Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

"Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (say: hen wlahd və NAD-y, meaning "Old Land of My Fathers") is the national anthem of Wales. In January 1856, the words of the song were written by Evan James, and his son James James composed a tune for the song.

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

English: Old Land of My Fathers
The earliest version of "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" in the hand of the composer, James James, 1856
National anthem of Wales
Lyrics	Evan James, 1856
Music	James James, 1856
Audio sample
Piano version file help

Lyrics

Current official

Welsh version

Words of the song in Welsh	Pronunciation of these words using the IPA	Translation of these words into English
I Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi, Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri; Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mâd, Tros ryddid gollasant eu gwaed. Cytgan: Gwlad! Gwlad! Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad. Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau, O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau. II Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd, Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn, i'm golwg sydd hardd; Trwy deimlad gwladgarol, mor swynol yw si Ei nentydd, afonydd, i fi. Cytgan III Os treisiodd y gelyn fy ngwlad tan ei droed, Mae hen iaith y Cymry mor fyw ag erioed, Ni luddiwyd yr awen gan erchyll law brad, Na thelyn berseiniol fy ngwlad. 𝄆 Cytgan 𝄇	1 /maːɨ̯ heːn wlaːd və ˈn̥a.daɨ̯ ən ˈa.nʊi̯l iː miː/ /ɡwlaːd bɛi̯rð aː χan.ˈtɔr.jɔn ɛn.ˈwɔɡ.jɔn oː vriː/ /ɛi̯ ˈɡʊ.rɔl rə.ˈvɛl.wɪr ɡwlad.ˈɡar.wɪr traː maːd/ /trɔs ˈrə.ðɪd gɔ.ˈɬa.sant ɛi̯ ɡwaːɨ̯d/ /ˈkət.ɡan/: /ɡwlaːd ɡwlaːd ˈplɛi̯d.jɔl uːɨ̯v iːm ɡwlaːd/ /traː moːr ən vɨːr iːr bɨːr hoːf baɨ̯/ /oː ˈbə.ðɛd iːr heːn jai̯θ bar.ˈhaɨ̯/ 2 /heːn ˈɡəm.rɨ̞ və.ˈnə.ðɪɡ pa.ˈra.dʊɨ̯s ə barð/ /poːb ˈdə.frɨ̞n poːb ˈklɔɡ.wɪn iːm ˈɡɔ.lʊɡ sɨːð harð/ /truːɨ̯ ˈdɛi̯m.lad ɡwlad.ˈɡa.rɔl mɔr ˈsʊɨ̯.nɔl ɪu̯ siː/ /ɛi̯ ˈnɛn.tɨ̞ð a.ˈvɔ.nɨ̞ð iː viː/ /ˈkət.ɡan/   3 /ɔs ˈtrɛi̯.ʃɔð ə ˈɡɛ.lɨ̞n və ŋwlaːd tan ɛi̯ droːɨ̯d/ /maːɨ̯ heːn jai̯θ ə ˈkəm.rɨ̞ mɔr vɪu̯ aɡ ɛr.ˈjoːɨ̯d/ /niː ˈlɨ.dɪu̯.ɨ̞d ər ˈau̯.ɛn ɡan ˈɛr.χɨ̞ɬ laːu̯ braːd/ /naː ˈθɛ.lɨn bɛr.ˈsɛi̯n.jɔl və ŋwlaːd/   𝄆 /ˈkət.ɡan/ 𝄇	I The old land of my fathers is dear to me, Land of bards and singers, famous men of renown; Her brave warriors, very splendid patriots, For freedom shed their blood. Chorus: Country, Country, I am faithful to my Country. While the sea [is] a wall to the pure, most loved land, O may the old language [sc. Welsh] endure. II Old mountainous Wales, paradise of the bard, Every valley, every cliff, to my look is beautiful. Through patriotic feeling, so charming is the murmur Of her brooks, rivers, to me. Chorus III If the enemy oppresses my land under his foot, The old language of the Welsh is as alive as ever. The muse is not hindered by the hideous hand of treason, Nor [is] the melodious harp of my country. 𝄆 Chorus 𝄇

