It describes the tragic love affair between Wil Hopcyn and Ann Thomas (The Maid of Cefn Ydfa) from the village of Llangynwyd in Glamorganshire. Ann belonged to a wealthy farming family but Wil was only a farm labourer. Ann's mother rejected Wil and forced Ann into a marriage with Anthony Maddocks, the son of a local squire.
A few days before the marriage took place Wil left Llangynwyd. Months later Wil had a dream in which Ann's new husband had died, so he returned home. However, when he arrived he discovered that in fact it was Ann who was dying, from a broken heart. Ann died in his arms that day.
Maddocks inherited the Thomas' estate and soon re-married. Wil died in 1741, never having married. Both he and Ann are buried at Llangynwyd.
The song was collected from the oral tradition in the 1830s and was first published in 1844 by the Welsh musician and folkloristMaria Jane Williams in her collection Ancient National Airs of Gwent and Morganwg.[1]
There are several versions of the lyrics with minor variations in the words and additional verses. A modern version is:[2]
Mi sydd fachgen ieuanc ffôl Yn byw yn ôl fy ffansi, Myfi'n bugeilio'r gwenith gwyn, Ac arall yn ei fedi. Pam na ddeui ar fy ôl, Ryw ddydd ar ôl ei gilydd? Gwaith 'rwy'n dy weld, y feinir fach, Yn lanach, lanach beunydd.
Glanach, glanach wyt bob dydd, Neu fi yn wir sy'n ffolach; Er mwyn y Gŵr a wnaeth dy wedd Gwna im' drugaredd bellach. Cwnn dy ben, gwel acw draw, Rho im' dy law wen dirion; Gwaith yn dy fynwes bert ei thro Mae allwedd clo fy nghalon.
Tra fo dŵr y môr yn hallt, A thra bo gallt yn tyfu, A thra fo calon dan fy mron Mi fydda'n ffyddlon iti; Dywed imi'r gwir heb gêl, A rho dan sêl d'atebion, P'un ai myfi ai arall, Ann Sydd orau gan dy galon.
^James, E. Wyn. "Watching the White Wheat and That Hole Below the Nose: The English Ballads of a Late-Nineteenth Century Welsh Jobbing-Printer". Cardiff University. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
^ abHywel, John, ed. (1990). Famous songs of Wales : Caneuon enwog Cymru 1 (3rd ed.). Caernarfon: Gwynn. pp. 28–29. ISBN0-900426-60-8. (Lannach and glannach have been corrected to lanach and glanach.)
^Williams, Maria Jane (1844). . Llandovery: William Rees. pp. 38–39. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
External links
Media related to Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn at Wikimedia Commons
April 11, 2023
bugeilio, gwenith, gwyn, english, watching, white, wheat, 18th, century, traditional, welsh, love, song, opening, source, source, sung, bryn, williams, problems, playing, this, file, media, help, describes, tragic, love, affair, between, hopcyn, thomas, maid, . Bugeilio r Gwenith Gwyn English Watching the White Wheat is an 18th century traditional Welsh love song Opening of Bugeilio r Gwenith Gwyn source source Sung by Bryn Williams Problems playing this file See media help It describes the tragic love affair between Wil Hopcyn and Ann Thomas The Maid of Cefn Ydfa from the village of Llangynwyd in Glamorganshire Ann belonged to a wealthy farming family but Wil was only a farm labourer Ann s mother rejected Wil and forced Ann into a marriage with Anthony Maddocks the son of a local squire A few days before the marriage took place Wil left Llangynwyd Months later Wil had a dream in which Ann s new husband had died so he returned home However when he arrived he discovered that in fact it was Ann who was dying from a broken heart Ann died in his arms that day Maddocks inherited the Thomas estate and soon re married Wil died in 1741 never having married Both he and Ann are buried at Llangynwyd The song was collected from the oral tradition in the 1830s and was first published in 1844 by the Welsh musician and folklorist Maria Jane Williams in her collection Ancient National Airs of Gwent and Morganwg 1 Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Tune 2 1 First published version 2 2 Modern version 3 References 4 External linksLyrics EditThere are several versions of the lyrics with minor variations in the words and additional verses A modern version is 2 Mi sydd fachgen ieuanc ffol Yn byw yn ol fy ffansi Myfi n bugeilio r gwenith gwyn Ac arall yn ei fedi Pam na ddeui ar fy ol Ryw ddydd ar ol ei gilydd Gwaith rwy n dy weld y feinir fach Yn lanach lanach beunydd Glanach glanach wyt bob dydd Neu fi yn wir sy n ffolach Er mwyn y Gŵr a wnaeth dy wedd Gwna im drugaredd bellach Cwnn dy ben gwel acw draw Rho im dy law wen dirion Gwaith yn dy fynwes bert ei thro Mae allwedd clo fy nghalon Tra fo dŵr y mor yn hallt A thra bo gallt yn tyfu A thra fo calon dan fy mron Mi fydda n ffyddlon iti Dywed imi r gwir heb gel A rho dan sel d atebion P un ai myfi ai arall Ann Sydd orau gan dy galon Tune EditFirst published version Edit The melody and words first published by Maria Jane Williams in 1844 3 source Audio playback is not supported in your browser You can download the audio file Modern version Edit A modern version of the tune is 2 source Audio playback is not supported in your browser You can download the audio file References Edit James E Wyn Watching the White Wheat and That Hole Below the Nose The English Ballads of a Late Nineteenth Century Welsh Jobbing Printer Cardiff University Retrieved 5 August 2015 a b Hywel John ed 1990 Famous songs of Wales Caneuon enwog Cymru 1 3rd ed Caernarfon Gwynn pp 28 29 ISBN 0 900426 60 8 Lannach and glannach have been corrected to lanach and glanach Williams Maria Jane 1844 Ancient National Airs of Gwent and Morgannwg Llandovery William Rees pp 38 39 Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 External links Edit Media related to Bugeilio r Gwenith Gwyn at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bugeilio 27r Gwenith Gwyn amp oldid 1045565443, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
