What's the top national anthem in your opinion? Thanks for watching! Like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video 👍🏻 Follow me on social media, and join my Discord & Patreon: ❤️ Patreon: www.patreon.com/sogal_yt?fan_landing=true 🐕 Instagram: instagram.com/sogal.yt/ 🏀 Twitter: twitter.com/SoGal_YT ⚽️ Facebook Page: facebook.com/SoGal-104043461744742 🏖 Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/238616921241608 💥 Discord: discord.gg/amWWc6jcC2
You should react to Slovenian national anthem. It's one of the rare anthems where it doesn't say: "we are the best, blah blah blah..." it should be world's anthem imo.
Can you pls react to kraut's video on turkey. If you wanna learn more about ottoman history its really good video to watch and learn about turkish history.
Hate to tell you but WALES 30 ENGLAND 3 was 10 times better in the Stadium. THAT is the one you should have been directed to SoGal:) It shows ALL the players singing and is MUCH LOUDER and passionate !
No matter where you live in the world you can't take the Welsh out of your heart that is so true ,i might live in New Zealand but every day im glad i was born in the Greatest country in the world.
As an Englishman, i have to say our welsh brothers have the greatest national anthem, the welsh seem to have a inbuilt ability to harmonise when singing as a group, that that sends tingles down my spine everytime i hear them.
As an Englishman, you probably have some Celtic ancestry? Millions of us in the UK have, as Celts (later known as Welsh) lived in many parts of what is now England. It took many battles to drive them into what is now called Wales & possibly explains the immense patriotic spirit that exists.
As an Englishman, Wales most definitely is NOT a part of England. It is a fiercely proud nation in its own right. This anthem is one of the best in the world. There have been many times the English and Welsh have battled each other, but like the other Home Nations, when we are all threatened as we all were in WW2 then we're brothers in arms. Three of the foot guards regiments are Scots, Irish and Welsh as well as the other two the Grenadiers and the Cloldstreams.Flower of Scotland is also a stirring anthem, again telling of the battles with England, and a beautiful anthem.
This just shows the naivity and stupidity of this post. Lacks research or basic knowledge. Laughs at daffodils in the crowd? Speaks for itself, culturally bereft. ....
@@treblesix8730 Its a bit of fun at a Rugby match for goodness sake. Is there any reason to be so rude ? SoGal isnt British and she is trying to learn about some of the oddities of the UK. The same as England supporters dressing as St George or Scottish supporters with ginger wigs. Come on folks lighten up.
As an Englishman always been thoroughly impressed by the Welsh patriotism. It's an amazing country anyone who comes to the UK don't miss Wales off your plans
Whenever they start singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau it raises tingles down the back of my neck and stir a real passion in me for my adoptive country. Wales is a very proud nation, and the Welsh have always been fearless in battle. It has more castles per square mile than any other country in the world because there was so much fighting going on when the English were trying to overcome the Welsh. For many years it was regarded as part of England, causing much grievance in the Welsh, hence the fierce loyalty when playing against England in particular. Welsh is a beautiful country with a proud culture. The Welsh language is said to be the language of heaven. Cymru am byth! 🏴
The Welsh anthem was written by a father & son, it's about the language, the culture, the people the land. It is one of the most, if not the most beautiful anthem in the world. In a thousand years we Scots couldn't write an anthem such as this wonderful expression of Welsh culture. People should know that the Welsh are the original Britons & lost most of their ancient lands when the Romans left & the Germanic Saxon tribes (basically the English moved in) a very proud & noble people who sing like no others amongst the masses. The wee lad crying was I believe, playing his last international for Wales, no wonder he was consumed by emotion.
As a proud welshman thanks for such kind words, we are a small nation of only 3.5 million people and we can only select a side for rugby from 147000 eligible players and as a nation we punch well above our weight England has 7 million who are eligible to play Rugby 🏉
As a Scotsman from Edinburgh. I very much admire the Welsh nation. Edinburgh is the destination for the Welsh people every second year , as the six nations rugby game is held here. The Irish come here on the same year , usually. And by the time somewhere in early April your liver gets a chance to recover 😉😉😉
Correct - the little guy who was crying was Shane Williams and it was his 87th and final Wales game. He’s still the record “try” scorer, and was a really special player to watch (even as an Englishman).
Hi! A Welshman here, came across your video in the feed and thought to answer some of the questons on the lines from oir anthem. "Old land where Minstrials are honored and free"- This refers to Wales long history of music, Song, folklore and poetry, all of which are performed by Minstrials or Bards as their more common name. It's largly due to our bards and folklore that our language has survived to this day and gain popularity during the Romance period of British history. While they are many folk lores from Wales the most famous is King Arthur. "Warring defenders so gallant and brave"- constant wars with England dating back to the age of migration. We beat of the Germans, Saxons the Anglo-Saxons (Kingdom of mercia and marcher lords) and even the Normans for many years after 1066. "For freedom their life blood gave" - Defending against England and the multiple welsh wars for independence, including the one that ended with the death of the last king of Wales. "Gwald,gwald"- This is a mistranslation, it means land in English not Wales. Hence the Capital at the beginning of the line but not capitalised at other parts of the sentance. "While sea secure the land so pure"- we're sorrounded by sea and our land is peaceful and beautiful, we're basically boosting about Wales with this line. "O may the old language endure"- Welsh is the oldest surviving language in europe going back to the celts in the bronze age. When England took over they wanted everyone to speak english. During the industrial revolution there was the "Welsh Not" in schools, if someone spoke welsh they had to wear it and whoever had it on at the end of the day was beaten. It also wasnt until 1993 that Welsh was allowed to be used on equal terms to English i.e. in government or have welsh tv broadcasts. "The Foeman have trampled my land beneath their feet"- Invasions by England mainly the one by Edward I and gis Iron ring of castles. "The muse not vanquished by tratiors fell hand" - During Edwards I's conquest of Wales the southern lords of Wales sided with England and not Gwynedd. As such they fought against Welsh independence and killed their Welsh kin. To sum up the anthem links alot to Welsh history and our pride as a people. The reason why its so important to alot of us is becuase we're often overlooked and dissmissed as "England", when we have entrily diffrent cultrue, language and traditions. We've had to fight to keep our culture and language and not be faded out and as such take great pride in the fact we've done so, it's also why we have a big rivalry with England in sports because it us showing "hey were not the same as you and were gonna prove it" for when we beat England no one can dissmiss Wales as not being a country.
Thank you for listening to the Welsh national anthem and giving it your thoughts. It's often hard to comment on small things without opening up a massive historical discussion about Wales, it's struggles and why Welsh people are so passionate about the country. Firstly, the language of the anthem, currently known as Welsh, is the old language of the Brythonic Celts (its where we get 'Britain' from), and was spoken over large parts of the British mainland at one time. Although Welsh isn't my first language, it was for much of my family, so I have a bit of understanding of it. Like many languages, some words don't translate exactly, and gwlad is a bit like that in this case. The word 'gwlad' means 'country' or probably a better translation is ''my homeland'', and has a warm connotation. It was inaccurate for the translator to say it means Wales. So, when they are singing 'Gwlad, gwlad' it has a pride-soaring reference to 'my home (land), My home (land)'. Wales has seen many invaders over the thousands of years, not just the English. The Romans, Vikings, Even the French tried to invade in the last attempted invasion of Britain in (I think) 1797. One example was when Norman kings from Normandy invaded, Edward I built so many castles, that Wales has more castles per population than anywhere else in the world. And, if you want just one interesting factoid, the Washington Monument has a phrase in the Welsh language carved into it: Fy iaith, fy ngwlad, fy nghenedl - Cymru am byth” - My language, my land, my nation - Wales forever.
Wales is a country, it’s one of the four constituent countries that make up the United Kingdom. Welsh is the oldest language in these islands. It has evolved from the Brythonic Celtic spoken throughout most of Great Britain prior to the Anglo-Saxon invasions. Centuries Welsh and Welsh speakers were persecuted and if they wish to do well in government or the professions. they had to speak English. Up until the time with my grandparents, children can’t speak in Welsh school liable to be beaten by their teachers. This has stopped the time I went to school but we weren’t allowed to learn Welsh French German Latin but not my native language. Nowadays every child in Wales studies Welsh and even if they don’t speak it and the day-to-day basis most can understand some of it. Within Wales it now has equal status legally with English.
Perfect description, I am a proud Welsh gal who cant speak the language because it has been anialated by the English in my part of the country, it is hard to learn a language when you have no one to speak it with.... 🥺😭 this is why I get annoyed when the British are called invaders, it was the English that invaded so much.... Wales, Scotland, Ireland then half the world... to be clear im not saying it was all English people, nor that there were no Welsh, Scottish or Irish there... but it has to be accounted that it was always the English making those decisions for us then the whole group of countrys got the rap equally (is a soldier responsible for a genrals orders?)
@@mariafury396 completely agree with you. It is probably correct to say that Wales was England’s first colony. They invaded our us way back in the 12th century.
@@johndare3576 well actually the Norman's invaded England and then after a hell of a fight and hundreds of years, Wales. Saying England invaded Wales is like saying the French invaded Russia during World War.
@@mixodorians12 Nope , England *did* actually invade Wales - Henry the 4th invaded Wales on three occasions in the 1400's to attempt to quell the uprising of Owain Glyndwr. Henry spoke English as his mother tongue.
As a mere Englishman may I say that I think Wales is great. If you are ever in the UK Sarah do try and visit Wales, it has so much history and a wonderful landscape.
As an English man I take pride in my country, but when I hear the Welsh sing there national anthem it brings tears to my eyes, because they sing from the bottom of there boots, it's with so much passion, amazing it brings that shiver down the spine
This anthem always moves me close to tears, and I'm an Englishman!................Back in the early '80's, while I was in the army, serving in Germany, I was selected to play rugby for the 3rd Battalion the Queens Regt against the 1st Battalion the Royal Regt of Wales in the annual infantry cup . We lost but never mind. We played the 3rd half in one of the soldiers accommodation cellar bars. Now, the acoustics were not that good but we were all treated to the Welsh anthem by the visiting team and supporters. Now when I hear it, I am instantly transported back to Fallingbostal, Germany 1982 . Keep your video's going.............brilliant
Ahh yes, the great Welsh Anthem, I always feel pride and sometimes I start to cry, it’s just so beautiful, thank you for listening to our anthem and love from Wales! 🏴❤️
Wales has a huge tradition of choral singing, and their fans never fecking stop singing haha. During the 6 nations rugby in the spring, they are the best crowd to come over to Ireland. The 1905 match versus New Zealand, the Kiwis were doing their traditional Haika, and the Welsh complained that they should have something, so they sang their anthem in response.
Wales dose have an awesome anthem, but as a Scotsman I still say we he have the best national animal, who knew you could pick a fictional animal, the fact that owe national animal is a unicorn just makes my day. Hahahaha
@@UkSapyy I know but a dragon is awesome and tough, a unicorn is just hilarious, it comes across like Scotland allowed a 5 year old girl who's really into ponies to choose the national animal.
The little chap in tears is Shane Williams. He was one of the finest players Wales has ever produced. This was his last game playing in the National side before retiring. He was a genius, and ran circles around the opposing teams, he was a joy to watch. I doubt if we will see another player as good as Shane Williams for many years to come
You are right. As an old fart Englishman who used to live in Wales, I do consider this music as the most elegant and beautiful of all so-called National Anthems with wonderful, poetic, gentle lyrics. And you are right again; isn't that the most kick-ass flag in the world? I notice that, for once, everyone is in accord: not one single "thumbs down".
