Doonican started performing in his home town and featured in the first ever television broadcast from Waterford. He then joined a band which toured Ireland playing the drums. In 1951 he moved to England to join another group, The Four Ramblers who toured and performed on BBC Radio shows broadcast from factories.
He eventually went solo and had a radio show as well as performing concerts and cabaret. In 1963 he was booked to appear on Sunday Night at the London Palladium. As a result of this performance, he was offered his own show on BBC television, lasting for over twenty years and moving to Saturday as its popularity grew. It featured his relaxed crooner style performance sitting in a rocking chair, as well as a number of comic Irish songs, notably "Paddy McGinty's Goat", "Delaney's Donkey", and "Rafferty's Motor Car", on which he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. He often wore a cardigan which became a trade mark, and was sometimes compared to American singer Perry Como though Doonican has claimed his main influence was Bing Crosby. As a variety show, there were a number of other acts featured and performers such as Dave Allen had early exposure on the show.
The Palladium performance also kick-started his recording career. Between 1964 and 1973 he was rarely out of the UK Singles Chart, his greatest successes including the singles "Walk Tall", "The Special Years", "What Would I Be", "If The Whole World Stopped Loving", and "Morning"; and the albums 13 Lucky Shades of Val Doonican, and Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently. He also sang the theme song to the film, Ring of Bright Water.
He stopped performing in 2009 and spent a lot of his free time in Spain (where he had a second home).
Doonican's daughter wrote two books entitled Wired to the Moon and Fear of Custard under the name Sarah Kavanagh. Both stories are related to the performance entertainment world.
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Val Doonican Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've bought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
When we finally kiss goodnight
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm
The fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we're still goodbying
But as long as you love me so
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Val Doonican's version of "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" is a classic Christmas song that talks about the chilly winter weather and finding comfort with loved ones indoors. In the first verse, Doonican sets the stage with a juxtaposition between the frightful weather outside and the delightful warmth of the fire inside. He emphasizes their lack of plans, which creates a cozy and romantic atmosphere.
The second verse emphasizes that the snow doesn't seem to be stopping, as Doonican decides to pop some corn and turn down the lights. This creates an intimate ambiance that allows for a magical moment of the couple's first kiss. However, he dreads having to go out into the storm, but the warmth of the embrace and love keeps him going. The final verse talks about the fire slowly dying and how they need to say goodbye, but as long as they have love, they can be happy in the present moment.
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" was written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in 1945. It was one of the first songs Cahn and Styne wrote together, and it was created on a hot summer day in Hollywood. The song was written for the film "Neptune's Daughter" and was first performed by Vaughn Monroe.
Over the years, "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" has been covered by many artists, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Michael Bublé, and Pentatonix. It has become a beloved Christmas classic and is often played on the radio and in department stores during the holiday season.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh the weather outside is frightful
The weather is really bad outside
But the fire is so delightful
The warmth from the fire is making us feel good
And since we've no place to go
We have nowhere else to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
It's okay if it keeps snowing
It doesn't show signs of stopping
The snow is not going to stop anytime soon
And I've bought some corn for popping
I have bought some popcorn to enjoy while we stay inside
The lights are turned way down low
The lights are dimmed to create a cozy atmosphere
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
It's still okay if it keeps snowing
When we finally kiss goodnight
When we say goodnight and kiss each other
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
I really don't want to go out in the bad weather
But if you'll really hold me tight
But if you hold me tightly, I'll feel safe and warm
All the way home I'll be warm
You'll keep me warm on our way home
The fire is slowly dying
The fire is gradually getting weaker
And, my dear, we're still goodbying
We're saying goodbye to each other
But as long as you love me so
But if you love me, it doesn't matter
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
It's totally okay if it keeps snowing
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JULE STYNE, SAMMY CAHN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind