Suo Gân

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Suo Gân ('Lulling Song') is a traditional lullaby, with words captured by the Welsh folklorist Robert Bryan (1858-1920). It appeared famously in Steven Spielberg's film 'Empire of the Sun' in 1987. Here is a version arranged as a duet, though the melody line is often sung as a solo.

Duet

Lyrics

1. Huna blentyn ar fy mynwes,		Sleep child upon my bosom,
Clyd a chynnes ydyw hon;		It is cosy and warm;
Breichiau mam sy'n dynn amdanat,	Mother's arms are tight around you,
Cariad mam sy dan fy mron;		A mother's love is in my breast;
Ni chaiff dim amharu'th gyntun,		Nothing shall disturb your slumber,
Ni wna undyn â thi gam;		Nobody will do you harm;
Huna'n dawel, annwyl blentyn,		Sleep in peace, dear child,
Huna'n fwyn ar fron dy fam.		Sleep quietly on your mother's breast.

2. Huna'n dawel, heno, huna,		Sleep peacefully tonight, sleep;
Huna'n fwyn, y tlws ei lun;		Gently sleep, my lovely;
Pam yr wyt yn awr yn gwenu,		Why are you now smiling,
Gwenu'n dirion yn dy hun?		Smiling gently in your sleep?
Ai angylion fry sy'n gwenu,		Are angels above smiling,
Arnat ti yn gwenu'n llon,		On you as you smile cheerfully,
Tithau'n gwenu'n ôl dan huno,		Smiling back and sleeping,
Huno'n dawel ar fy mron?		Sleeping quietly on my breast?

3. Paid ag ofni, dim ond deilen		Do not fear, nothing but a leaf
Gura, gura ar y ddôr;			Beating, beating on the door;
Paid ag ofni, ton fach unig		Do not fear, only a small wave
Sua, sua ar lan y môr;			Murmurs, murmurs on the seashore;
Huna blentyn, nid oes yma		Sleep child, there's nothing here
Ddim i roddi iti fraw;			Nothing to give you fright;
Gwena'n dawel yn fy mynwes.		Smile quietly in my bosom,
Ar yr engyl gwynion draw.		On the white angels yonder.

Recordings

Notes for Welsh learners

  1. 'Amdanat' is the literary version of 'amdanat ti', meaning 'about you', using a conjugated form of 'am'.
  2. In the phrase 'y tlws ei lun', the article 'y' (the) turns the adjective 'tlws' (pretty) into a noun, making it mean 'the pretty one'; the following words 'ei lun' describe what is pretty, 'his form', so the whole phrase means 'the one whose form is pretty'

Vocabulary

  1. Suo   to lull, murmur, sing a lullaby
  2. Clyd   cosy
  3. Amharu   to disrupt, disturb
  4. Cyntun   nap, snooze (m)
  5. Cam   wrong (m, camweddau)
  6. Mwyn   mild, gentle, fine
  7. Tlws   trophy, prize (m, tlysau)
  8. Llun   picture,form (m, lluniau)
  9. Ai   'is it' or 'are they': an interrogative particle
  10. Engyl   angels (an old version of 'angylion' as plural of 'angel')
  11. Fry   above
  12. Llon   happy, cheerful
  13. Dôr   door (f, dorau; as 'drws')
  14. Roddi   to give (an old version of rhoi)
  15. Braw   fright (m, brawiau)
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