I'm an Englishman but I love hearing the Welsh singing their anthem at sporting events (or anywhere else for that matter). It's always stirring and emotional and sung with such passion... a passion I don't ever remember experiencing listening to God Save The Queen! I've watched rugby and football crowds sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and noticed that after the first few seconds the venue tend to cut the music and just let the crowd sing their hearts and souls out!¬ I've heard them sing so loud that they drown out military bands providing live musical accompaniment! It's quite awesome to witness! God save Wales!!
No Wales isn't part of England but you wouldn't be wrong if you said England is apart of Cymru as most of the island was originally ours up to Edinburgh and all Cymric speaking.
@@alexpalmer9897 A great many ‘Welsh’ do not know the history. No celts in Britain.. the Lloegr arrived before the Cymry .. however, the ‘Welsh’ language was the principle language of the Britons. The Lemnos Stele is inscribed in Cymraeg using the Coelbren/Druidic cyphers. It tells of Brutus’ gathering the remnant prior to their migration to Prydain. The story of the Cymry (compatriots) prior to this traces to Troy and Egypt… the hieroglyphs can be read using ‘Welsh’. Find on Y T : BritainsHiddenHistory Ross Cymroglyphics 01 Overview.
As a welshWoman, I love to help tourists around everywhere and listen to these songs especially ‘Yma O Hyd’ which means still here. Love you all!❤❤🏴🏴🏴
I recently rediscovered the song Yma O Hyd, having only heard it once before around 20 years ago, me being mainly English with some Welsh ancestry on my mother's side, I once found myself rather drunk with an English freind we had foolishly wandered into a working mens club in Wales to try and watch England vs Wales rugby. Not long after we arrived everyone started to sing the song and I can tell you it was one of the most humbling moments of my life. 300 men and quite a few women all singing in harmony with such pride was simply breathtaking. England won the match but Wales and its people won my heart that day.
My wife and I try to attend the Welsh national day service each year conducted by the Welsh Church in Melbourne, Australia whenever we can, We have no clue about the Welsh language, but cheerfully sing the Welsh verses in Welsh without necessarily understanding the words. Being part of a congregation singing Cwym Rhondda in 4 part harmony is really wonderful.
Yes, it was Shane Williams's last game - a superb player, and a wizard with the ball, despite his small stature (for a rugby player). If you get around to watching more rugby, it's worth checking out some "Best of Shane Williams" videos, like these: th-cam.com/video/rMr-V4olUGE/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/JYMVahaHCBg/w-d-xo.html And thank you for such a lovely reaction to my national anthem :)
IF you don't mind an english opinion - Shane Williams will be remembered for a long time as he was part of as winning national team, indeed was it's cutting edge in some ways, The jink making fools of many larger men.. A gifted natural athlete and trained gymnast Shane looked good and interviewed well on camera. Presumably he will go on to be a commentator one day. Thus no doubt destined for favourable remembrance Yet I think many Welsh rugby fans would agree that Neil Jenkins, though a much less charismatic figure has a better claim on the title "best ever'. It was Neil's fate to be at his peak when the team was at it's lowest ebb. But by common assent it was his boot that kept Wales in contention, avoided a national disgrace, for all those lonely years. Great Welsh players there have been many. Great Welsh teams rather fewer but still numerous. So I expect contrary comment. MY apologies if this offends i any way. i don't think you were bestowinbg the title best ever to Shane. That is possibly aa derail by me.
@@brucebartup6161 Jenkins was a fine distributor of the ball and one of the most reliable goal-kickers Wales had ever had. He undoubtedly kept Wales in contention during an otherwise lean period for the national team. However, he probably wasn't even the "best ever" No 10 we'd seen in Wales, in terms of his all-round game. Shane Williams played in national sides without Jenkins and he still shone, as he did at club level. I was lucky enough to follow his career from its beginning, saw him live countless times, and saw him turn many a game in his team's favour with his vision, often conjuring something out of nothing. Unlike many wingers at the time, Shane would go "looking for work" and, in effect, was not just a winger but a second scrum-half. Glorious player.
Im an Englishman but this anthem is simply the best! Perfect mixture of pride, history and togetherness tinged with just a little sadness. Wonderfully stirring melody and my word the Welsh can sing! Sadly England really does not have anything to touch it- but then again Englishness is probably far harder to even define let alone sing about!
You must see it sung live at a Wales Rugby international by 70,000 passionate fans - spine-chillingly awesome. Proud to be Welsh and probably the best national anthem in the world!
In my singing days, I was basso profundo in a male voice choir - in England. We most definitely recognised the heritage of male voice choirs being Welsh, and sang many songs from the Wesh repertoire, including, of course, their National Anthem - always in Welsh. I can sing it, and if a translation is provided, put the emotion into my singing appropriately, although I neither speak nor understand Welsh (much like any of the other languages we performed in) although Welsh was by far the most common "foreign" language we sang in - others included Latin, Italian, German, French, Russian, Dutch and Spanish - all just learned phonetically, parrot-fashion. I put foreign in quotes because we had a decent number (about ⅓ of us) of Welsh speakers in the choir, so it was not totally foreign to the choir (just me and some others who are linguistically challenged). I may have left some languages out - it was a long time ago! We competed at The Llangollen International Eisteddfod (the de-facto world cup for Male Voice Choirs) and placed 2nd in the Male Voice Choir category, recording the only two perfect scores ever awarded for the two "set piece" performances - this was what led to us being invited to record at the BBC Maida Vale Studio for national broadcast. We only placed 2nd because a certain two members fouled up REALLY badly in the "own choice" song and threw the whole choir off (which was a capella, so no accompanist to bring us back on track). These two (a baritone and a tenor) were known for showing up late and even missing rehearsals, just to put things in perspective. Our musical director was so furious (think "livid", "Incandescent with rage" or whatever works for you as a description) with them that several of us thought he'd have a complete brain haemorrhage at the subsequent debrief (about half a dozen of us got between them and him, as he really looked as if he would actually wring their necks). If I see the word "apoplectic" it is his reaction which springs to my mind over 40 years later! I have never seen anyone so angry in my life - really scary. They didn't even dare travel back on the coach with the rest of us and I never saw them dare to show their faces again, and if I do it will be too soon. The bunch who got between our MD and them (so several of us had the same impression) were not to protect them (we shunned them after that trainwreck of a performance) but to protect him from the consequences of what looked like an imminent double murder with his bare hands. We were holding him back and trying to calm him down, and others were telling them to get the he** out of his sight. If you've ever watched Rugby, think of the wedge that forms in a ruck, with a phalanx of players linking their bodies into a driving force against the player carrying the ball and facing backwards, linked together like in a scrum with their shoulders pushing forwards. We shoved him into a chair and held him there until they had left and he'd calmed down to just angry. So yeah, the arts are taken very seriously in Wales, and particularly poetry and music. The recording you watched is not a great one, as the crowd are not given proper prominence - you can rest assured that they would have been singing with all the harmonies throughout - almost everyone knows the part for their own vocal range, and it is a glorious and stirring feeling heard live from nearly 100,000 voices singing to choral quality. Also intimidating as heck for the other team! The modern tendency to have a celebrity perform the national anthems has been focussed on by broadcasters, but you can rely on the Welsh crowd not to need one. Just play the introduction and leave them to it! Until relatively recently Wales was administered from Westminster, but now has its own devolved parliament which has powers over most aspects of life not affecting other parts of the UK. Scotland and Norther Ireland have similar parliaments and powers, but England is alone in having no independent national representation. This means Scottish and Welsh MPs can vote on all matters affecting only England (having been devoted to national assemblies in Wales and Scotland) but English MPs do not have the same privilege over Scottish and Welsh legislation. Until this is remedied, England remains a country occupied by a Westminster Elite. As Turkeys are not known to vote for Christmas, it may take a revolution to resolve this. Personally, I'd like to see "God Save The Queen" moved into being a royal anthem (like you have "Hail To The Chief") and separate anthems for England AND the UK as a whole. That would also give both "Rule Britannia" and "Jerusalem" suitable roles and I think people would largely support the idea.
You don't start with anthem of Wales, the beauty of the song itself and of the singing (the Welsh are known for their singing tradition) the others won't live up to this.☺
As an Englishman I have to say that there are few sounds better than a Welsh crowd singing their national anthem before an international rugby match. Find a match and see what I mean.
It didn't help against Ireland. The Italian anthem is pretty good - straight out of a Verdi opera - so they'd better watch out there, too. If it really was down to national anthems, I'm surprised England win any.
As a proud Englishman who's family holidays used to be spent in a caravan in rural Wales, I have to admit Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is extremely stirring. I love hearing it at rugby matches, I love Welsh male choirs, those rain soaked holidays must have had an effect on me.
The video with the lyrics has much more baroque instrumentation than I've ever heard and takes some liberties with the translation (eg. 'Gwlad' - pronounced 'goo-lad' but one syllable - means 'country'; the name for Wales is Cymru - ' _Cum_ -ree' - and requires a capital letter). We also don't typically sing the second or third verses, and I don't think many people know the words. Just to clarify: we are our own country, not part of England (although we were essentially annexed from 1536 to 1998, we've always been thought of as a nation in our own right). The second video comes from a rugby match against Australia in 2011, which was Shane Williams' last international before retirement. He scored a try in added time with his last ever touch, but we lost anyway. The commentator also mentioned Gary Speed, captain of the Welsh football team in the late 90s/early 00s, who was manager at the time and had just committed suicide. Anyway, that's how we normally sing it: passionately, either without music or with a brass band, and ending going up an octave on 'o bydded i'r hen IATH barhau' (translated: 'may the old language endure/continue').
As an Englishman I've always been impressed with the Welsh national anthem, especially when it's sung just before a rugby match, the Welsh seem to have good Voices
The Welsh language is much stronger now than the 1950’s. I live in the South where it is not as strong. Welsh is still taught as a compulsory subject/language in school but I am not sure up until what age. We have a Welsh TV channel (S4C - Sianel Pedwar Cymru) and a BBC radio channel in Welsh. All road signs must be bi-lingual and some of our supermarkets have signs in both languages. My middle brother lives in Bala, North Wales, and he is in a very deep Welsh area, his son was taught in Welsh throughout his school life. His son, my grand nephew, only speaks Welsh. He’s only 3. it’s usual to have Welsh first names here. Huw & Ceri have Osian & Beca, Osian is pronounced Osh an (rhyming with gosh). Following changes in the law, along with Scotland & Northern Ireland we have become a devolved nation. Our seat of government in Cardiff Bay is called “Y Senedd” - the Senate.
I used to call my Mother's father, Gransher, but can't see any reference, other than a vague memory of reading it in something written by Dylan Thomas. Can someone enlighten me please.
