So, up to now this casgliad consists of ... Stwffiwch Y dolig, Ddim Y Twrci .. a rather inauspicious beginning, but there we go... at least now you can sing along merrily to it.
I thought I would make a compilation of lots of Super Furry Animals-related Welsh words videos right here .... well, I've found, er, one ! They don't seem to be all that abundant, so I thought I'd just start anyway .... even the longest journey begins with a single step. So, up to now this casgliad consists of ... Stwffiwch Y dolig, Ddim Y Twrci .. a rather inauspicious beginning, but there we go... at least now you can sing along merrily to it.
0 Comments
This is a sort of Welsh sitcom I suppose ..... I like the title ! If you like, and it is, of course, Terrific For Your Welsh, there's quite a few more episodes to watch....... This has been Colorama month for me .... mainly ... and here's a beautiful version of Lisa Lân .... I've not seen a better one anyway ... Bum yn dy garu lawer gwaith,
Do lawer awr mewn mwynder maith, Bum yn dy gusanu Lisa gel Ac roedd dy gwmni yn well na’r mel Fy nghangen lan, fy nghowlad glyd, Tydi yw’r lanaf yn y byd; Tydi sy’n peri poen a chri, A thi sy’n dwyn fy mywyd i. Pan fyddwy’n rhodio gyda’r hwyr, Fy nghalon fach a dodd fel cwyr, Wrth glywed swn yr adar man, Daw hiraeth mawr am Lisa Lan. Lisa a ddoi di I’m danfon I, I roi fy nghorff mewn daear ddu? Gobeithio doi di, f’annwyl ffrind, Hyd lan y bedd lle rwyf yn mynd. Here's another book from the Dafydd Meirion stable.... a stable that has already produced Nicyrs and Trôns . As usual, Mr Meirion treats us readers to a whole new universe of chronic Wenglish .... here we go ... jiniys joclet fflêc eis crîm dênish pêstris Swîdyn dî-jê bês-mecyr Chatmandŵ Caili Minôg Sowth-o-Ffrans larincs taiming da leisans dîp-sowth cis-of-laiff laimlait mins peis dici-bô dybl-bwcd têbl egsglwsif stiwdants peis hôm-mêd wan-tw .... wan-tw swpyrstar weiarles côr-bleimi ..and on and on ..... this is only a tiny tiny sample of these horrendous chunks of Wenglish. Here's what I think ...at first they seem quite funny. But, just as with slap-stick humour, you tire of it after a while . Some would regard it a slight on the Welsh language. And if this is a true reflection of the way English and Welsh are going to interbreed, then in no time at all Welsh will be dead in the water. Because the history of this sort of language blending shows time after time that the "big" language wins, and the " little" language loses. If you read French books like Zazie dans le Metro, or some of Roald Dahl's books such as The Big Friendly Giant, you get plenty of word-play, but not like that stuff up there. It enhances the language rather that being a horrible parody. Just saying ! Now, here's an interesting song ... GZM's Peanut Dispenser ..... I think that a lot of this is in Welsh ( ignoring the "peanut dispenser bit) ....but I'm not sure that all of it is. I wouldn't put £50 on it. Before you move on, what's wrong with this track listing ? Well, three things actually.....at least... I found this list on Wales Online under the title " Are these the 50 best Welsh songs ever ?" I was rather disappointed to find that the vast majority of them were actually songs which just happened to have been written in English by Welsh people.. so I'm going to miss them out and we'll see what's left ! From number one hit singles to rare B-sides and little heard curios, we’ve dug through the vinyl vaults to sound out what we think are the top tracks of all time by Welsh artists. Right then, headphones at the ready as it’s time to turn up the volume and enjoy the ultimate mix tape ... here's the tattered remnants of that 50-strong list ... Hergest – Dewch i'r Llysoedd Ever wonder what The Lovin’ Spoonful or Buffalo Springfield would have sounded like had they come from Aberystwyth instead of sunnier Californian climes? Well, ponder no longer as such a meeting of the American West Coast and the Mid Wales shore occurred in the music of Hergest, a long-haired Yankophile four-piece from the ’70s who specialised in plaintive, minor chord wonders such as this one, entitled Come To The Courts. We’ve got it on the album Welsh Rare Beat 2. Y Tebot Piws – Mae Rhywyn Wedi Dwyn Fy Nhrwyn The Purple Teapot (for those of you who don’t siarad Cymraeg) were the ’70s folk pop outfit fronted by Dewi ‘Pws’ Morris. This 1971 track had an almost glam rock-like stomp and smattering of Bonzo Dog-type silliness in the vocal – then again, given the song title means Someone’s Stolen My Nose we doubt anyone was expecting any Bob Dylan-style philosophising. Available on the original Welsh Rare Beat from Sain. Y Niwl – Undegpedwar (well, the title's in Welsh anyway) Surf rock from halfway up a mountain in North Wales – surely there’s been some mistake? Not so, as this Snowdonian four-piece’s 2010 debut album Y Niwl, delivered a selection of psychedelic ’60s twang that not only paid homage to likes of Dick Dale, Link Wray and The Ventures but added a something unique of its own too.