederick Weatherly was actually referring to when he wrote the words in 1910.

Maybe Danny's going off to war. Maybe a girlfriend or parent expecting to die soon is the one singing of how "my grave will warmer, sweeter be," once Danny returns to pay his respects. It's all rather ambiguous, and Mr. McCourt refers to the song as "saccharine." Musicians sometimes mock it, as in this parody credited to Peter Benson:

Oh, Danny boy, they claim that you are Irish
But we both know you're English through and through
And if you really want to know what I wish
I truly wish that I had never heard of you
'Cause every March they make me sing about you
And every drunkard thinks that he can too
And when they miss that high note it's so painful
That if you heard it, I think it would kill you, too.