The player crying before, during and after the National Anthem was Shane Williams who was playing his last ever match for Wales and his last ever 6 nations match against England, the most important match for every Welsh boy and man - That is why he was so emotional. To put it into context a great uncle of mine, a Church in Wales Minister and former Welsh wing 3/4, told me after a dedication service in my Grandfathers last church when the family dedicated a stained glass window ion the lady chapel, another stained glass window overlooking my grandparents grave and a new rood screen dividing the Chancel from the Nave of the church, that there were 2 ways to get to heaven - one was playing rugby for Wales and the other was like finding a needle in a haystack - He also told me that, but for WW2 and the smoke inhalation damage to his lungs flying and landing his burning bomber, my father would have been a full Welsh international wing forward after playing for 3 years between 1936 and 1939 as a Welsh schoolboy international. For every Welsh boy the greatest ambition in life is to play Rubgy for Wales and their second greatest ambition is to play rugby for the British and Irish Lions touring South Africa, Australia and New Zealand on a 4 year cycle and ideally all 3 countries in a 12 year cycle - Any Welsh boy or man who says otherwise is a liar. When I was growing up girls did not play rugby BUT wanted to - Now they do and I am sure most Welsh girls would say the same. Shane Williams MBE was the record number try scorer for Wales and 4th on the list of record number international try scorers scoring 58 tries in 87 international matches for Wales and 2 tries in 4 international matches for the British and Irish Lions. He retired from the international Rugby scene in 2012 at the age of 35, after the match the Welsh Anthem was played, and awarded his MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to Rugby in the Queens 2012 Birthday Honours list.
From an English man with Welsh relations . The greatest of all national anthems. Even Paul Robeson sang the Welsh National anthem. It’s on TH-cam somewhere.
Gwlad translates more to "fatherland" or "country" than directly to Wales, and is used to refer to Wales indirectly here, that's why the capitalization of the word is a bit different. The exact counterpart of the name Wales in Welsh is Cymru(pronounced "come-ree"). (By a Hongkonger who happens to be learning Welsh so please correct me if I got anything wrong)
Well done, nicely said. don't forget to pronounce Welsh names correctly you will need to have a decent chest infection, and plenty of phlegm in your throat. :)
Gwlad is not the name of the country, it's more the expression of the concept of land, territory, nationality or even language. Similar to the Basque concept of Herria. The Basque for basqe is Euskal Herria. It means a place where Basque (Euskal) is spoken.
As an English man going to rugby, I sang the Welsh anthem, but I also lived there.. The Welsh are passionate about being Welsh, no problem, I love my Welsh family ♥♥,
(Very rough history of Wales:) In the first century CE, Britain was conquered by the Roman Empire. Caesar had already tried it, during his conquest of Gaul (France). The population of the British Isles at that point consisted of celtic tribes, related to those on the continent. The Romans conquered most of it, except the north, where they finally just gave up and build another of their huge border fortifications. Look up "Hadrian's Wall"... it's still today and impressive archeological feature. After the conquest, Roman Britannia became a highly urbanized and romanized part of the Empire. If you find any city there with a name of "-chester" or similar, it is based on a roman fortified settlement... a "castrum". Several hundred years later, in 410 CE, the Roman army left Britannia, during a period of internal and external conflicts for the Empire. They would never return, and Roman control was lost. While the scope and kind of what followed next is still debated under historians, the gist of it is: germanic tribes from continental Europe (northern Germany and Denmark mostly) came to settle / invade Britain. These were Angles, Saxons and Jutes. They took over most of the territory and established their own realms... names like "East Anglia" or "Wessex" are even today a reminder of these times. The original story of King Arthur is set in that era... Arthur being the leader of the Celto-Roman Britains, fighting against the heathen germanic invaders. Result of that was most of Britain being anglo-saxon, while the old celtic realms were only left in some regions... one of them Wales. The name "Wales" itself is the germanic name, which means something like "the foreigners". The Anglo-Saxons never conquered Wales, and the early kings after the Norman conquest of England also didn't manage to conquer or subdue it consistently, until the 13th century. Edward I secured the region with the building of several massive castles and ultimately gave the title "Prince of Wales" to his eldest son, which became the traditional title of the crown prince of England.
Excellent summary - I'd add that, in contrast to the Anglo-Saxon term "foreigners" (Wales/Welsh), the Welsh call themselves and their country Cymry/Cymru ("CUM-ree"), basically "fellow countrymen". This derives from the Old Welsh/Brittonic "combrogi", which is also the origin of "Cambria" and Cumbria, the modern English county.
I have read that linguistic research would indicate the Germanic root of Wales, Walloon and similar words refers not to a foreigner in general but more specifically to Romanised Celts.
@@neilbuckley1613 As most things in language, it evolved. It is considered to have originated from a specific celtic tribe, the Volcae. From that the usage of this name was extended to all neighboring celtic tribes. When all of them fell under roman control, it was extended to all of the romanized celt, and finally to all romanized and romanic cultures.
@@neilbuckley1613 True enough, but it came to mean something like "foreigner" (Welscher) in German, and was also used to characterise things that were neither Romanised nor Celtic, like the "wal" in "walnut" :)
The Romans had farms and towns in Aberdeenshire. Any belief that the either Hadrian's wall or the Antonine wall was the only way to keep the pesky Celts, Scottii and others out is an error. The wall was to mark the boundary of the Empire and Romans did live beyond the boundaries of the Empire. The Battle of Mons Grapius (Grampian Mountains), about AD 83/84 is an account of the Roman army taking on and savagely beating the Picts. Undoubtedly, some if not all, of the reports from the event to Rome were, shall we say,' bigged up' or grossly aggrandised the Romans involved. Check out Bruce Fummey and his TH-cam channel Scotland History Tours. I have yet to see or hear a more factually correct person on Scottish history. He has corrected some of my misconceptions (don't worry I do double check) and his piece as to why the last Jacobite invasion occurred encompasses the entire European balance between the influence of the Roman Catholic monarchs and the Protestant monarchs. Which makes dispute for the British throne between the Hanoverians and the Jacobites a microcosm of the European disputes.
I learnt the French national anthem as well as the Welsh one, and I must say that the French one certainly puts up a stiff challenge in terms of which is most patriotic.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing like standing in the arena in Cardiff before a match (especially against England) & hearing the anthem sung by the whole crowd. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and brings tears to the eyes. FYI. Ireland play Rugby as a combined unit made up of the Republic of Ireland (Eire) and Northern Ireland unlike in football where they play as two separate countries.
Thank you for featuring our National Anthem in full. Normally only the fist verse is sung. This performance was very 'stagey' much better to have used a recording from the a rugby match. That way you would would hear it sung as it ought to be sung with Hwyl! (As at this recording at 18.30)
Ours isn't a "national" anthem at all. It's the glorification of an institution that a good chunk of the country would like to see abolished. As to alternatives, I fail to see what Jerusalem has to do with England, except we spent a few hundred years trying to rescue it from Islamic rule. Land of Hope and Glory would mean cutting Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 from the concert repertoire. Any way, Elgar hated the lyrics that became attached to it.
It’s a free rather than literal translation. Gwlad (sometimes dropping the initial G as wlad) actually means ‘land’ not ‘’Wales’. The Welsh for Wales is ‘Cymru’. So ‘Hen wlad fy nhadau’ actually means ‘Old land of my fathers’. It’s is pronounced approximately ‘Hen oolad vee ngathaye’. Gwlad would otherwise be ‘goolad’. Yes, like nearly everybody’s national anthem it is about fighting against the English and occasionally even winning. Incidentally the Irish rugby team is an all Ireland team and they do not use either Amhrán na bhFiann (Soldier's Song) or The Londonderry Air, but an all Ireland anthem called Ireland’s Call.
@@JohnEades But they only use Ireland's Call when playing away. As an Englishman who has quite a bit of Irish blood in me (from both the Republic and the North, it's all one place to me) it always saddens me that despite loving playing rugby for Ireland the players from the 6 counties that form Northern Ireland don't sing the Ireland's Call anthem, I guess that's what sectarianism does for you. Maybe one day they will!!!
@@mattpotter8725 Yes, as I said, only at home games at the Aviva do they use both. Having some Irish blood too, although all Southern, I wholeheartedly agree... one Ireland.
Joe, your pronounciation isn't far off. However, 'fy' should be 've' as in the word ve(rb). In Welsh, the letter 'f' is sounded as 'v', and 'ff' is sounded as 'f'. Nhadau is more like Na ( with a slight 'h' between the n and a; 'd' is pronounced as 'd' ('dd' is sounded as the 'th' in the word 'that' , 'th' is sounded as in 'thought' ; 'au' is sounded more like the ie in the word 'die'. Knowing the Welsh pronounciations, it is often difficult to give the phonetic equivalent but saying "My Hen Oolard ve N ha (long a as in lard) die. Also Welsh had mutations so Gwlad becomes Wlad after certain words, Cymru can mutate to Gymru or Nghymru. Bachgen (boy) but y fachgen (the boy). In Welsh, y & w are vowels, there is no letter k, q, x or z (except in newer borrowed words) and DD, TH, FF, CH, NG, LL & PH are classed as consonants. I won't even get into the dipthongs, haha! But you get the gist 🤣 Hope that helps.
Hand on heart, I have to say as an Englishman, that one of the blessings of living in England is having the Welsh for neighbours. (By the way, it was the Norman French who built the castles and stole your land, just like they did in England where, according to the latest genetic research, we remain at least 60% Welsh.)
This anthem means a great deal to me. it is testament to the aspects of Welsh culture of which I am particularly proud. our language and the importance of poetry, song and the arts generally to Wales as a nation. One of the biggest and most important events in the Welsh calendar is the Eisteddfod, a week long celebration of Welsh culture through theatre, song, poetry and many other arts. well worth checking out. Yes, this was Prince Shane's last game, playing for Wales was never just another day at the office for Shane Williams and most other Welsh players. it is everything, it is what they aspire to from childhood.
Loved your running commentary on our anthem. Most of your queries, maybe all, answered well by people. Thanks very much for the focus. Sadly the Welsh, like many minority language groups, were routinely humiliated for speaking Welsh, and our language is still the butt-end of some tired jokes on UK TV. It’s refreshing to hear the views of an outsider. Diolch. Thanks. In November, Wales will play the USA in the football world cup. Two great anthems that day!
Swt Mae (Welsh for Hi) SoGal. Glad to hear you reacting to one of the best national anthems in the world, I’m biassed. When this is played at a national sporting event it really lifts the atmosphere. When it’s played in the National Stadium in Cardiff when Wales are playing especially against England at rugby it’s said that it lifts the soul of the team and is worth a few points advantage. Singing, either to lift the team or push them on is a tradition. We sing in a mixture of Welsh and English. Favourtes are Guide Me, O Thy Great Redeemer (Cwm Rhondda), Sospan Fach (a folk song about boiling saucepans) and a modern song called Hymns & Arias by Max Boyce. We are known as the Land Of Song. Look out for Eisteddfod’s, nayional, international and youth cultural events. P.S. The anthem, words and lyrics, were penned by father and son duo Evan and James James. It’s not unusual here foe someone to have the same first name and family name. Sometimes we will give them a nickname, there once was a gent in my village called Thomas Thomas, he was known locally as “Tommy Twice”
I'm scottish and stay in Edinburgh when Wales are playing it's an absolute honour and a privilege to stand along with the Welsh fans and when the good old Welsh sing by heck the Welsh blast there national anthem out God bless the Welsh
Hate to tell you but WALES 30 ENGLAND 3 was 10 times better in the Stadium. THAT is the one you should have been directed to SoGal:) It shows ALL the players singing and is MUCH LOUDER and passionate !
Maybe but I thought this one was worth it just for the reaction of the guy who was playing his last game. Sorry I don't know his name rugby isn't my thing. But it was nice to see.
