Post by Austin ShacklesOn or around Mon, 6 Oct 2003 23:59:06 +0100, "Jon Freeman"
Post by Jon FreemanPost by Diane EasbyNo, can't see any mention of "a woman bewailing her problems". Is
this buried in the Welsh text? Would a better rendition be that
because someone (presumably a man) has gone off to throw an oddly
shaped ball around, someone else (possibly a woman) must cope alone
with domestic crises?
LOL but Diane, My guess was that "Little Dai" (Dai Bach) was her husband who
had gone off to be a soldier.
Mary Ann seems to have hurt her finger. She's not "Sweet" as in the English
lyrics, maybe a daughter or perhaps a cook?
David the manservant in not feeling well.
The baby in the cradle is crying
The cat's scratched "Little Johnny"
Saucepans are boiling on the fire and on the floor. (quite how a pot boils
on the floor - ar a llawr - is beyond me).
"A chwt i grys e' mas."
shirt-tail out.
I thought the translation was a bit non-literal, but then you can;t easily
do literal translation of song lyrics, and still have something you can sing
to the original tune...
I also picked up the errors as pointed out. I don;t think the cat dies,
necessarily - Dafydd y gwas dies...
BTW, ddim yn iach translates literally to "isn't healthy"
There are any number of additional bits sung along of it, too,
O hwp e mewn, Dai,
O hwp e mewn, Dai,
O, hwp e mewn, Dai,
Mae'n gas i weld e mas.
which is basically "put it in, Dai, it looks naff..." in colloquial
translation... "gas i weld" is summat like "unsightly", although gas (from
cas) actually is angry, in other context.
and we won't start about the bit about Dafydd Dafis Ffos-y-Ffin, 'cos that's
rude...
I've had a fascinating couple of minutes trying to relate Mudcat's
'phonetic' spelling to the original. I think I've figured it. So, in the
original :
Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi briwo
A Dafydd y gwas ddim yn iach,
Mae'r baban yn ei grud yn crio
A'r gath wedi crafu Joni Bach.
(Mary-Ann has hurt her finger
And Dafydd the servant isn't well.
The baby's in his cradle crying
And the cat has scratched little Johnny)
Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân,
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr,
A'r gath wedi crafu Joni Bach.
(A little saucepan boiling on the fire,
A big saucepan boiling on the floor....)
Dai Bach Y Soldiwr (x3)
A chwt ei grys e mâs
(Little Dai the soldier (x3)
With his shirt-tail out)
Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi gwella,
A Dafydd y gwas yn ei fedd.
Mae'r baban yn ei grud wedi tewi,
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.
(Mary-Ann's finger is better,
A Dafydd the servant's in his grave.
The baby in his cradle is quiet
And the cat has gone to sleep in peace)
Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân,
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr,
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.
****************************
I've always understood that there was a strong sexual sub-text to all this
(of course, I could just be dirty-minded), and the metaphorical use of such
phrases as 'hurt her finger' may fit in here.
Dafydd the servant certainly dies, but the cat might have bought it too, as
'huno mewn hedd' would be a phrase much used on gravestones.
*****************************
I'll stop here before I go to deeply into Cecil-Sharpery.
(Beware of Sabines Baring Gould....)
--
Cofion gorau
Nigel Stapley
www.judgemental.plus.com
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