Danny Boy - an Irish Song

She picks it, out of thin air. A laugh jumps out of my mouth and I am looking for chord charts. It is in a number of keys. The little guitar is in my lap, my elbows twisting around. She is next to me, leaning against my shoulder.
"There is a second verse." She says.
We try it in C but it is too high.
I go for the Johnny Cash version next.
It fits.
Then, mid-word she grows quiet. I point at the place, thinking she just got lost.
She is crying, her face folding in on herself the way it does.
I hold her, we talk quietly. She whispers to me, says the song is too sad. I make jokes, change the words to "Oh Beasty Boy" then put it all in Brooklyn where lots of words change to "mustard" and "bridge".
We let it go.

The next day she says she can do it, over a bowl of cereal.