I am part Welsh both sides of my family had Welsh members, my dad was born in Wales. The Welsh harp is a symbol of Wales, singing and choirs, poets too. The Eisteddfods are held each year to honour all types of poets and musicians, singers. The main sport is rugby, the shirts of the players have the three white Prince of Wales feathers on them. Wales was named Cambria by the Romans, the Romans invaded and killed many Welsh people mainly the followers of the Druid faith. The Vikings invaded, and of course the English. Wales has fought in our wars for centuries, they are extremely brave, watch the film "Zulu". The Welsh fought to keep their language being taught in their schools and won. The leek is also another emblem. Best Flag and best Anthem.
Also the player was Shane Williams, one of the best Welsh players of all time. This may have been the last time he played in the 6 Nations for Wales (an annual Rugby tournament.)
Wales is known as "the land of song." The male voice choirs are famous. They sing "in parts," even if they have not previously practiced together. The Gymanfa Ganu is a get-together of (sometimes) thousands of people specifically to sing hymns together.
I feel privileged to have grown up in what may have been the last flourish of the Cymanfa tradition, at least in terms of cymanfaoedd in Methodist chapels - most of which are sparsely attended nowadays, if they haven't closed already. When I was a kid, though, they were still well-attended, and the (four-part) singing of those wonderful hymns was stirring beyond belief. It instilled in my a deep appreciation for choral music, and singing in general, which has never left me.
First time I heard the Welsh Anthem was in 1972. Waking up early hours of the morning in New Zealand watching the All Blacks vs Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. This has to be the most breathtaking Anthem sung by a Nation who give their heart and soul. God Bless Wales. Footnote: My Aunty (my mothers sister) married a Welshman, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1953. Still has that strong Welsh accent, which is amazing, their 3 adult kids (my first cousins) born in New Zealand, have that typical elocution Kiwi accent. Have to say though, love everything that is Wales: Language, Country, History, Culture and especially Choral Music. In New Zealand, we are proud to have Elin Tomos (Mezzo-Soprano) orginally from North of Wales who has sung on occasion a beautiful rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. th-cam.com/video/p8fuj1bDLnc/w-d-xo.html
As a Proud Englishman, I am always amazed that the stirring ‘Men of Harlech’ was never used as the Welsh National Anthem. I wish that we English had the same national pride as Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
And yet Beethoven wrote "...what a blessing they have in "God Save the King"" and composed several variations on the tune. Weber and Brahms also admired the tune enough to weave it into various of their works. Based on the reputations of these composers, I'd say it's got to be pretty good!
Nothing makes me feel more at rest than being back in Wales. Especially Monmouthshire/ on the Usk which is where I grew up. As beautiful as the World is ... Wales is one of my two homes (the other being Brazil and mostly because thats where the other half of my family are).
Great video. The Welsh anthem was written in Pontypridd in 1856. The tune is also used in the Cornish and Breton national anthems (Bro Goth agan Tasow and Bro Gozh ma Zadoù), and in Welsh Patagonia (Gwlad Newydd y Cymry).
Ok, so I don't know if anybody answered the point you raised regarding the word "gwlad" being capitalized, but here's the reason why it's not. The Welsh word "gwlad", although used to represent Wales in the lyrics of "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Land Of My Fathers), the word actually translates as "land", hence, it is not capitalized. In the Welsh language, the name for Wales is Cymru
Wales is a very beautiful country with our own language.We are a part of the UK with our own government called THE SENNEDD.It resides in our Capital City CARDIFF. Rugby is our national game ...
Don't want to be a downer but the brass kinda ruins the first video. When you hear the Welsh national anthem where the choir is the prominent part it sounds unreal. It gives me shivers and I'm Scottish.
Sorry to hear about your injury, hope you're starting to feel better. I know you're not especially into fantasy, but it's worth mentioning that JRR Tolkien was a great lover of the Welsh language, and based the sounds of the Sindarin Elvish language used in "The Lord of the Rings" on it (there's also a different Elvish language inspired by his love of Finnish).
Totally agree, I am English and always feel emotional when I hear the Welsh anthem. I think England should adopt "I vow to thee my country" as its anthem.
The emotional rugby player was Shane Williams and it was his last game for Wales, before retiring. When we sing the National Anthem, no matter the occasion, we sing it with pride and passion. I suggest you look on TH-cam for Welsh Choirs, Sir Harry Secombe and that will give you a better idea of why we are so passionate about singing..
Wales is a country in its own right also Scotland Ireland and England they are not a part of England or any other we are all separate Countries . all have their own language etc we are just united stronger together .
@@taffyducks544 Hi Read history , no one was talking about stopping anyone just saying we are four united countrys , whats with the Chinese ? . just stopped following you .
Naah, I would rather we were all independent from eachother. Having a government put into power by just one country is ridiculous and massively undemocratic for everyone else.
I went to university in Cardiff while the Arms Park was still there in the middle of the city …and the sound of thousands of voices raised in song is a major part of my memories of uni!
Cardiff Arms Park is still in the middle of the city, but the adjoining National Stadium/Principality Stadium has been rebuilt and renamed a few times in recent years :)
I have a Paul Robeson CD on which he sings Land of My Fathers - same tune as this, different words. He had a glorious voice. He had an affinity with the Welsh, and even appeared in a film showing Welsh miners - the difference in his height and theirs is rather noticeable! I empathise with your arm injury: years ago I had a trapped nerve in my right elbow and had to be left-handed for months. Really increased my empathy with natural left-handers, although they grow up with it, and so learn to adapt, rather than having it suddenly thrust upon them. Still can't be easy.
Paul Robeson came to Wales on a visit, and was amazed that he could go to the pub with white Welsh men and nobody turned a h hsir. He also got invited into Welsh homes. I was lucky enough to archive some of his interviews a few years ago.
It would be interesting to hear your views on Flower of Scotland and Danny Boy for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Irish Republic is slightly different being an independent country, its national anthem is " Amhran na bhFiann" or in English The Soldiers Song, that has interesting lyrics. The Irish rugby team represents the whole of Ireland and the Soldiers Song is played only when the team plays in Dublin and players from Northern Ireland do not have to sing it. Irish rugby also has an anthem called Ireland's Call which is played at all their games , home and away.
Thank you for showing the world our national anthem, we are a proud nation, rugby is a very exciting sport , it is wonderful to be part of the UK, . We look forward to watching the games and hopefully we'll have a win . Love to you all xx
That's a pretty low bar. Sad to say 'The Birdy Song' is more inspiring and stirring than God Save the Queen. Nobody likes it. The Welsh anthem is pretty decen though.
What's the top national anthem in your opinion? Thanks for watching! Like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video 👍🏻 Follow me on social media, and join my Discord & Patreon:
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You should react to Slovenian national anthem. It's one of the rare anthems where it doesn't say: "we are the best, blah blah blah..." it should be world's anthem imo.
Can you pls react to kraut's video on turkey. If you wanna learn more about ottoman history its really good video to watch and learn about turkish history.
I dont know many, but the USA national anthem is a top one. Also the Canadian one and French..
Hate to tell you but WALES 30 ENGLAND 3 was 10 times better in the Stadium. THAT is the one you should have been directed to SoGal:)
It shows ALL the players singing and is MUCH LOUDER and passionate !
The best has to be Borat's Uzbekistan national anthem.
To be born in Wales, Not with a silver spoon in your mouth, But, with music in your blood And with poetry in your soul, Is a privilege indeed.
Da ni yma o hyd! 🏴
@leekenyon8705 Ahead of what? You're american, aren't you?
My dad tells me this everyday CYMRUUU!!!!
Wales is not just a country, it's something you find in your heart.
No matter where you live in the world you can't take the Welsh out of your heart that is so true ,i might live in New Zealand but every day im glad i was born in the Greatest country in the world.
And the sea
The little guy is emotional as, its his LAST MATCH IN A welsh Shirt. A brilliant and irreplaceable player
Everyone claims that, their national anthem is the best, surely that is how it should be, pride in their Nation and National Anthem.
SHUT IT
As an Englishman, i have to say our welsh brothers have the greatest national anthem, the welsh seem to have a inbuilt ability to harmonise when singing as a group, that that sends tingles down my spine everytime i hear them.
one good example: th-cam.com/video/Jy8NhLx0HbA/w-d-xo.html
THANKYOU FROM WALES.😊🤗🤗🏴🏴🏴
As an Englishman, you probably have some Celtic ancestry? Millions of us in the UK have, as Celts (later known as Welsh) lived in many parts of what is now England. It took many battles to drive them into what is now called Wales & possibly explains the immense patriotic spirit that exists.
Im Welsh. I sound like a strangled cat when Im singing.
@@SuperNictastic 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Nothing like a humongous dollop of honesty.
As an Englishman, Wales most definitely is NOT a part of England. It is a fiercely proud nation in its own right. This anthem is one of the best in the world. There have been many times the English and Welsh have battled each other, but like the other Home Nations, when we are all threatened as we all were in WW2 then we're brothers in arms. Three of the foot guards regiments are Scots, Irish and Welsh as well as the other two the Grenadiers and the Cloldstreams.Flower of Scotland is also a stirring anthem, again telling of the battles with England, and a beautiful anthem.
This just shows the naivity and stupidity of this post. Lacks research or basic knowledge. Laughs at daffodils in the crowd? Speaks for itself, culturally bereft. ....
@@treblesix8730 a daffodil hat isnt very dignified
@@treblesix8730 Its a bit of fun at a Rugby match for goodness sake. Is there any reason to be so rude ? SoGal isnt British and she is trying to learn about some of the oddities of the UK. The same as England supporters dressing as St George or Scottish supporters with ginger wigs. Come on folks lighten up.
@@royhardy407 💯👍🏻
The Coldstreams are Scots.
As an Englishman always been thoroughly impressed by the Welsh patriotism. It's an amazing country anyone who comes to the UK don't miss Wales off your plans
Thanks for your kind words about my country.
@@mihangelap-williams9871 you are fed up with ste ? What's he done ?
we forget you even exist most of the time tbh..so sure ... 🤣😂
@Ste, cheers mate for your acknowledgement of my country. You are welcome anytime in Cymru! 🏴
if you're impressed by patriotism, "ste", you are, at best, suspect.
@@mihangelap-williams9871 english tough for you ?
Whenever they start singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau it raises tingles down the back of my neck and stir a real passion in me for my adoptive country. Wales is a very proud nation, and the Welsh have always been fearless in battle. It has more castles per square mile than any other country in the world because there was so much fighting going on when the English were trying to overcome the Welsh. For many years it was regarded as part of England, causing much grievance in the Welsh, hence the fierce loyalty when playing against England in particular. Welsh is a beautiful country with a proud culture. The Welsh language is said to be the language of heaven.
Cymru am byth! 🏴
fancy digging Offas a yard deeper , like ? ya'll get swallowed up like every other Cxxt, mush. wise up , Lo face.
@@blackbob3358 - irrelevant and unintelligible response... get back to your Daily Mail....
@@trevormj😢
The Welsh anthem was written by a father & son, it's about the language, the culture, the people the land. It is one of the most, if not the most beautiful anthem in the world. In a thousand years we Scots couldn't write an anthem such as this wonderful expression of Welsh culture. People should know that the Welsh are the original Britons & lost most of their ancient lands when the Romans left & the Germanic Saxon tribes (basically the English moved in) a very proud & noble people who sing like no others amongst the masses. The wee lad crying was I believe, playing his last international for Wales, no wonder he was consumed by emotion.
