Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Graves)

For other English-language translations of this work, see Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (1905)
by Evan James, translated by Alfred Percival Graves

Written and composed in January 1856. Though it has no official or legal status, this anthem is recognised and used at both national and local events in Wales. In the translation the second line reads "precipice proud" instead of "precipice". Translation from The National Songbook: (1905), London: Boosey & Co., p. 275; (see A Book of Manx Poetry [1913], pp. 67-68 for different version applying the song to Manx)

Listen to an 1899 recording of the first verse and chorus (help | file info or download)

Evan James977992Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau1905Alfred Percival Graves

O land of my fathers, O land of my love,
Dear mother of minstrels who kindle and move,
And hero on hero, who at honour's proud call,
For freedom their lifeblood let fall.

Wales! Wales! O but my heart is with you!
And long as the sea
Your bulwark shall be,
To Cymru my heart shall be true.

O land of the mountains, the bard's paradise,
Whose precipice proud, valleys lone as the skies,
Green murmuring forest, far echoing flood
Fire the fancy and quicken the blood.

For tho' the fierce foeman has ravaged your realm,
The old speech of Cymru he cannot o'erwhelm,
Our passionate poets to silence command
Or banish the harp from your strand.

This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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Translation:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1931, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 92 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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