Penwaig Nefyn is not as iconic a song as most of the others on this site, but it is very well-known around Nefyn where I live. I've included it here because it is not easily found online, and because I sing it regularly at local sessions. It was derived from a Scottish song called "Caller Herrin'" (fresh herring), written in about 1798 by the prolific song-writer Carolina Oliphant (aka Lady Nairn, though she published mostly anonymously as 'Mrs Bogan of Bogan', or just 'BB') with a melody by Nathaniel Gow. It was about the fishwives of Newhaven (now part of Edinburgh) selling their herrings in the streets. The Welsh poet and songwriter T. Gwynn Jones translated it, both in language and location, to make a version in Welsh about the herrings in Nefyn, which was at the time famous for its herring industry. It was published in 1929 as a duet in 'New Songbook for Schools, Part 1' by the University of Wales Press. Nowadays, it is mostly heard as a solo melody like the original "Caller Herrin'". It featured in the opening concert of the 2023 National Eisteddfod in Boduan, which is a couple of miles from Nefyn. I also sang it in the open folksong competition the following Saturday.
Chorus: Pwy fyn benwaig Nefyn? Who wants Nefyn herring? Ni bu eu bath am dorri newyn, There’s nothing of their kind for cutting hunger: Prynwch benwaig Nefyn, Buy Nefyn herring, Newydd ddod o’r môr. Just come from the sea. Penwaig Nefyn! Penwaig Nefyn! Nefyn herrings! Nefyn herrings! 1. A chwi bob un yn cysgu’n dawel Are you all sleeping quietly Heb un cof am fôr nac awel, Without a thought about sea or wind, Wrthi’r oeddem ni heb gysgod While we were without shelter Ar y dŵwr yn hela’r pysgod? On the sea hunting the fish? (Chorus) 2. A phan ddaw’r drol i’r mannau hynny And when the cart comes to these places Ffwrdd a’r beilch a’u trwynau i fynny, On the way to the nobs and their noses in the air, Yn eu sidan drud a’u satyn, In their expensive silk and satin, Ânt tan wasgu’r godre atyn. They go until the edge of the crush. (Chorus) 3. Chwi ferched glânn gwrandewch fy ngeiriau, You clean girls listen to my words, Gyda’r pysgod yn y ffeiriau, With the fish in the fairs, Delio teg ni ddaw â thrwbwl, Dealing fairly not bringing trouble, Saif y gwir er gwaetha’r cwbwl. The truth stands despite all. (Chorus) 4. Pwy fynnai benwaig Nefyn? Who wants Nefyn herring? Nid bach o beth eu dwyn o’r ewyn, Not a small thing to bring from the surf, Prynwch benwaig Nefyn, Buy Nefyn herring Ni wyddoch faint eu gwerth. You don’t know how much is their value. Pwy fynnai benwaig Nefyn? Who wants Nefyn herring? Os dywed neb na thalant flewyn; If no-one says or pays nothing; Dyma ddeunydd gwaed a gewyn This is the stuff of blood and sinew Medd pob gwraig a mam. Says every woman and mother. Penwaig Nefyn! Penwaig Nefyn! Nefyn herrings! Nefyn herrings!
Here's the setting as a duet (from the songbook).