Thank you and well documented.
As a proud welshman thanks for such kind words, we are a small nation of only 3.5 million people and we can only select a side for rugby from 147000 eligible players and as a nation we punch well above our weight England has 7 million who are eligible to play Rugby 🏉
Very nicely put.
Nice to see some one who knows our true history, Much love to our Scottish brothers and sisters
Thank you for those amazing words.
As a Scotsman from Edinburgh. I very much admire the Welsh nation. Edinburgh is the destination for the Welsh people every second year , as the six nations rugby game is held here. The Irish come here on the same year , usually. And by the time somewhere in early April your liver gets a chance to recover 😉😉😉
And us welsh can & still drink your Scots under the table ..
Correct - the little guy who was crying was Shane Williams and it was his 87th and final Wales game. He’s still the record “try” scorer, and was a really special player to watch (even as an Englishman).
Yes I was there in 2011 for Shanes last game for Wales. Wales lost to Australia but amazing somersault last seconds try by Shane !
@@geoffw8565 A friend of mine once said Australia will win the Rugby, but the Welsh will win the singing.
@@brontewcat Last weekend, Wales won both... 🤣😉 (Yes, we shouldn't have - Wales were awful last weekend!!!)
@@bujin1977 Well it doesn’t hurt Australia to lose, we are too parochial by half. Always happy to see Wales win
There will be no better winger for wales Than shane williams The man was only 5ft 7 but he had the heart of a dragon he will always be a legend
I am Welsh and this anthem says it all for me. There are some better versions of it than this but it says it all. Proud to be Welsh.
Same here being proud to be Welsh!!
A FIIIII 💗💗💗
I'm not Welsh but 60,000+ Welsh fans singing the national anthem always sends a tingle down my spine
Me too.
Especially with the roof closed on the Millennium Stadium.
Same. They always sing it with such passion. Especially when they're playing the English.
and you are not even a sheep
Hi! A Welshman here, came across your video in the feed and thought to answer some of the questons on the lines from oir anthem.
"Old land where Minstrials are honored and free"- This refers to Wales long history of music, Song, folklore and poetry, all of which are performed by Minstrials or Bards as their more common name. It's largly due to our bards and folklore that our language has survived to this day and gain popularity during the Romance period of British history. While they are many folk lores from Wales the most famous is King Arthur.
"Warring defenders so gallant and brave"- constant wars with England dating back to the age of migration. We beat of the Germans, Saxons the Anglo-Saxons (Kingdom of mercia and marcher lords) and even the Normans for many years after 1066.
"For freedom their life blood gave" - Defending against England and the multiple welsh wars for independence, including the one that ended with the death of the last king of Wales.
"Gwald,gwald"- This is a mistranslation, it means land in English not Wales. Hence the Capital at the beginning of the line but not capitalised at other parts of the sentance.
"While sea secure the land so pure"- we're sorrounded by sea and our land is peaceful and beautiful, we're basically boosting about Wales with this line.
"O may the old language endure"- Welsh is the oldest surviving language in europe going back to the celts in the bronze age. When England took over they wanted everyone to speak english. During the industrial revolution there was the "Welsh Not" in schools, if someone spoke welsh they had to wear it and whoever had it on at the end of the day was beaten. It also wasnt until 1993 that Welsh was allowed to be used on equal terms to English i.e. in government or have welsh tv broadcasts.
"The Foeman have trampled my land beneath their feet"- Invasions by England mainly the one by Edward I and gis Iron ring of castles.
"The muse not vanquished by tratiors fell hand" - During Edwards I's conquest of Wales the southern lords of Wales sided with England and not Gwynedd. As such they fought against Welsh independence and killed their Welsh kin.
To sum up the anthem links alot to Welsh history and our pride as a people. The reason why its so important to alot of us is becuase we're often overlooked and dissmissed as "England", when we have entrily diffrent cultrue, language and traditions. We've had to fight to keep our culture and language and not be faded out and as such take great pride in the fact we've done so, it's also why we have a big rivalry with England in sports because it us showing "hey were not the same as you and were gonna prove it" for when we beat England no one can dissmiss Wales as not being a country.
Help her.
Thank you for listening to the Welsh national anthem and giving it your thoughts. It's often hard to comment on small things without opening up a massive historical discussion about Wales, it's struggles and why Welsh people are so passionate about the country. Firstly, the language of the anthem, currently known as Welsh, is the old language of the Brythonic Celts (its where we get 'Britain' from), and was spoken over large parts of the British mainland at one time. Although Welsh isn't my first language, it was for much of my family, so I have a bit of understanding of it. Like many languages, some words don't translate exactly, and gwlad is a bit like that in this case. The word 'gwlad' means 'country' or probably a better translation is ''my homeland'', and has a warm connotation. It was inaccurate for the translator to say it means Wales. So, when they are singing 'Gwlad, gwlad' it has a pride-soaring reference to 'my home (land), My home (land)'. Wales has seen many invaders over the thousands of years, not just the English. The Romans, Vikings, Even the French tried to invade in the last attempted invasion of Britain in (I think) 1797. One example was when Norman kings from Normandy invaded, Edward I built so many castles, that Wales has more castles per population than anywhere else in the world. And, if you want just one interesting factoid, the Washington Monument has a phrase in the Welsh language carved into it: Fy iaith, fy ngwlad, fy nghenedl - Cymru am byth” - My language, my land, my nation - Wales forever.
I'm English, and I get chills and a lump in my throat when I hear this anthem. For me it's #1
As a Welshman its nice to share a bit of our culture with our English friends. Thanks for your kind words.
Wales is a country, it’s one of the four constituent countries that make up the United Kingdom. Welsh is the oldest language in these islands. It has evolved from the Brythonic Celtic spoken throughout most of Great Britain prior to the Anglo-Saxon invasions.
Centuries Welsh and Welsh speakers were persecuted and if they wish to do well in government or the professions. they had to speak English. Up until the time with my grandparents, children can’t speak in Welsh school liable to be beaten by their teachers. This has stopped the time I went to school but we weren’t allowed to learn Welsh French German Latin but not my native language. Nowadays every child in Wales studies Welsh and even if they don’t speak it and the day-to-day basis most can understand some of it.
Within Wales it now has equal status legally with English.
I think that was the second video I watched...keep going in the video :)
Perfect description, I am a proud Welsh gal who cant speak the language because it has been anialated by the English in my part of the country, it is hard to learn a language when you have no one to speak it with.... 🥺😭 this is why I get annoyed when the British are called invaders, it was the English that invaded so much.... Wales, Scotland, Ireland then half the world... to be clear im not saying it was all English people, nor that there were no Welsh, Scottish or Irish there... but it has to be accounted that it was always the English making those decisions for us then the whole group of countrys got the rap equally (is a soldier responsible for a genrals orders?)
@@mariafury396 completely agree with you. It is probably correct to say that Wales was England’s first colony. They invaded our us way back in the 12th century.
@@johndare3576 well actually the Norman's invaded England and then after a hell of a fight and hundreds of years, Wales.
Saying England invaded Wales is like saying the French invaded Russia during World War.
@@mixodorians12 Nope , England *did* actually invade Wales - Henry the 4th invaded Wales on three occasions in the 1400's to attempt to quell the uprising of Owain Glyndwr.
Henry spoke English as his mother tongue.
As a mere Englishman may I say that I think Wales is great. If you are ever in the UK Sarah do try and visit Wales, it has so much history and a wonderful landscape.
As an English man I take pride in my country, but when I hear the Welsh sing there national anthem
it brings tears to my eyes, because they sing from the bottom of there boots,
it's with so much passion, amazing it brings that shiver down the spine
Bloody hell you made me tear up.
This anthem always moves me close to tears, and I'm an Englishman!................Back in the early '80's, while I was in the army, serving in Germany, I was selected to play rugby for the 3rd Battalion the Queens Regt against the 1st Battalion the Royal Regt of Wales in the annual infantry cup . We lost but never mind. We played the 3rd half in one of the soldiers accommodation cellar bars. Now, the acoustics were not that good but we were all treated to the Welsh anthem by the visiting team and supporters. Now when I hear it, I am instantly transported back to Fallingbostal, Germany 1982 .
Keep your video's going.............brilliant
Ahh yes, the great Welsh Anthem, I always feel pride and sometimes I start to cry, it’s just so beautiful, thank you for listening to our anthem and love from Wales! 🏴❤️
Wales has a huge tradition of choral singing, and their fans never fecking stop singing haha. During the 6 nations rugby in the spring, they are the best crowd to come over to Ireland.
The 1905 match versus New Zealand, the Kiwis were doing their traditional Haika, and the Welsh complained that they should have something, so they sang their anthem in response.
That 1905 match was the first ever time a national anthem was sung before a sporting event, anywhere in the world.
They also sung Sospan Fach (little saucepan) which is why it’s still sung at rugby game today.
The Welsh have a great national anthem. From Scotland.
Flower of Scotland is my favourite. From England.
Wales dose have an awesome anthem, but as a Scotsman I still say we he have the best national animal, who knew you could pick a fictional animal, the fact that owe national animal is a unicorn just makes my day. Hahahaha
@@johntom5049 And a big red Dragon is totally a thing that exists.
@@UkSapyy
I know but a dragon is awesome and tough, a unicorn is just hilarious, it comes across like Scotland allowed a 5 year old girl who's really into ponies to choose the national animal.
@@johntom5049 what has a unicorn got to do with the anthem?
The little chap in tears is Shane Williams. He was one of the finest players Wales has ever produced. This was his last game playing in the National side before retiring. He was a genius, and ran circles around the opposing teams, he was a joy to watch. I doubt if we will see another player as good as Shane Williams for many years to come
No contest. Best anthem in the world.
You are right. As an old fart Englishman who used to live in Wales, I do consider this music as the most elegant and beautiful of all so-called National Anthems with wonderful, poetic, gentle lyrics. And you are right again; isn't that the most kick-ass flag in the world? I notice that, for once, everyone is in accord: not one single "thumbs down".
Ta bach.
I'm an Englishman but I love hearing the Welsh singing their anthem at sporting events (or anywhere else for that matter). It's always stirring and emotional and sung with such passion... a passion I don't ever remember experiencing listening to God Save The Queen!
I've watched rugby and football crowds sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and noticed that after the first few seconds the venue tend to cut the music and just let the crowd sing their hearts and souls out!¬ I've heard them sing so loud that they drown out military bands providing live musical accompaniment! It's quite awesome to witness! God save Wales!!
I was born in wales 63 years ago and the anthem still gives me the chills every time I hear it 🏴
Don't say 'Wales is part of England' - it has been occupied by England, but always maintained a separate identity...
Indeed. Wales will never be part of England!
Relax mate, it’s not her fault she doesn’t know the history, it’s a normal question to ask
@@alexpalmer9897 it's also stupid
No Wales isn't part of England but you wouldn't be wrong if you said England is apart of Cymru as most of the island was originally ours up to Edinburgh and all Cymric speaking.
@@alexpalmer9897 A great many ‘Welsh’ do not know the history. No celts in Britain.. the Lloegr arrived before the Cymry .. however, the ‘Welsh’ language was the principle language of the Britons. The Lemnos Stele is inscribed in Cymraeg using the Coelbren/Druidic cyphers. It tells of Brutus’ gathering the remnant prior to their migration to Prydain. The story of the Cymry (compatriots) prior to this traces to Troy and Egypt… the hieroglyphs can be read using ‘Welsh’. Find on Y T : BritainsHiddenHistory Ross Cymroglyphics 01 Overview.
