"The Whistling Gypsy was written by Leo McGuire in Dublin about 1950 and first sung by Joe Lynch, the popular ballad singer from Cork. The song was written on a dare - I heard this from McGuire himself - that he could write a popular Irish song that would not have a sad ending ! The song was very popular throughout the 1950s. I last heard it sung by a quartet in Los Angeles in 1999. I was so surprised that I ran over and joined in with them. Oddly, they were pleased, because it turned out that they knew only one verse of the song and I knew them all ! (TC)"
I'm quoting this from a site I found by using Google.com Always liked this song myself. We sang it as a fun song in glee club when I was in high school. The question intrigued me so I did a bit of scouting around. Hope it helps.
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