Y 'Deryn Du

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Y Deryn Du
'Y 'Deryn Du' (The blackbird) is one of many Welsh folk songs about blackbirds, which seem to be particularly valued by the Welsh. The best-known are probably 'Y Fwyalchen' (The Blackbird), 'Y Fwyalchen Du Bigfelen' (The Yellow-beaked Blackbird), and 'A Ei Di'r 'Deryn Du?' (Will You Go, Blackbird?' I came across another one called 'Y 'Deryn Du' (also translating as The Blackbird) which was popularized by folk-singer Owen Shiers as part of his project 'Cynefin', which focuses on preserving the traditional songs and heritage of Ceredigion in the west of Wales.

Melody

Lyrics

Owen pointed me to an old record of the lyrics, which has 11 verses. It was collected from a singer called David Jones in Llandysul in about 1820. I have cut these down to eight for performance, and tweaked some of the words.
1. Aderyn du sy'n rhodio'r gwledydd,		Blackbird that travels the lands,
O ti a ŵyr yr hen a'r newydd,			Oh you who knows the old and the new,
A roi di gyngor i fachgennyn			Will you give advice to a young boy
Sydd yn curio ers gwell na blwyddyn?		Who has been pining for more than a year?
    A roi dithau gyngor i mi, aderyn du?	    Will you give me advice, blackbird?

2. O nid y byd sy'n troi'n fy erbyn,		Oh it's not the world that's turning against me,
Na churio rwyf o gariad un dyn,			Nor am I pining for the love of anyone,
Ond gweld y merched glân yn pallu,		But seeing the beautiful girls refusing,
Ni's gwn pa le i droi mhen i garu.		I don't know where to turn my head to find love.
    A roi dithau gyngor i mi, aderyn du?	    Will you give me advice, blackbird?

3. A fynni di yr hen wraig weddw		Do you want the old widow lady
Â'i chod yn llawn, yn ymyl marw,		With her full purse, close to dying,
A'i gwartheg duon yn ei buches?			And her black cattle in her herd?
Fe wneith honno i ti fawrles.			That one will do you a lot of good.
    A fynni di honno i ti, fy machgen i?	    Do you want that one for you, my boy?

4. Ni fynna' fi mo'r hen wraig weddw,		I don't want the old widow lady,
Sy â'i chod yn llawn, yn ymyl marw,		Whose purse is full, close to dying,
Na'i gwartheg duon sy'n ei buches,		Nor her black cattle which are in her herd:
I lanc tylawd 'dyw hon anaddas.			This one is not suitable for a poor youth.
    Ni fynna'i mo honno i mi, aderyn du.	    I don't want that one for me, blackbird.

5. Wel, fynni di y lân weinyddes		Well, do you want the pretty serving girl
Gyda'i nodwydd a'i phinces,			With her needle and her pincase,
Ti gai dy grys yn lân bob amser:		Your shirt would always be clean:
Fe fyddai hon yn well na llawer.		This one would be better than many.
    A fynni di honno i ti, fy machgen i?	    Do you want that one for you, my boy?

6. Ni fynna' fi mo'r lân weinyddes		I don't want the pretty serving maid
Gyda'i nodwydd fain a'i phinces,		With her fine needle and her pincase
Pan fo arni eisiau nithio,			When she wants to spin
Fe fydd y 'winrhew ar ei dwylo.			There will be frostbite on her hands.
    Ni fynna'i mo honno i mi, aderyn du.	    I don't want that one for me, blackbird.

7. Wel, fynni dithau ferch yr hwsmon,		Well, do you want the drover's daughter,
Sydd yn gangen lawen dirion,			Who is a happy and gentle branch,
A dyra'i harian i'r cornelau,			And her money goes to the corners,
A neidith naid am naid i tithau.		And she will jump step by step with you:
    A fynni di honno i ti, fy machgen i?	    Do you want that one for you, my boy?

8. Wel, cân ffarwél fo i ti'r aderyn,		Well, I sing farewell to you, bird,
Dyna'r ferch 'rwyf fi'n ei 'mofyn;		This is the girl I am looking for;
Tra llong ar fôr, a gro mewn afon,		While a ship's on the sea and gravel's in the river,
Ni fynna' i byth ond merch yr hwsmon.		I want no-one except the drover's daughter.
    Ffarwél, a ffarwél fo i ti, aderyn du.	    Goodbye, and goodbye to you, blackbird.

Recordings

Notes for Welsh learners

  1. "Ŵyr" is the third-person singular present indicative (or future) form of the irregular verb gwybod (to know a fact); "gwn" is the equivalent first-person singular version
  2. "Ni's gwn" means 'I know it not', where the "'s" is what is formally called an 'infixed pronoun', used in older versions of Welsh.
  3. "Fynna" is the (mutated) first-person singular present indicative (or future) form of the verb mynnu (to insist, to demand, to will); formally, it is 'fynnaf', but final 'f's are usuaully omitted in spoken Welsh; "fynni" is the equivalent second-person singular version
  4. "Mo'r" is short for "dim o yr", which is a common construction meaning 'none of the'.
  5. "'winrhew" is short for 'ewinrhew' (frostbite, literally 'ice-claw'); words starting with 'e' or 'y' can often be abbreviated in this way
  6. "Dyra" is a singular imperative form of 'rhoi' (to give), an alternative to 'rho'
  7. Similarly, "'mofyn" stands for 'ymofyn' (to seek)

Vocabulary

  1. Rhodio   to travel
  2. Curio   to pine
  3. Pallu   to fail, refuse
  4. Cod   pouch, purse (f, codau)
  5. Buches   herd (f, buchesau)
  6. Wna   do (from gwneud)
  7. Mawrles   great benefit, much good
  8. Llanc   young man (m, llanciau)
  9. Tylawd   poor
  10. Anaddas   unsuitable
  11. Gweinyddes   serving girl, waitress (f, gweinyddesau)
  12. Nodwydd   needle (f, nodywddau)
  13. Main   fine, delicate
  14. Nithio   to spin
  15. Hwsmon   husbandman (m, hwsmyn)
  16. Tirion   gentle
  17. Neidio   to jump, leap
  18. Naid   jump, leap (f, neidiau)
  19. Gro   gravel (f, groeon)
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