You need to watch this being sung at a Welsh rugby match. The passion is immense
I'm not Welsh (I'm from England) but whenever I hear the Welsh anthem I wish I was ❤️🏴
As a welshWoman, I love to help tourists around everywhere and listen to these songs especially ‘Yma O Hyd’ which means still here. Love you all!❤❤🏴🏴🏴
I recently rediscovered the song Yma O Hyd, having only heard it once before around 20 years ago, me being mainly English with some Welsh ancestry on my mother's side, I once found myself rather drunk with an English freind we had foolishly wandered into a working mens club in Wales to try and watch England vs Wales rugby. Not long after we arrived everyone started to sing the song and I can tell you it was one of the most humbling moments of my life. 300 men and quite a few women all singing in harmony with such pride was simply breathtaking. England won the match but Wales and its people won my heart that day.
I’m English and this anthem even makes the hairs on MY neck stand up ! Especially when sung at the rugby 👏👏
My wife and I try to attend the Welsh national day service each year conducted by the Welsh Church in Melbourne, Australia whenever we can, We have no clue about the Welsh language, but cheerfully sing the Welsh verses in Welsh without necessarily understanding the words. Being part of a congregation singing Cwym Rhondda in 4 part harmony is really wonderful.
Yes, it was Shane Williams's last game - a superb player, and a wizard with the ball, despite his small stature (for a rugby player). If you get around to watching more rugby, it's worth checking out some "Best of Shane Williams" videos, like these:
th-cam.com/video/rMr-V4olUGE/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/JYMVahaHCBg/w-d-xo.html
And thank you for such a lovely reaction to my national anthem :)
IF you don't mind an english opinion -
Shane Williams will be remembered for a long time as he was part of as winning national team, indeed was it's cutting edge in some ways, The jink making fools of many larger men.. A gifted natural athlete and trained gymnast Shane looked good and interviewed well on camera. Presumably he will go on to be a commentator one day. Thus no doubt destined for favourable remembrance
Yet I think many Welsh rugby fans would agree that Neil Jenkins, though a much less charismatic figure has a better claim on the title "best ever'. It was Neil's fate to be at his peak when the team was at it's lowest ebb. But by common assent it was his boot that kept Wales in contention, avoided a national disgrace, for all those lonely years.
Great Welsh players there have been many. Great Welsh teams rather fewer but still numerous. So I expect contrary comment. MY apologies if this offends i any way. i don't think you were bestowinbg the title best ever to Shane. That is possibly aa derail by me.
@@brucebartup6161 Jenkins was a fine distributor of the ball and one of the most reliable goal-kickers Wales had ever had. He undoubtedly kept Wales in contention during an otherwise lean period for the national team. However, he probably wasn't even the "best ever" No 10 we'd seen in Wales, in terms of his all-round game. Shane Williams played in national sides without Jenkins and he still shone, as he did at club level. I was lucky enough to follow his career from its beginning, saw him live countless times, and saw him turn many a game in his team's favour with his vision, often conjuring something out of nothing. Unlike many wingers at the time, Shane would go "looking for work" and, in effect, was not just a winger but a second scrum-half. Glorious player.
Yes he was apparently told as a youngster that he was too small to play rugby!
Im an Englishman but this anthem is simply the best! Perfect mixture of pride, history and togetherness tinged with just a little sadness. Wonderfully stirring melody and my word the Welsh can sing! Sadly England really does not have anything to touch it- but then again Englishness is probably far harder to even define let alone sing about!
You must see it sung live at a Wales Rugby international by 70,000 passionate fans - spine-chillingly awesome. Proud to be Welsh and probably the best national anthem in the world!
In my singing days, I was basso profundo in a male voice choir - in England. We most definitely recognised the heritage of male voice choirs being Welsh, and sang many songs from the Wesh repertoire, including, of course, their National Anthem - always in Welsh. I can sing it, and if a translation is provided, put the emotion into my singing appropriately, although I neither speak nor understand Welsh (much like any of the other languages we performed in) although Welsh was by far the most common "foreign" language we sang in - others included Latin, Italian, German, French, Russian, Dutch and Spanish - all just learned phonetically, parrot-fashion. I put foreign in quotes because we had a decent number (about ⅓ of us) of Welsh speakers in the choir, so it was not totally foreign to the choir (just me and some others who are linguistically challenged). I may have left some languages out - it was a long time ago!
We competed at The Llangollen International Eisteddfod (the de-facto world cup for Male Voice Choirs) and placed 2nd in the Male Voice Choir category, recording the only two perfect scores ever awarded for the two "set piece" performances - this was what led to us being invited to record at the BBC Maida Vale Studio for national broadcast.
We only placed 2nd because a certain two members fouled up REALLY badly in the "own choice" song and threw the whole choir off (which was a capella, so no accompanist to bring us back on track). These two (a baritone and a tenor) were known for showing up late and even missing rehearsals, just to put things in perspective.
Our musical director was so furious (think "livid", "Incandescent with rage" or whatever works for you as a description) with them that several of us thought he'd have a complete brain haemorrhage at the subsequent debrief (about half a dozen of us got between them and him, as he really looked as if he would actually wring their necks). If I see the word "apoplectic" it is his reaction which springs to my mind over 40 years later! I have never seen anyone so angry in my life - really scary. They didn't even dare travel back on the coach with the rest of us and I never saw them dare to show their faces again, and if I do it will be too soon. The bunch who got between our MD and them (so several of us had the same impression) were not to protect them (we shunned them after that trainwreck of a performance) but to protect him from the consequences of what looked like an imminent double murder with his bare hands. We were holding him back and trying to calm him down, and others were telling them to get the he** out of his sight. If you've ever watched Rugby, think of the wedge that forms in a ruck, with a phalanx of players linking their bodies into a driving force against the player carrying the ball and facing backwards, linked together like in a scrum with their shoulders pushing forwards. We shoved him into a chair and held him there until they had left and he'd calmed down to just angry.
So yeah, the arts are taken very seriously in Wales, and particularly poetry and music. The recording you watched is not a great one, as the crowd are not given proper prominence - you can rest assured that they would have been singing with all the harmonies throughout - almost everyone knows the part for their own vocal range, and it is a glorious and stirring feeling heard live from nearly 100,000 voices singing to choral quality. Also intimidating as heck for the other team!
The modern tendency to have a celebrity perform the national anthems has been focussed on by broadcasters, but you can rely on the Welsh crowd not to need one. Just play the introduction and leave them to it!
Until relatively recently Wales was administered from Westminster, but now has its own devolved parliament which has powers over most aspects of life not affecting other parts of the UK. Scotland and Norther Ireland have similar parliaments and powers, but England is alone in having no independent national representation. This means Scottish and Welsh MPs can vote on all matters affecting only England (having been devoted to national assemblies in Wales and Scotland) but English MPs do not have the same privilege over Scottish and Welsh legislation. Until this is remedied, England remains a country occupied by a Westminster Elite. As Turkeys are not known to vote for Christmas, it may take a revolution to resolve this.
Personally, I'd like to see "God Save The Queen" moved into being a royal anthem (like you have "Hail To The Chief") and separate anthems for England AND the UK as a whole.
That would also give both "Rule Britannia" and "Jerusalem" suitable roles and I think people would largely support the idea.
A lovely personal story and history thrown in to boot! Well done!
You don't start with anthem of Wales, the beauty of the song itself and of the singing (the Welsh are known for their singing tradition) the others won't live up to this.☺
Hands down the greatest anthem in the world. You have to be in the stadium in Cardiff to really appreciate it.
As an Englishman I have to say that there are few sounds better than a Welsh crowd singing their national anthem before an international rugby match. Find a match and see what I mean.
Thanks mate.
It didn't help against Ireland. The Italian anthem is pretty good - straight out of a Verdi opera - so they'd better watch out there, too. If it really was down to national anthems, I'm surprised England win any.
@@tomuprichard9674 nobody asked about Ireland 🤷♂️ take a look at how many grand slams Wales have compared to Ireland 🤦♂️
@@tomuprichard9674 As a proud Welshman I’d just like to say... that is a bloody great burn. I wish you and your wit all the best. Croeso o Cymru 😂
As a proud Englishman who's family holidays used to be spent in a caravan in rural Wales, I have to admit Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is extremely stirring. I love hearing it at rugby matches, I love Welsh male choirs, those rain soaked holidays must have had an effect on me.
It's in the water, the soil...the air of Cymru!
The video with the lyrics has much more baroque instrumentation than I've ever heard and takes some liberties with the translation (eg. 'Gwlad' - pronounced 'goo-lad' but one syllable - means 'country'; the name for Wales is Cymru - ' _Cum_ -ree' - and requires a capital letter). We also don't typically sing the second or third verses, and I don't think many people know the words. Just to clarify: we are our own country, not part of England (although we were essentially annexed from 1536 to 1998, we've always been thought of as a nation in our own right).
The second video comes from a rugby match against Australia in 2011, which was Shane Williams' last international before retirement. He scored a try in added time with his last ever touch, but we lost anyway. The commentator also mentioned Gary Speed, captain of the Welsh football team in the late 90s/early 00s, who was manager at the time and had just committed suicide.
Anyway, that's how we normally sing it: passionately, either without music or with a brass band, and ending going up an octave on 'o bydded i'r hen IATH barhau' (translated: 'may the old language endure/continue').
As an Englishman I've always been impressed with the Welsh national anthem, especially when it's sung just before a rugby match, the Welsh seem to have good Voices
The Welsh language is much stronger now than the 1950’s. I live in the South where it is not as strong. Welsh is still taught as a compulsory subject/language in school but I am not sure up until what age. We have a Welsh TV channel (S4C - Sianel Pedwar Cymru) and a BBC radio channel in Welsh. All road signs must be bi-lingual and some of our supermarkets have signs in both languages. My middle brother lives in Bala, North Wales, and he is in a very deep Welsh area, his son was taught in Welsh throughout his school life. His son, my grand nephew, only speaks Welsh. He’s only 3. it’s usual to have Welsh first names here. Huw & Ceri have Osian & Beca, Osian is pronounced Osh an (rhyming with gosh). Following changes in the law, along with Scotland & Northern Ireland we have become a devolved nation. Our seat of government in Cardiff Bay is called “Y Senedd” - the Senate.
My middle name is ceri family come from South Wales , Pembrokeshire and north Cornwall
I used to call my Mother's father, Gransher, but can't see any reference, other than a vague memory of reading it in something written by Dylan Thomas. Can someone enlighten me please.
The player crying before, during and after the National Anthem was Shane Williams who was playing his last ever match for Wales and his last ever 6 nations match against England, the most important match for every Welsh boy and man - That is why he was so emotional.
