John Charles McDermott is a Scottish-Canadian tenor best known for his rend… Read Full Bio ↴John Charles McDermott is a Scottish-Canadian tenor best known for his rendition of Danny Boy. Born in Glasgow, Scotland on March 25, 1955, John moved with his family to Willowdale, Ontario, Canada in 1965. Growing up in a musical family, his only formal musical training was at St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto, Ontario in 1971 and 1972.

After singing at weddings for a few years, he joined with several other choristers to form a group named The Mistletones in 1980. He also sang the national anthems at Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Maple Leafs games since 1988 and continues to do so. From 1984 through 1992 he worked as a circulation representative for the Toronto Sun, Conrad Black heard him singing at company parties. Black, along with other executives, financed McDermott's independent recording of "Danny Boy" in 1992, which was picked up and released in North America by EMI Music Canada. Following this unexpected success, McDermott decided to pursue a professional singing career.

John has annual concerts world wide, and can be seen from Toronto, to Boston, to New York, to Glasgow.

McDermott performed his first concert at the Rebecca Cohn Theatre on October 5, 1993 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there he continued to tour the rest of Canada, performing as an opening act for The Chieftains. Throughout 1994 he went on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, following the great success of Danny Boy, which had been ranked Number 1 on the charts there and achieved triple platinum in New Zealand. Next, in 1995 he went on a tour of the United Kingdom with The Seekers.

At this point in his career he was becoming recognized internationally, so he started to tour regularly as a solo act rather than an opening act. He also appeared at several special events including the D-Day ceremonies in France in 1995, and the US Democratic National Convention in 1996. He has also appeared on TV several times, both as a host of CBC Television concert specials in 1997, and in his own television special titled John McDermott: A Time to Remember which aired on PBS in 2002.

McDermott formed The Irish Tenors and after performing a large concert in Dublin, Ireland in 1998, they spent some time touring the US, appearing on TV, and releasing a gold record.

Since leaving The Irish Tenors, McDermott continues to tour extensively throughout the World, performing with his own group and with the great symphonies of the world. He continues to work to support the veteran community in the United States and in Canada. In 2000 McDermott dedicated McDermott House in Washington DC, a transitional home for homeless veterans. His latest release Journeys-Bringing Buddy Home was recorded to help support fundraising for Fisher House Boston and launch the Canadian initiative for an outreach centre for Canadian Veterans.

Mary of Argyle
John McDermott Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I have heard the mavis singing
His love song to the moon
I have seen the dewdrop clinging
To the rose just nearly born
But a sweeter song has cheer'd me
At the evening's gentle close
And I've seen an eye still brighter
Than the dewdrop on the rose

'twas thy voice, my gentle mary,
And thine artless winning smile
That made this world an eden,
Bonie mary of argyle

Tho' thy voice may lose it's sweetness,
Thine eye it's brightness too
Tho' thy step may lack it's fleetness
And thy hair it's sunny hue
Still to me wilt thou be dearer
Than all the world shall own
I have loved thee for thy beauty,
But not for that alone

I have watched thy heart, dear mary
And it's goodness was the wile

That has made thee mine forever,
Bonnie mary of argyle

Overall Meaning

In John McDermott's song Mary of Argyle, he paints a beautiful picture of nature, with references to the mavis singing his love song to the moon and the dewdrop clinging to the nearly born rose. However, he finds a sweeter song in the gentle closing of the evening and an eye still brighter than the dewdrop on the rose. McDermott then reveals that it's Mary's voice and artless winning smile that made the world an eden for him. He expresses that even if Mary's voice loses its sweetness, her eye loses its brightness, or her step lacks its fleetness, she will still be dearer to him than anyone else. He has loved her not just for her beauty, but also for her goodness and for watching her heart.

The beauty of nature is used as a metaphor to reflect the beauty in Mary. McDermott suggests that Mary's beauty goes beyond just physical beauty and that her goodness and the kindness that she shows is the reason why he has loved and will continue to love her. He adds that beauty fades with time, but the goodness in Mary's heart will keep her dear to him forever.

Line by Line Meaning

I have heard the mavis singing
I have heard the thrush singing its love song

His love song to the moon
Singing love song to the moon

I have seen the dewdrop clinging
I have seen dewdrop sticking

To the rose just nearly born
It was sticking to the newly born rose

But a sweeter song has cheer'd me
But a sweeter voice made me happy

At the evening's gentle close
At the end of the evening

And I've seen an eye still brighter
I have seen an even brighter eye

Than the dewdrop on the rose
Than the dewdrop on the rose

'twas thy voice, my gentle mary,
It was your voice, my gentle Mary,

And thine artless winning smile
And your natural, charming smile

That made this world an eden,
That made this world a paradise

Bonie mary of argyle
Fair Mary of Argyle

Tho' thy voice may lose it's sweetness,
Although your voice may lose its sweetness

Thine eye it's brightness too
Your eye, too, may lose its shine

Tho' thy step may lack it's fleetness
Although your step may not be as swift

And thy hair it's sunny hue
And your hair may lose its bright color

Still to me wilt thou be dearer
Still, you will be more valuable to me

Than all the world shall own
Than all the world will ever know

I have loved thee for thy beauty,
I have loved you for your beauty,

But not for that alone
But not just for that

I have watched thy heart, dear mary
I have watched your heart, dear Mary,

And it's goodness was the wile
And its goodness was the trick

That has made thee mine forever,
That made you mine forever,

Bonnie mary of argyle
Fair Mary of Argyle

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRIDGES, MCDERMOTT, C. JEFFRIES, S. NIELSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

Margaret Brain

LOVE this. Brought back so many memories as I listened to this. Beautifully sung.

Tracy Beckett

My piano teacher gave me this to learn, many years back. This is the most beautiful rendition I have ever heard.

Caroline Mitchell

This is lovely. My favourite has to be Stuart Burrows singing it, particularly as my dad loved him singing it and The Rose of Tralee. This version has a different, still very lovely.