Sosban Fach

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'Sosban Fach' (Little Saucepan) is one of the best known songs in Wales, describing the troubles of a harassed housewife. It is based upon words by Richard Davies (a.k.a.' Mynyddog') in 1873. Talog Williams composed the song that we know today, amending Mynyddog's original words and adding four new verses, in 1893. The melody was composed by Rev. D.M. Davies. It was adopted by the supporters of the Llanelli rugby team to sing at matches, because Llanelli was a centre of the tinplate industry. It seems that only the first two verses are sung nowadays, but I give here a third verse that I found on the Internet (though it doesn't seem to have much to do with the first two).

Melody

Lyrics

1. Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi brifo,			Mary-Ann has hurt her finger,
A Dafydd y gwas ddim yn iach;			And David the servant is not well.
Mae'r baban yn y crud yn crio,			The baby in the cradle is crying,
A'r gath wedi sgramo Joni bach.			And the cat has scratched little Johnny.
	Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân,		A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
	Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr,	A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
	A'r gath wedi sgramo Joni bach.		And the cat has scratched little Johnny.
	Dai bach y soldiwr, (x3), 		Little Dai the soldier, (x3)
	A chwt ei grys e mas.			And his shirt tail out.

2. Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi gwella,		Mary-Ann's finger has got better,
A Dafydd y gwas yn ei fedd;			And David the servant is in his grave;
Mae'r baban yn y crud wedi tyfu,		The baby in the cradle has grown up,
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.			And the cat is "asleep in peace".

3. Aeth hen Fari Jones i Ffair y Caerau		Old Mary Jones went to the fair in Caerau,
I brynu set o lestri de;			To buy a tea set;
Ond mynd i'r ffos aeth Mari gyda'i llestri	But Mary and her teacups ended up in a ditch,
Trwy yfed gormod lawer iawn o "de".		By drinking rather too much "tea".

Recordings

Notes for Welsh learners

  1. 'A chwt ei grys e mas' means 'And his coat-tail out': 'ei grys e' is southern Welsh for 'his shirt'.
  2. The place referred to as 'Caerau' could be the former mining village east of Swansea, or the community of that name in Cardiff.

Vocabulary

  1. Gwas   servant (m, gweision)
  2. Sgramo   to scratch (like crafu)
  3. Cwt   tail, or hut (m, cytiau)
  4. Mas   out, used in the South like 'allan'
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