To put it into context a great uncle of mine, a Church in Wales Minister and former Welsh wing 3/4, told me after a dedication service in my Grandfathers last church when the family dedicated a stained glass window ion the lady chapel, another stained glass window overlooking my grandparents grave and a new rood screen dividing the Chancel from the Nave of the church, that there were 2 ways to get to heaven - one was playing rugby for Wales and the other was like finding a needle in a haystack - He also told me that, but for WW2 and the smoke inhalation damage to his lungs flying and landing his burning bomber, my father would have been a full Welsh international wing forward after playing for 3 years between 1936 and 1939 as a Welsh schoolboy international. For every Welsh boy the greatest ambition in life is to play Rubgy for Wales and their second greatest ambition is to play rugby for the British and Irish Lions touring South Africa, Australia and New Zealand on a 4 year cycle and ideally all 3 countries in a 12 year cycle - Any Welsh boy or man who says otherwise is a liar. When I was growing up girls did not play rugby BUT wanted to - Now they do and I am sure most Welsh girls would say the same.
Shane Williams MBE was the record number try scorer for Wales and 4th on the list of record number international try scorers scoring 58 tries in 87 international matches for Wales and 2 tries in 4 international matches for the British and Irish Lions. He retired from the international Rugby scene in 2012 at the age of 35, after the match the Welsh Anthem was played, and awarded his MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to Rugby in the Queens 2012 Birthday Honours list.
From an English man with Welsh relations .
The greatest of all national anthems. Even Paul Robeson sang the Welsh National anthem.
It’s on TH-cam somewhere.
He had an afinity with Welsh miners. There's a plaque to him in porthcawl.
Wales is a separate country. It has a distinct culture and its own language. It's a fascinating place to visit.
Gwlad translates more to "fatherland" or "country" than directly to Wales, and is used to refer to Wales indirectly here, that's why the capitalization of the word is a bit different. The exact counterpart of the name Wales in Welsh is Cymru(pronounced "come-ree"). (By a Hongkonger who happens to be learning Welsh so please correct me if I got anything wrong)
Come-ree is a fairly accurate pronunciation. Pob lwc gyda dysgu Cymraeg :)
Well done, nicely said. don't forget to pronounce Welsh names correctly you will need to have a decent chest infection, and plenty of phlegm in your throat. :)
Well done, from a Welshman who happens to be learning Cantonese!
Gwlad is not the name of the country, it's more the expression of the concept of land, territory, nationality or even language. Similar to the Basque concept of Herria. The Basque for basqe is Euskal Herria. It means a place where Basque (Euskal) is spoken.
Thanks for your comments. As a Welshman i would prefer the translation 'country'. Da iawn i ddysgu'r iaeth y nefoedd.
As a Welshman, it always brings tears to my eyes to hear my anthem sung so beautifully.
One of my favourite anthems to learn and sing thanks for the content
As an English man going to rugby, I sang the Welsh anthem, but I also lived there..
The Welsh are passionate about being Welsh, no problem, I love my Welsh family ♥♥,
(Very rough history of Wales:)
In the first century CE, Britain was conquered by the Roman Empire. Caesar had already tried it, during his conquest of Gaul (France). The population of the British Isles at that point consisted of celtic tribes, related to those on the continent.
The Romans conquered most of it, except the north, where they finally just gave up and build another of their huge border fortifications. Look up "Hadrian's Wall"... it's still today and impressive archeological feature.
After the conquest, Roman Britannia became a highly urbanized and romanized part of the Empire. If you find any city there with a name of "-chester" or similar, it is based on a roman fortified settlement... a "castrum".
Several hundred years later, in 410 CE, the Roman army left Britannia, during a period of internal and external conflicts for the Empire. They would never return, and Roman control was lost.
While the scope and kind of what followed next is still debated under historians, the gist of it is: germanic tribes from continental Europe (northern Germany and Denmark mostly) came to settle / invade Britain. These were Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
They took over most of the territory and established their own realms... names like "East Anglia" or "Wessex" are even today a reminder of these times. The original story of King Arthur is set in that era... Arthur being the leader of the Celto-Roman Britains, fighting against the heathen germanic invaders.
Result of that was most of Britain being anglo-saxon, while the old celtic realms were only left in some regions... one of them Wales. The name "Wales" itself is the germanic name, which means something like "the foreigners".
The Anglo-Saxons never conquered Wales, and the early kings after the Norman conquest of England also didn't manage to conquer or subdue it consistently, until the 13th century.
Edward I secured the region with the building of several massive castles and ultimately gave the title "Prince of Wales" to his eldest son, which became the traditional title of the crown prince of England.
Excellent summary - I'd add that, in contrast to the Anglo-Saxon term "foreigners" (Wales/Welsh), the Welsh call themselves and their country Cymry/Cymru ("CUM-ree"), basically "fellow countrymen". This derives from the Old Welsh/Brittonic "combrogi", which is also the origin of "Cambria" and Cumbria, the modern English county.
I have read that linguistic research would indicate the Germanic root of Wales, Walloon and similar words refers not to a foreigner in general but more specifically to Romanised Celts.
@@neilbuckley1613 As most things in language, it evolved. It is considered to have originated from a specific celtic tribe, the Volcae. From that the usage of this name was extended to all neighboring celtic tribes. When all of them fell under roman control, it was extended to all of the romanized celt, and finally to all romanized and romanic cultures.
@@neilbuckley1613 True enough, but it came to mean something like "foreigner" (Welscher) in German, and was also used to characterise things that were neither Romanised nor Celtic, like the "wal" in "walnut" :)
The Romans had farms and towns in Aberdeenshire. Any belief that the either Hadrian's wall or the Antonine wall was the only way to keep the pesky Celts, Scottii and others out is an error. The wall was to mark the boundary of the Empire and Romans did live beyond the boundaries of the Empire. The Battle of Mons Grapius (Grampian Mountains), about AD 83/84 is an account of the Roman army taking on and savagely beating the Picts. Undoubtedly, some if not all, of the reports from the event to Rome were, shall we say,' bigged up' or grossly aggrandised the Romans involved.
Check out Bruce Fummey and his TH-cam channel Scotland History Tours. I have yet to see or hear a more factually correct person on Scottish history. He has corrected some of my misconceptions (don't worry I do double check) and his piece as to why the last Jacobite invasion occurred encompasses the entire European balance between the influence of the Roman Catholic monarchs and the Protestant monarchs. Which makes dispute for the British throne between the Hanoverians and the Jacobites a microcosm of the European disputes.
Best national anthem in the world. So emotional when you hear the Welsh people singing it at a sporting event. And by the way i'm Scottish.
I'm English and have learnt the Welsh national anthem. The most patriotic in the world
Da iawn a diolch
I learnt the French national anthem as well as the Welsh one, and I must say that the French one certainly puts up a stiff challenge in terms of which is most patriotic.
@@harrychown6854 My word the Marseillaise is a proper revolution anthem lol! Another good one, I have to admit (of course the Welsh anthem is better)!
There is nothing, absolutely nothing like standing in the arena in Cardiff before a match (especially against England) & hearing the anthem sung by the whole crowd. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and brings tears to the eyes.
FYI. Ireland play Rugby as a combined unit made up of the Republic of Ireland (Eire) and Northern Ireland unlike in football where they play as two separate countries.
Thank you for featuring our National Anthem in full. Normally only the fist verse is sung. This performance was very 'stagey' much better to have used a recording from the a rugby match. That way you would would hear it sung as it ought to be sung with Hwyl! (As at this recording at 18.30)
The welsh really do have a beautiful anthem, hearing it before the rugby and football is special
As an Englishman I have a strange liking of the Welsh anthem, but I do like ours too.
No. Ours in comparison is 🐕💩
@@tonyrodd6348 I believe we sing Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory more passionately than we do GSTQ.
@@chasfaulkner2548 yeah, those I like.
Ours isn't a "national" anthem at all. It's the glorification of an institution that a good chunk of the country would like to see abolished. As to alternatives, I fail to see what Jerusalem has to do with England, except we spent a few hundred years trying to rescue it from Islamic rule. Land of Hope and Glory would mean cutting Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 from the concert repertoire. Any way, Elgar hated the lyrics that became attached to it.
@@tomuprichard9674 Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even Sir Edward.
as a Welshman our anthem is cool and we have best flag in uk because 1 guy was crying at beginning was because it was his last match with us
It’s a free rather than literal translation. Gwlad (sometimes dropping the initial G as wlad) actually means ‘land’ not ‘’Wales’. The Welsh for Wales is ‘Cymru’. So ‘Hen wlad fy nhadau’ actually means ‘Old land of my fathers’. It’s is pronounced approximately ‘Hen oolad vee ngathaye’. Gwlad would otherwise be ‘goolad’. Yes, like nearly everybody’s national anthem it is about fighting against the English and occasionally even winning. Incidentally the Irish rugby team is an all Ireland team and they do not use either Amhrán na bhFiann (Soldier's Song) or The Londonderry Air, but an all Ireland anthem called Ireland’s Call.
It's actually a singable translation, where the literal meaning is sometimes lost due to the need to fit the tune :)
Ireland tend to use both The Soldiers Song & Ireland's call at home rugby matches at the Aviva
@@JohnEades But they only use Ireland's Call when playing away. As an Englishman who has quite a bit of Irish blood in me (from both the Republic and the North, it's all one place to me) it always saddens me that despite loving playing rugby for Ireland the players from the 6 counties that form Northern Ireland don't sing the Ireland's Call anthem, I guess that's what sectarianism does for you. Maybe one day they will!!!
@@mattpotter8725 Yes, as I said, only at home games at the Aviva do they use both. Having some Irish blood too, although all Southern, I wholeheartedly agree... one Ireland.
Joe, your pronounciation isn't far off. However, 'fy' should be 've' as in the word ve(rb). In Welsh, the letter 'f' is sounded as 'v', and 'ff' is sounded as 'f'. Nhadau is more like Na ( with a slight 'h' between the n and a; 'd' is pronounced as 'd' ('dd' is sounded as the 'th' in the word 'that' , 'th' is sounded as in 'thought' ; 'au' is sounded more like the ie in the word 'die'. Knowing the Welsh pronounciations, it is often difficult to give the phonetic equivalent but saying "My Hen Oolard ve N ha (long a as in lard) die.
Also Welsh had mutations so Gwlad becomes Wlad after certain words, Cymru can mutate to Gymru or Nghymru. Bachgen (boy) but y fachgen (the boy). In Welsh, y & w are vowels, there is no letter k, q, x or z (except in newer borrowed words) and DD, TH, FF, CH, NG, LL & PH are classed as consonants. I won't even get into the dipthongs, haha!
But you get the gist 🤣
Hope that helps.
Hand on heart, I have to say as an Englishman, that one of the blessings of living in England is having the Welsh for neighbours. (By the way, it was the Norman French who built the castles and stole your land, just like they did in England where, according to the latest genetic research, we remain at least 60% Welsh.)
I'm English and I love the Welsh anthem. Really emotive at events. I did take the time to learn it.
We are so lucky to have there best national anthem in the world
This anthem means a great deal to me. it is testament to the aspects of Welsh culture of which I am particularly proud. our language and the importance of poetry, song and the arts generally to Wales as a nation. One of the biggest and most important events in the Welsh calendar is the Eisteddfod, a week long celebration of Welsh culture through theatre, song, poetry and many other arts. well worth checking out.
Yes, this was Prince Shane's last game, playing for Wales was never just another day at the office for Shane Williams and most other Welsh players. it is everything, it is what they aspire to from childhood.
Loved your running commentary on our anthem. Most of your queries, maybe all, answered well by people. Thanks very much for the focus. Sadly the Welsh, like many minority language groups, were routinely humiliated for speaking Welsh, and our language is still the butt-end of some tired jokes on UK TV. It’s refreshing to hear the views of an outsider. Diolch. Thanks. In November, Wales will play the USA in the football world cup. Two great anthems that day!
