Mr. Happy, I moved your messages into our longest thread on the song, which has various transcriptions of the lyrics and an ABC transcription of the melody, and a link up top to a MIDI. If you open more than one thread on a song, it gets confusing.

The Digital Tradition version of the lyrics is flawed, and there have been a lot of bad transcriptions posted here. Let's see if we can get a really good transcription put together, once and for all.

Here's the version that's currently in the DT:

FAREWELL TO THE RHONDDA

cho: Farewell ye colliery workers, the muffler and the cap
Farewell ye Rhondda valley girls, we never will come back
The mines they are a-closin', the valleys they're all doomed
`There's no work in the Rhondda boys, we'll be in London soon

My father was a miner, and his father was before him,
He always had been proud to work the coal
Since they fell 'neath Roben's axe,
All the lads have had the sack
So away to work in England we must go!

No more the chapel singin', that long ago has left us
And the public house no more the miner's songs
For the boot wheels they are stoppin',
And the populations' droppin'
And I can't afford to stay here very long

Treherbert and Treorchy, Tonypandy and Tynewydd
Ystrad Rhondda and Ton Pentre, all adieu
For I can no longer wait
While Parliament debates
So a fond farewell I bid to all of you!

chorus (2x)
@mining @work
filename[ FRWHLRHND
WH
Apr98

---

Here's my working copy of a "definitive" transcription, based on the corrections posted above and the Mick Moloney recording, to be altered as corrections are posted below. Is Mick's a definitive interpretation, or did he make mistakes, too?

FAREWELL TO THE RHONDDA
(Frank Hennessey)


CHORUS:
Farewell the colliery worker, the muffler and the cap,
Farewell you Rhondda Valley girls, we never will come back;
The mines they are a-closing, the valleys are all doomed,
There's no work in the Rhondda boys, we'll be in London soon.

My father was a miner, and his father was before him,
And they always have been proud to work below;
Since they fell 'neath Robens' axe,
All the lads have got the sack,
And away to work in England we must go!

No more the chapel singing, for that long ago has left us;
In the public house no more the miner's song;
For the population's dropping,
As the pit wheels are a-stopping,
And I can't afford to stay here very long.

Treherbert and Treorchy, Tonypandy and Tynewydd,
Ystrad Rhondda and Ton Pentre, all adieu
For we can no longer wait
While Parliament debates,
So a fond farewell I bid to all of you!

CHORUS (2x)
@mining @work
filename[ FRWHLRHND
WH
Apr98

[I got the place names in the last verse from Snuffy's post above, so they must be right. I have never known Snuffy to post incorrect lyrics, unless he characterized them as questionable. It looks like there was a correction to the DT version that also relied on Snuffy's post. There may be a mistake or two in my transcription, but I think it's pretty good.]