Ar Hyd y Nos

Lyrics

Holl amrantau'r sêr ddywedant		All the stars' twinkling say
Ar hyd y nos				All through the night
"Dyma'r ffordd i fro gogoniant",	"This is the way to the realm of glory",
Ar hyd y nos.				All through the night.
Golau arall yw tywyllwch		Other light is darkness
I arddangos gwir brydferthwch		To show the true beauty
Teulu'r nefoedd mewn tawelwch		Of the family of the heavens in quietness
Ar hyd y nos.				All through the night.

O mor siriol gwena'r seren		O how cheerful smiles the star
Ar hyd y nos				All through the night
I oleuo'i chwaer ddaearen		To light its earthly sister
Ar hyd y nos.				All through the night.
Nos yw henaint pan ddaw cystudd		Old age is night when affliction comes
Ond i harddu dyn a'i hwyrddydd		But to adorn man and his late days
Rhown ein golau gwan i'n gilydd		We'll put our weak light together
Ar hyd y nos.				All through the night.

Recordings

• Meinir Gwilym sang the melody with guitar accompaniment in 2010.
• Bryn Terfel sang the melody with backing in 2013.
• Cerys Matthews sang the melody on her album 'Tir' (2023).
• The London Welsh Male-Voice Choir sang it in harmony in 2020.

Notes for Welsh learners

1. "Amrantau" is the plural of 'amrant' (eyelid), but it gets used in figurative senses for twinkling.
2. "Ddywedant" is the literary third person plural present tense of 'dweudd' (to say).
3. "Gwir" is one of the few adjectives (like hen, holl, prif) that usually precede the noun, and induce a soft mutation.
4. "Rhown" is the 1st person plural future form of the verb 'rhoi' (to give or put). In literary Welsh, it can also be the present tense.

Vocabulary

1. Amrant   Eyelid (m, amrantau)
2. Bro   Country, community
3. Gogoniant   Glory (m)
4. Prydferthwch   Beauty (m)
5. Nef   Heaven (f, nefoedd)
6. Tawelwch   Quietness (m)
7. Siriol   Cheerful
8. Daearen   Earth (f), an old form of "daear"
9. Henaint   Old age (m)
10. Cystudd   Affliction (m, cystuddiau)
11. Harddu   To adorn
12. Hwyrddydd   Evening (m), an old alternative to "noswaith"
13. Gwan   Weak