Swt Mae (Welsh for Hi) SoGal. Glad to hear you reacting to one of the best national anthems in the world, I’m biassed. When this is played at a national sporting event it really lifts the atmosphere. When it’s played in the National Stadium in Cardiff when Wales are playing especially against England at rugby it’s said that it lifts the soul of the team and is worth a few points advantage. Singing, either to lift the team or push them on is a tradition. We sing in a mixture of Welsh and English. Favourtes are Guide Me, O Thy Great Redeemer (Cwm Rhondda), Sospan Fach (a folk song about boiling saucepans) and a modern song called Hymns & Arias by Max Boyce. We are known as the Land Of Song. Look out for Eisteddfod’s, nayional, international and youth cultural events.
P.S. The anthem, words and lyrics, were penned by father and son duo Evan and James James. It’s not unusual here foe someone to have the same first name and family name. Sometimes we will give them a nickname, there once was a gent in my village called Thomas Thomas, he was known locally as “Tommy Twice”
Not forgetting Calon Lan and Men of Harlech.
You've got to be a gog or you'd have said shw mae 🤣🤣
@@legion162 No, I'm from the South but my brother lives up North!
@@legion162 : No, no, no! Up North we say - syt mae.
ya forgot to tell her of seething rascism, mr Symonds.. fancy that ? off ya go. the "nobodys" on here are "legion".
I'm scottish and stay in Edinburgh when Wales are playing it's an absolute honour and a privilege to stand along with the Welsh fans and when the good old Welsh sing by heck the Welsh blast there national anthem out God bless the Welsh
Hate to tell you but WALES 30 ENGLAND 3 was 10 times better in the Stadium. THAT is the one you should have been directed to SoGal:)
It shows ALL the players singing and is MUCH LOUDER and passionate !
Maybe but I thought this one was worth it just for the reaction of the guy who was playing his last game. Sorry I don't know his name rugby isn't my thing. But it was nice to see.
Oh aye ,I know I was there, never known singing like it before or since.
And they "opened up the roof of the new stadium so that God could watch them play" Max Boyce's great line.
@@johnbircham4984 Shaun Williams. He was immensely brave, taking on players 2 or 3 times his size & scoring!
Sorry Shane Williams!
Both the Wales national anthem and the Scottish “ flower of Scotland “ are about warring to be free of English rule
If the Welsh refer to fighting , it will be against the English 🙂
"If I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists"
It could also refer to the Romans and the Vikings since the Welsh are the descendants of the original British tribes.
I am part Welsh both sides of my family had Welsh members, my dad was born in Wales. The Welsh harp is a symbol of Wales, singing and choirs, poets too. The Eisteddfods are held each year to honour all types of poets and musicians, singers.
The main sport is rugby, the shirts of the players have the three white Prince of Wales feathers on them. Wales was named Cambria by the Romans, the Romans invaded and killed many Welsh people mainly the followers of the Druid faith. The Vikings invaded, and of course the English. Wales has fought in our wars for centuries, they are extremely brave, watch the film "Zulu". The Welsh fought to keep their language being taught in their schools and won. The leek is also another emblem. Best Flag and best Anthem.
Also the player was Shane Williams, one of the best Welsh players of all time. This may have been the last time he played in the 6 Nations for Wales (an annual Rugby tournament.)
As a Englishman married to a Welsh lady and living in Wales,I have to say the Welsh national anthem is the world's best
Wales is known as "the land of song." The male voice choirs are famous. They sing "in parts," even if they have not previously practiced together. The Gymanfa Ganu is a get-together of (sometimes) thousands of people specifically to sing hymns together.
I feel privileged to have grown up in what may have been the last flourish of the Cymanfa tradition, at least in terms of cymanfaoedd in Methodist chapels - most of which are sparsely attended nowadays, if they haven't closed already. When I was a kid, though, they were still well-attended, and the (four-part) singing of those wonderful hymns was stirring beyond belief. It instilled in my a deep appreciation for choral music, and singing in general, which has never left me.
First time I heard the Welsh Anthem was in 1972. Waking up early hours of the morning in New Zealand watching the All Blacks vs Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. This has to be the most breathtaking Anthem sung by a Nation who give their heart and soul. God Bless Wales. Footnote: My Aunty (my mothers sister) married a Welshman, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1953. Still has that strong Welsh accent, which is amazing, their 3 adult kids (my first cousins) born in New Zealand, have that typical elocution Kiwi accent. Have to say though, love everything that is Wales: Language, Country, History, Culture and especially Choral Music. In New Zealand, we are proud to have Elin Tomos (Mezzo-Soprano) orginally from North of Wales who has sung on occasion a beautiful rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. th-cam.com/video/p8fuj1bDLnc/w-d-xo.html
As a Proud Englishman, I am always amazed that the stirring ‘Men of Harlech’ was never used as the Welsh National Anthem. I wish that we English had the same national pride as Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
the guy you said was crying is shane williams and it was his last test match before he retired as a legend in the welsh rugby national team.
God save the Queen is a dreadful dirge. I love the Welsh anthem - and I'm Anglo-Irish :-)
And yet Beethoven wrote "...what a blessing they have in "God Save the King"" and composed several variations on the tune. Weber and Brahms also admired the tune enough to weave it into various of their works. Based on the reputations of these composers, I'd say it's got to be pretty good!
@@wellingboroughanddistrictu3a Was that before or after he went deaf :-)
The problem with "God Save The ???" was that it was sung in so many nations that evveryone thought it was a pop song.
Nothing makes me feel more at rest than being back in Wales. Especially Monmouthshire/ on the Usk which is where I grew up.
As beautiful as the World is ... Wales is one of my two homes (the other being Brazil and mostly because thats where the other half of my family are).
Great video. The Welsh anthem was written in Pontypridd in 1856. The tune is also used in the Cornish and Breton national anthems (Bro Goth agan Tasow and Bro Gozh ma Zadoù), and in Welsh Patagonia (Gwlad Newydd y Cymry).
Didn't know Ponty was the home of the national anthem. Great piece of trivia! Ponty am byth haha
We as a people are very proud passionate and i believe you can see this so strongly in our singing. Especially at a rugby game. 🏴
Please don’t say that Wales is part of England, especially if you visit Wales. You are not likely to receive a great welcome !
I'm Welsh whilst I do like England I'm fkin Welsh mun 😂
Ok, so I don't know if anybody answered the point you raised regarding the word "gwlad" being capitalized, but here's the reason why it's not. The Welsh word "gwlad", although used to represent Wales in the lyrics of "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Land Of My Fathers), the word actually translates as "land", hence, it is not capitalized. In the Welsh language, the name for Wales is Cymru
I recommend watching welsh anthem by the football fans in Cardiff stadium it was played without backing and it amazing to listen to
I do prefer it before the football purely because it's better sung by the crowd without backing
Cymru am byth 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴 I am proud to be a welsh man
I think it was the English alone that gave Wales grief. x
I know what you mean, but I'd put the blame on the Normans more than the English.
The Scots would have had a long walk through England.
And the White Rose is for the county of Yorkshire.
Wales is a very beautiful country with our own language.We are a part of the UK with our own government called THE SENNEDD.It resides in our Capital City CARDIFF. Rugby is our national game ...
hey sogal im a new subscriber on your channel and im from saudi Arabia nice to meet you amazing video by you 😊😊
Don't want to be a downer but the brass kinda ruins the first video. When you hear the Welsh national anthem where the choir is the prominent part it sounds unreal. It gives me shivers and I'm Scottish.
Sorry to hear about your injury, hope you're starting to feel better. I know you're not especially into fantasy, but it's worth mentioning that JRR Tolkien was a great lover of the Welsh language, and based the sounds of the Sindarin Elvish language used in "The Lord of the Rings" on it (there's also a different Elvish language inspired by his love of Finnish).
My opinion. Two national anthems stand out as the most moving of all, by a country mile: Wales and France. (England’s is a dirge. I’m English.)
Your e confusing it with the British anthem.GSTQ is the British anthem not English.English is LHG
Totally agree, I am English and always feel emotional when I hear the Welsh anthem. I think England should adopt "I vow to thee my country" as its anthem.
The English anthem should be IMHO "I Vow to Thee My Country".
@@rgadave not "We are the Champions"?
Agree....and next best has to be New Zealand...listen to the words.
The emotional rugby player was Shane Williams and it was his last game for Wales, before retiring.
When we sing the National Anthem, no matter the occasion, we sing it with pride and passion.
I suggest you look on TH-cam for Welsh Choirs, Sir Harry Secombe and that will give you a better idea of why we are so passionate about singing..
Wales is a country in its own right also Scotland Ireland and England they are not a part of England or any other we are all separate Countries . all have their own language etc we are just united stronger together .
Great comment not sure about being stronger together!
Stronger together?! So a few thousand Scots, English and Welsh could stop over a million Chinese or a few hundred thousand Russians. Get a grip!
@@taffyducks544 Hi Read history , no one was talking about stopping anyone just saying we are four united countrys , whats with the Chinese ? . just stopped following you .
oops never followed you in the first place . but hey you have your opinion and me mine .
Naah, I would rather we were all independent from eachother. Having a government put into power by just one country is ridiculous and massively undemocratic for everyone else.
I went to university in Cardiff while the Arms Park was still there in the middle of the city …and the sound of thousands of voices raised in song is a major part of my memories of uni!
Cardiff Arms Park is still in the middle of the city, but the adjoining National Stadium/Principality Stadium has been rebuilt and renamed a few times in recent years :)
@@ftumschk I’ve not been back for many years…I kind of assumed it had been knocked down and made into flats or shopping arcades!
I have a Paul Robeson CD on which he sings Land of My Fathers - same tune as this, different words. He had a glorious voice.
He had an affinity with the Welsh, and even appeared in a film showing Welsh miners - the difference in his height and theirs is rather noticeable!
I empathise with your arm injury: years ago I had a trapped nerve in my right elbow and had to be left-handed for months. Really increased my empathy with natural left-handers, although they grow up with it, and so learn to adapt, rather than having it suddenly thrust upon them. Still can't be easy.
Paul Robeson came to Wales on a visit, and was amazed that he could go to the pub with white Welsh men and nobody turned a h hsir. He also got invited into Welsh homes. I was lucky enough to archive some of his interviews a few years ago.
@@arianbyw3819 - I didn't know that, thanks so much.
I’m Welsh and it’s nice to see others exploring Welsh culture.
It would be interesting to hear your views on Flower of Scotland and Danny Boy for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Irish Republic is slightly different being an independent country, its national anthem is " Amhran na bhFiann" or in English The Soldiers Song, that has interesting lyrics. The Irish rugby team represents the whole of Ireland and the Soldiers Song is played only when the team plays in Dublin and players from Northern Ireland do not have to sing it. Irish rugby also has an anthem called Ireland's Call which is played at all their games , home and away.
Thank you for showing the world our national anthem, we are a proud nation, rugby is a very exciting sport , it is wonderful to be part of the UK, . We look forward to watching the games and hopefully we'll have a win . Love to you all xx
I'm English and find this a lot more inspiring and stirring than the dirge that is God Save The Queen
That's a pretty low bar. Sad to say 'The Birdy Song' is more inspiring and stirring than God Save the Queen. Nobody likes it.
The Welsh anthem is pretty decen though.
Agreed. Jerusalem would be so much better at sporting events.