More Welsh Music

In researching yesterday's post, I wasn't surprised to find out that wonderful hymn had Welsh origins. There is so much beautiful Welsh music out there, such as the ancient lullaby Suo Gan, which is another one of my favorites. "Suo" means low, "Gan" means song or lullaby. Listen to it here. If anyone knows anything about the song's origins, please advise.

Hunan blentyn, ar fy mynwes
Clyd a chynnes ydyw hon
Breichiau mam sy'n dyn amdanat
Cariad mam sy dan fy mron
Ni chaiff dim amharu'th gyntun
Ni wna undyn a thi gam
Huna'n dawel, annwyl bientyn
Huna'n fwyn ar fron dy fam

Huna'n dawel hana huna
Huna'n fwyn y del ei lun
Pam yr wyt yn awr yn gwenum
Gwenu'n dirion yn dy hun
Ai angylion fry sy'n gwenu
Arnat yno'n gwenu'n lion
Titha'u'n gwenu'n ol a huno
Huno'n dawel ar fy mron

Paid ag ofni, dim ond deilen
Gura, gura ar y ddor
Paid aga ofni ton fach unig
Sua, sua ar lan y mor
Huna blentyn nid oes yma
Ddim i roddi iti fraw
Gwena'n dawel ar fy mynwes
Ar yr engyl gwynion draw

Er . . .

For those of us who don't know Welsh (such as me):

To my lullaby surrender
Warm and tender is my breast
Mother's arms with love caressing
Lay their blessing on your rest
Nothing shall tonight alarm you
None shall harm you, have no fear
Lie contented, calmly slumber
On your mother's arm, my dear

Here tonight I tightly hold you
And enfold you while you sleep
Why, I wonder, are you smiling
Smiling in your slumber deep?
Are the angels on you smiling
And beguiling you with charm
While you also smile, my blossom
In my bosom soft and warm?

Have no fear now, leaves are knocking
Gently knocking at our door
Have no fear now, waves are beating
Gently beating on the shore
Sleep, my darling, none shall harm you
Nor alarm you, never cry
In my bosom sweetly smiling
And beguiling those on high

Caption to photo: This land formation is known as the Green Bridge. It is located on the Pembrokeshire coast in South Wales.

Speaking of Heavenly . . .

This beautiful old hymn has been running through my head today. A friend of mine once called it the ultimate ode to hope. Something we can all use more of.

In heavenly love abiding,
No change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding,
For nothing changes here.
The storm may roar without me,
My heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?

Wherever He may guide me,
No want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me,
And nothing can I lack.
His wisdom ever waketh,
His sight is never dim;
He knows the way He taketh,
And I will walk with Him.

Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o'er me,
Where darkest clouds have been.
My hope I cannot measure,
My path in life is free;
My Father has my treasure,
And He will walk with me.

-- A.L. Waring, 1850

Background on the author:
Anna Laetitia Waring (1820-1910) was born in Neith, Glamorganshire, South Wales, where she spent all ninety years of her life. She began writing hymns in her teens, and in 1850 she published her Hymns and Meditations, a small book of 19 hymns. Though she was raised a Quaker, she was impressed by the sacraments of the Anglican Church and identified herself with that body in 1842. She was also an excellent scholar, having learned Hebrew in order to read the Old Testament in the original. A contemporary writes, "She had a gentle but merry spirit and did helpful work for the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society. . . . Her hymns are marked by great simplicity, concentration of thought, and elegance of diction. They are popular and deserve to be so."

Frosty Tree on Heavenly Mountain

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry (1934—) is a poet, novelist, and environmentalist. He lives on a farm in Port Royal, Kentucky near his birthplace. I highly recommend his recent books, Jayber Crow and Citizenship Papers.