English versions

Alfred Graves version	William Williams version	John Owen version
O Land of my fathers, O land of my love, Dear mother of minstrels who kindle and move, And hero on hero, who at honour's proud call, For freedom their lifeblood let fall. Chorus: Country! Country! O but my heart is with you! As long as the sea your bulwark shall be, To Cymru my heart shall be true. O land of the mountains, the bard's paradise, Whose precipice, valleys are fair to my eyes, Green murmuring forest, far echoing flood Fire the fancy and quicken the blood Chorus For tho' the fierce foeman has ravaged your realm, The old speech of Wales he cannot o'erwhelm, Our passionate poets to silence command, Or banish the harp from your strand. 𝄆 Chorus 𝄇	The land of my fathers is dear to me, Old land where the minstrels are honoured and free; Its warring defenders so gallant and brave, For freedom their life's blood they gave. Chorus: Home, home, true I am to home, While seas secure the land so pure, O may the old language endure. Old land of the mountains, the Eden of bards, Each gorge and each valley a loveliness guards; Through love of my country, charmed voices will be Its streams, and its rivers, to me. Chorus Though foemen have trampled my land 'neath their feet, The language of Cambria still knows no retreat; The muse is not vanquished by traitor's fell hand, Nor silenced the harp of my land. 𝄆 Chorus 𝄇	Оh! Land of my fathers, the land of the free, The home of the Telyn, so soothing to me; Thy noble defenders were gallant and brave, For thy freedom their hearts' life they gave! Chorus: Wales, Wales, my mother's sweet home is in Wales, Till death be pass'd my love shall last, My longing, my hiraeth for Wales. Thou Eden of bards, and birthplace of song, The sons of thy mountains are valiant and strong; The voice of thy streamlets is soft to the ear, Thy hills and thy vallies how dear! Chorus Though trampled and crush'd by oppression's foul wrong, The language of Cambria still lives on in song; The Awen survives, nor have envious tales Yet silenced the harp of dear Wales. 𝄆 Chorus 𝄇

Patagonian variant

A Patagonian variant called "Gwlad Newydd y Cymry" (say: glad NEHW-idh ə kəm-rih, meaning "New Country of the Welshmen") was written by Lewis Evans, a Welsh immigrant to Y Wladfa.

Welsh words

English words

I Y mae Patagonia yn annwyl i mi, Gwlad newydd y Cymry mwyneiddlon yw hi; Anadlu gwir ryddid a gawn yn y wlad, O gyrhaedd gormesiaeth a brad: Cytgan: Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, Tra haul y nen uwchben ein , O! bydded i'r Wladfa barhau. II Bu'r Cymry yn gorwedd dan ddirmyg yn drwch, Wel, diolch am Wladfa i'n codi o'r llwch; Ein heniaith a gadwn mewn urddas a bri, Tra'r Gamwy'n ddysgleiriol ei lli: Cytgan III 'Chaiff Cymro byth mwyach ymostwng i Sais,- Terfynodd ei orthrwm - dystawyd ei lais; Y Wladfa fawrygwn tra'r Andes wen fawr, A'i choryn yn 'stafell y wawr: 𝄆 Cytgan 𝄇

I Patagonia is dear to me, The new land of the noble Welsh people; True freedom we breathe in our new country, Far from the reach of oppression and betrayal: Chorus: Nation [or country], Nation, I am faithful to my Nation. While the sun rises above the land, Oh! may the Settlement continue. II The Welsh have been lying broken in scorn, Well, thanks to the Wladfa from dust we're reborn; Our language of old we laud and esteem While Camwy flows with shining stream: Chorus III Let Welshman submit to the English no more, Their oppression is ended, and silenced their roar; Y Wladfa we praise while the great white Andes, With its peak in the chamber of dawn: 𝄆 Chorus 𝄇

Related pages

• Bro Goth Agan Tasow, the anthem of Cornwall (uses the same tune)
• Bro Gozh ma Zadoù, the anthem of Brittany (uses the same tune)