Saturday, April 03, 2010

Calon Lân

Byron heard about a Welsh Eisteddfod that was happening in the Hunter Valley area this weekend. We drove around the general area looking out for a Presbyterian church that was the venue and when we saw this flag we knew we had found the right place!




It was so lovely sit hear all the Welsh accents as the different songs and hymns were introduced. The goose-bump moment was when a 9 year old girl sang a beautiful song in Welsh "Calon Lân" which had lots of people reaching for the tissues. 


Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus,  I don't ask for a luxurious life,
Aur y byd na'i berlau mân: the world's gold or its fine pearls,
Gofyn wyf am galon hapus, I ask for a happy heart,
Calon onest, calon lân. An honest heart, a pure heart.


Calon lân yn llawn daioni, A pure heart full of goodness
Tecach yw na'r lili dlos: It is more beautiful than the lovely lily
Dim ond calon lân all ganu None but a pure heart can sing,
Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos.Sing in the day, sing in the night.

We don't get many moments of Welsh culture living here in Australia so it was really nice to experience. The Welsh are renowned for their amazing singing voices, especially the men with their deep choir voices. Somewhere along the line Byron missed the singing gene. There was a lovely old lady standing next to us and when she heard Byron explain something to Gareth in his Welsh accent her face lit up. "Oh, you must be Welsh love"  Byron puffed up his chest and smiled proudly. "We are always looking for new men in the choir love" He explained that singing wasn't really his talent.

She hesitated and then smiled and said  "Oh no my love, there's something there......"

1 comments - click here to leave your comment:

  1. I wish I could have "heard" this post. I love the music from both of your homelands!