Yes - and this one is quite easy to learn.
Tryweryn is about the flooding of the valley in 1965 to provide a reservoir for Liverpool.
Today, there's a lot of canoeing and white water rafting on the river but back then, the story of the rehousing of 67 residents was front page news and a cause celebre.
Meic Stevens's song - quite an early one - is a simple folky item about how there are no flowers left in the gardens of Tryweryn while the fish swim peacefully above the houses.
Quite a surreal word picture of a real reality as "Cold water is sleeping in Tryweryn."
Showing posts with label Meic Stevens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meic Stevens. Show all posts
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
It's about time, isn't it?
Yes, so Meic Stevens, finally.
Meic's autobiography says that in the sixties he wrote a song in English about his uncle Walter who went off to war on the submarine Tarpon (appears as Tarpan in the song). It was sunk in the Baltic campaign in 1940 and Walter never came back to Solva.
When Meic began to wonder about singing in Welsh, he just knew a few folk songs but they went down very well on the radio and TV so he thought about writing his own material. He took Walter's song to a teacher he knew and they put together "Can (circumflex over the a) Walter."
There's a nice version with a female harmony vocal by Heather Jones and organ and guitar accompaniment but Meic's own solo version with guitar is probably better. Less is more, as they say.
Meic is bringing out another English record later this year and this is going to be on it. The title is, "Bound for the Baltic Sea".
Of course, my fear is that if I learn this Welsh song, Welsh people will say, "Oh, for goodness sake, not "Can Walter" again !" A bit like English people think about "Streets of London"
Having said that, though, try looking for the lyrics in Welsh on the internet. You'll look for a long time and still not turn up very much so perhaps it isn't done to death just yet.
Meic's autobiography says that in the sixties he wrote a song in English about his uncle Walter who went off to war on the submarine Tarpon (appears as Tarpan in the song). It was sunk in the Baltic campaign in 1940 and Walter never came back to Solva.
When Meic began to wonder about singing in Welsh, he just knew a few folk songs but they went down very well on the radio and TV so he thought about writing his own material. He took Walter's song to a teacher he knew and they put together "Can (circumflex over the a) Walter."
There's a nice version with a female harmony vocal by Heather Jones and organ and guitar accompaniment but Meic's own solo version with guitar is probably better. Less is more, as they say.
Meic is bringing out another English record later this year and this is going to be on it. The title is, "Bound for the Baltic Sea".
Of course, my fear is that if I learn this Welsh song, Welsh people will say, "Oh, for goodness sake, not "Can Walter" again !" A bit like English people think about "Streets of London"
Having said that, though, try looking for the lyrics in Welsh on the internet. You'll look for a long time and still not turn up very much so perhaps it isn't done to death just yet.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
So what are the Welsh songs?
The local web TV people are coming round today to do a piece about the busking project.
I've been listening to BBC Radio Cymru for some time looking out for songs for this trip.
There's a good thing going on in Welsh music at the moment.
I already knew about that by listening to the Adam Walton show on BBC Radio Wales late on Sunday but C2 is on every night late on Radio Cymru.
Sometimes the old ones are the best, though. I've settled on some songs by Meic Stevens - "the Welsh Bob Dylan".
Meic's autobiography is available in English under the title "Solva Blues" as well as in Welsh - "Hunangofiant y Brawd Houdini". It's a great short read with lists and lists of famous people making brief appearances: Dylan himself is in there.
He was a pioneer in the Welsh music scene in the sixties and seventies and one funny bit is where he puts together a group to ridicule a particular style of music and accidentally hits the big time.
I expect he gets his fair share of that kind of treatment himself now but that doesn't take anything away from the quality of his songs.
First one tomorrow.
I've been listening to BBC Radio Cymru for some time looking out for songs for this trip.
There's a good thing going on in Welsh music at the moment.
I already knew about that by listening to the Adam Walton show on BBC Radio Wales late on Sunday but C2 is on every night late on Radio Cymru.
Sometimes the old ones are the best, though. I've settled on some songs by Meic Stevens - "the Welsh Bob Dylan".
Meic's autobiography is available in English under the title "Solva Blues" as well as in Welsh - "Hunangofiant y Brawd Houdini". It's a great short read with lists and lists of famous people making brief appearances: Dylan himself is in there.
He was a pioneer in the Welsh music scene in the sixties and seventies and one funny bit is where he puts together a group to ridicule a particular style of music and accidentally hits the big time.
I expect he gets his fair share of that kind of treatment himself now but that doesn't take anything away from the quality of his songs.
First one tomorrow.
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