Original Welsh

                                     Word-for-word Translation
                                       (trans. Wade Dowdell)


                                        Poetic Translation
                                     (trans. Louis Flint Ceci)

                                      Ellis Evans (Hedd Wyn)
                                            1887 - 1917
                                           Rhyfel (War)

Gwae fi fy myw mewn oes mor ddreng,

   A Duw ar drai ar orwel pell;

O'i ôl mae dyn, yn deyrn a gwreng,

   Yn codi ei awdurdod hell.


Pan deimlodd fyned ymaith Dduw

   Cyfododd gledd i ladd ei frawd;

Mae sŵn yr ymladd ar ein clyw,

   A'i gysgod ar fythynnod tlawd.


Mae'r hen delynau genid gynt

   Ynghrog ar gangau'r helyg draw,

A gwaedd y bechgyn lond y gwynt,

   A'u gwaed yn gymysg efo'r glaw.


Woe is me that I live in an age so boorish*,

   And God at ebb on a distant horizon;

After him, man, (both) lord and commoner,

    Raising his ugly authority.


When he felt God's going away

   He raised a sword to kill his brother;

The sound of battle is on our ear,

   And its shadow on poor cottages.


The old harps that were played before are

   Suspended on the branches of yonder willows,

And the scream of the boys filling the wind,

   And their blood mixed with the rain.


*perverse/churlish/peevish/morose


Alas, this is an age so mean

  That everyman is made a Lord,

  For all authority's absurd

When God himself fades from the scene.


As quick as God is shown the door

  Out come the cannons and the sword:

  Hate on hate on brother poured

And scored the deepest on the poor.


The harps that once could help our pain

  Hang silent, to the willows pinned.

  The cry of battle fills the wind

And blood of lads--it falls like rain.




















Hen Wlad fy Nhadau
(Land of my Fathers)
Cymraeg
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion enwogion o fri
Ei gwrol ryfelwr, gwlad garwyr tra mad
Tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.
Gwlad Gwlad,
Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad,
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau
O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau
English:
Land of my Fathers, O land of the free,
A land of poets and minstrels, famed men.
Her brave warriors, patriots much blessed,
It was for freedom that they lost their blood.
Wales! Wales!,
I am devoted to my country.
So long as the sea is a wall to this fair beautiful land,
May the ancient language remain.

Mi glywaf dyner lais


Mi glywaf dyner lais
  Yn galw arnaf fi
I ddod a golchi 'meiau i gyd
  Yn afon Calfari.

Arglwydd, dyma fi
Ar dy alwad di,
Canna f'enaid yn y gwaed
A gaed ar Galfari.


I hear a gentle voice
  Calling to me
To come and wash all my faults
  In the river of Calvary.

Lord, here I am
At thy call,
Bleach my soul in the blood
Which flowed on Calvary.



Yr Eneth gad ei Gwrthod

Welsh ballade:

yr eneth 1.PNG   eneth 2.PNG

                                                                        eneth 3.PNG

Meic Stevens

(1942-)

La la, la la la la la, la la la la la la la
O, mi wena'r haul yn y pwll glo
Oh, the sun is shining in the coal mine
Beth am botel o gwrw?
How about a bottle of beer?
O, mae gennai bres, ond mae'r mwg a tes
Oh, I've got money, but the smoke and haze
Yn troi pob un yn feddw
Is turning everyone woozy
Mor unig ar y llinyn tyn
So lonely on the taut line
Yn troedio'r eangderau
Treading the vastness
O, dim ond fi a'r brawd Houdini'n
Oh, only me and Houdini's brother
Cerdded lan i'r nefoedd
Walking up to the heavens
La la, la la la la la, la la la la la la la (X2)
O, 'roedd y nos mor ddu ac mae brenin y dall
Oh, the night was so black and the king of the blind
Yn crawcian yn y bore
Is croaking in the morning
O, y dewin dwl ar y teleffon
Oh, the dim wizard on the telephone
Yn ceisio neud ei orau
Trying to do his best
A minau'n methu gweld tu fewn
And me who cannot see inside
Neu mas o'r byd a'i chwerthin
Or out of the world and its laughter
O, dim ond fi a'r brawd Houdini'n
Oh, only me and Houdini's brother
Cerdded lan i'r nefoedd
Walking up to the heavens
La la, la la la la la, la la la la la la la