( Their "songs" are, as far as I know, all wordless! At least the title is in Welsh) Catatonia – International Velvet If a song ever encapsulated a movement it was this track that defined Cool Cymru. Opening with an oddly offbeat cod-reggae swing, the song from the album of the same name swaggers around its Welsh lyrics before bursting into life with the chorus refrain of, “Everyday when I wake up I thank the Lord I’m Welsh”. The Alarm – A New South Wales When Mike Peters undertook a journey of discovery around Wales it was a pilgrimage that had a profound effect on him and his music. It resulted in his band The Alarm simultaneously releasing an album in English and Welsh – entitled Change/Newid. This thunderous homage to the people of the Valleys featuring the spine-tingling accompaniment of the massed voices of the The Morriston Orpheus Choir was its jewel in the crown. A rousing, passionate, political ode to Wales.( Well, I suppose we can count this as a Welsh song because there is a Welsh version) Yr Anhrefn – Cornel Beloved of John Peel these Bangor rabble-rousers featured fired up iconoclast Rhys Mywn – a one man punk propaganda machine who advanced the cause of the late ’80s Welsh language scene by decamping to the doorstep of Radio 1 to hand Peel a tape of his band’s fiery political polemic. That was enough for the legendary DJ to declare himself smitten, and this furious barrage of melody and noise sums them up perfectly. Meic Stevens – Y Brawd Houdini Iconic folk hero often referred to as ‘the Welsh Dylan’, Stevens’ songs have a mystical flavour, and are mostly sung in his native tongue. This bright and breezy 1968 ramshackle pop classic remains the troubadour’s defining moment. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci – Patio Song Off-kilter, weird and downright Welsh, this 1996 single is a testament to the untapped genius of the Carmarthenshire group. Featured on the Barafundle album, its changing tempo – and language – makes it all the more otherworldly, with Euros Childs’ intonation all indie geekery wrapped up in a sweet melody. Redolent of a unique and enticing Wales, it still causes swooning when unleashed by indie DJs across the country. That leaves us, from a starting list of 50, with about 4-and-a-few-odds-and-ends actual Welsh songs. Not good ! Well, here's the first one on the "list" ... Hergest's song " Dewch i'r Llysoedd" ... Roedd Marged dynes brydferth, gyda tylluan yn clwydd ar ei deheulaw, 'run gem ar ei llaw*. Mae awel chwythu drwy'r eglwys y mae hi yn sefyll, yn aros yn dawel, yn dioddefus. Yn sydyn clywodd diasbad, yn dod oddi ar y groes gan yr allor. Marged was a beautiful woman, with an owl perched on her right hand, which also bore a jewel*. A breeze blew through the church in which she stood, waiting silently, patiently. Suddenly she heard a scream , coming from the cross by the altar. Here's the nouns from the story.... awel breeze dynes woman gem jewel, gem llaw hand tylluan owl llan church deheulaw right hand allor altar diasbad cry,scream croes cross Well, there's something they have in common .... you can think about it while you listen to Staffan Huw singing "Byw ar yr ymyl" if you like.... P A U S E F O R F U RT H E R THOUGHT Well, obviously, all the nouns are feminine . Learning noun genders is a complete pain in the bum.... wouldn't it be good if somebody wrote a story in Welsh in which all the nouns were feminine. We could say to ourselves. when we saw the word "awel" somewhere else, hey, that's a feminine noun, because I remember Marged in that church where there was a breeze. And the same person, or maybe a different person, could write a story ( in Welsh) in which all the nouns were masculine, and then you might see " rhyfelgri" and say, wow, that's masculine, because I remember Steffan letting out a wild battle-cry as he led his men (♂) into the lake ( llyn)(♂) ... You might think he was a bit silly leading his men into a lake, but it often helps you memorise things if they're silly, or rude, or remarkable. Anyhow, I think that a book of such stories ( well, two books actually) would fly off the shelves like flies flying off a shelf ..and it's my idea, but anyone out there can do it if they like, I waive all intellectual property in the hope that somebody will do it. ... relatively soon please, because i'm getting older by the minute. I can feel everything seizing up. Ouch. * By the way, I couldn't find a picture of a woman with an owl AND a jewel on her right hand . You'll have to use your imagination, as my chemistry teacher used to say when an experiment didn't work. That's a game they play on the R4 programme " I'm sorry I haven't a clue." Well, the other day I thought I would try it myself ... I was listening to a Spanish song ( Nena Daconte) on a tape in the car... "Tenia tanto que darte" it's called ... I switched it off and tried singing the words to various standard tunes .... it worked quite well with " Onward Christian Soldiers" and "I should be so lucky" and " Yellow Submarine" ... This made me wonder if you could do it with various Welsh songs ... and the answer is .. of course you can. This, for example, and with a bit of care, can be sung to the tune of Yellow Submarine too ! Go on, I know you want to have a go ..... but don't try it in the car like wot Mr. Gwynedd is doing ... Dos Dos am dro reit dros y môr,
