Danny's Downs Lyrics - Peter, Paul & Mary

On the day little Danny arrived 

His father stared and his mother cried 

They knew his name but they didn't know why 

He looked the way he did 

This thing happens to other kids 

How in the world are we gonna live 

With a boy like that? 

Doctor said, Dan's the first bad news 

Second is his heart won't make it through 

It must be fixed unless you choose 

To send him back where he came 

Starve the boy from his name 

Just six short days of pain 

Or maybe less 

Danny's Downs but love is up 

It's been known to be more than enough 

For more and more of us 

Danny's downs but love is up 

I'm not that strong, his father said 

The dreams are gone, the hopes have fled 

Won't be long after he's dead 

We'll try again to find 

The child we had in mind 

Where the hell are those papers to sign? 

And the man broke down 

In a private room, Danny's mother wept 

As an old Jamaican woman swept 

And not by chance their eyes met 

(And she said) 

"God's gifts are only good y'know 

And there ain't no love the Lord can't grow 

Aw honey, take that boy with ya when ya go 

Back home 

Danny's Downs but love is up 

It's been known to be more than enough 

For more and more of us 

Danny's downs but love is up 

It's been eight years since the surgery 

His sister's five, his brother's three 

He goes to school and he knows how to read 

He takes the bus home by himself 

Puts his lunch pail back upon the shelf 

And he hugs his Momma till she melts 

To the floor 

They're more than a home, they're a family 

'Cause blood and bones are still souls y'see 

And someone's baby's just another Danny 

And in the guest room in the back 

Lives this old Jamaican black 

'Cause when you give a gift 

God gives it back again. 

Danny's Downs but love is up 

It's been known to be more than enough 

For more and more of us 

Danny's downs but love is up