Cym dy wynt fyddi di'n gynt i deimlo'r awel boeth Fel cusan ar dy groen gwyn noeth Clyw dim byd i agor dy fyd 'Stedda nawr rho dy ben i lawr, fydd pob un dim yn iawn Os ti'n cysgu drwy'r prynhawn 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda Cana'r gân neith gadw ni'n lân Dal yn dynn hen wragedd a ffyn sy'n disgyn rownd dy ben Ond cofia fodna werth i dy wên 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda. am dro reit dros y môr, Cym dy Dos am dro reit dros y môr, Cym dy wynt fyddi di'n gynt i deimlo'r awel boeth Fel cusan ar dy groen gwyn noeth Clyw dim byd i agor dy fyd 'Stedda nawr rho dy ben i lawr, fydd pob un dim yn iawn Os ti'n cysgu drwy'r prynhawn 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda Cana'r gân neith gadw ni'n lân Dal yn dynn hen wragedd a ffyn sy'n disgyn rownd dy ben Ond cofia fodna werth i dy wên 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r If any of you out there have any other examples of this earth-shaking breakthrough in the world of Welsh song,or if you think it's the stupidest idea in the Universe, or if you think it is an insult to somebody or other, you could let me know, either as a comment or on this blog's very own email ..... [email protected] cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda.y wynt fyddi di'n gynt i deimlo'r awel boeth Fel cusan ar dy groen gwyn noeth Clyw dim byd i agor dy fyd 'Stedda nawr rho dy ben i lawr, fydd pob un dim yn iawn Os ti'n cysgu drwy'r prynhawn 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda Cana'r gân neith gadw ni'n lân Dal yn dynn hen wragedd a ffyn sy'n disgyn rownd dy ben Ond cofia fodna werth i dy wên 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda 'Cos da ni gyd yn rhedeg fel rhyw lygod mawr Os gen ti hanner awr sebona fi A cofia'r un hen betha sydd yn poeni pawb Ond pridd yn y pendraw yda ni O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda O ma bywyd mor braf Blas y grawnwin yn gryf yn y gwin a'r cwmni'n dda. I might have mentioned that I was in Ireland recently. Amazingly, there are v. few Welsh books to be found in the junk shops of Ireland. However, determined as I was to make the best of the situation, I spent a few minutes looking through those huge cardboard boxes (weight... 8 tons) packed with LPs ..... yes, LPs. I was hoping to find a few hidden gems in there ... Kate Bush's little-known country album, the Clash's first rather misguided waxing of "A Man named Sue" , or even Datblygu's mid-period and mysteriously "lost" cover version of "Hey Big Spender." But I didn't find any of those. But ... I did find two Welsh choir LPs. Aha ! The first one cost a whopping 25p. Ouch ! But, fair do's, they are the "most successful male voice choir in Wales. It was "cut" or "laid down" or whatever they call it these days in 1969. Cripes. As you will see, their selection is staunchly Welsh.... Yes, Finlandia, Tannhauser, The Magic Flute, Viva Tutti, Dies Irae ... all good Welsh stuff. No, seriously, there's only 2 Welsh songs on it .. that's 12½p each. I thought about it for a while, but got it anyway because I thought it might be worth a bit on the black market. Of course, when you play it, you can't make out a single word. So, just in case you've got the same LP, here they are.... I think .... here's the words then to Llanfair ... Gwyn a gwridog hawddgar iawn, Yw f Anwylyd, (?) Doniaur nef sydd yn ddon llawn Per aidd, hyfryd; Daear faith, nac uchder nef, Byth ni ffeindia Arall tebyg iddo Ef, Haleliwia. 2. Yn ddoi Hunan y maen llawn Bob Trysorau Dwyfol berffaith werth fawr iawn, Am fy meiau Gwir ddoethineb hedd a gras, Gwerth fawr o ca. Nerth i hollol garior, maes, Haleliwia. 3. Dyma sylfaen gadarn gref, Trwy fy mywyd, Credu ae edrych arno Ef Yw fy ngwyn fyd. Ynddo bellach trwy bob pla Y gobeithia; Ac mewn rhyfel canu wna. Haleliwia. |: Amen, Amen, Amen. I reckon that Gorky's Zygotic Mynci could do an ace cover of that. There's quite a few versions of it on the net, including one by the " Climax Male Voice Choir" but here we are with the " Costa Blanca" Male Voice Choir. I usually give you some sort of task to do on these occasions, so I want you to decide whether they are singing it in Welsh, English Spanish or Navaho. Listen closely now ! Next time ...well, some time anyway ... I will reveal my 2nd , er, bargain. Way to go !
It's a tough old world here at LWi88Y towers, so it's only in odd scraps of time that I'm able to devote myself to drawing silly pictures about Welsh words. I especially liked the STaeS one ... obviously nicked from English, and vernacular English at that. I also like glawlenni = rain-curtains... one of those pull-aparts I have written extensively about .... but not lately. Here's another fine Colorama song ... V moyn T ...... ..and now, a quick question ... what have "Colorama" and the GZM CD " Tatay" got in common ? Apart form the Welsh songs that is. Answers ,which, thematically, are in picture format, after THESE pictures Well, both TATAY and COLORAMA are types of guitars .... here's one of each .. and both mighty expensive I would guess... I hope you were impressed by my knowledge of Morse Code ( Côd Mors ?)
Ages ago I put a documentary about Welsh bands on here ... and here's another one I came across this morning. This features some excellent performances and at 2m 48 s Rhys Mwyn ( praise be !) says, I think, " analyse this" which, by an odd coincidence, me and that other person I live with were talking about at breakfast time... I think someone said it on the radio ... maybe Dave Brailsford (?) and we thought that deep down in our memories it was the name of a band or a song. Turns out ( internet) it's a film. At least. There's lots of Welsh spoken in this too ... it's got everything we need ! ....and here's a good pub quiz-type question for you .... where did that Cymru, Lloegr a Llanrwst phrase come from ... apart from the song, that is.?
Here's another song lyric for you to translate ... it's Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion ( eto) .. " Y Chwedl Hon." Dwi'n cofio cysgu wrth yr afon Yng nghanol lwyn o fedw gleision Dwi'n gwybod am y ffordd i lawr A'r mynydd mawr yn llawn sibridion A dwi braidd yn drist Mi fûm ar daith ar lun aderyn Do , lawer gwaith ar lun aderyn Mi fûm yn hel y sêr i sach A'r porchell bach yn dod i'w mofyn A dwi braidd yn drist Dwi'n cofio cysgu wrth yr afon Yng nghanol llwyn o fedw gleision Ond yn y chwedl hon o wlad Ti'n gorfod siarad mewn damhegion A dwi braidd yn drist That echoes very well the spirit behind the Twm Morys/ Jan Morris book up there ... " A Machynlleth Trilogy". I've written about it before, 2nd June this year, but rather obliquely, under the title " The longest list in Welsh literature ?" It does indeed contain a very long list.... almost of Olympic standard, one might say. Well, it's bilingual for a start, Welsh and English . But ... but ...it's also an opportunity lost, because surely it should have been printed with Welsh and English on facing pages .... but as it stands, you get the English version in the first half of the book, and the Welsh version in the second half . A true facing-page edition would be a terrific help to Welsh learners. Other languages are awash* with facing-page dual-language books ... but not Welsh. Bereft is a better word.... when "awash" is what we would like. You know, sometimes I get the slight, almost subliminal feeling that some people don't actually want "us" to learn Welsh. But of course, that isn't the case. Silly me ! Anyway, the three "accounts" in the book are a sequence, all based around Machynlleth. ... the first one is the Wales that is in the past, the second one is in the present, and the last one is in the future. There has been great praise for the book, and criticism as well, but I loved it. It's difficult to describe it without slipping into cliché mode, so I'll avoid that by saying it's a bit of an emotional roller-coaster .. I doubt if that's been used before. Get it ...read it ... cut it up and rearrange it as a facing-page blockbuster. When you've exhausted its possibilities, send it to the publisher as a subtle reminder of how it should have been. Sorted. Now here's Llwybr Llaethog with Pob Dim ... Hey .... in "Y Geiriadur Mawr" I can't find "awash" .... pah ! It's not in that mad dictionary I wrote about last time either. But it is in piddling little dictionaries like Collins-Spurrell ...
awash ..... llawn, cyforiog sometimes the father is the son |
Author I'm 376 years old,104 metres tall and own 54 pairs of binoculars. Apart from that, I'm pretty normal. Archives
October 2019
|