The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #29295 Message #370146
Posted By: Malcolm Douglas
06-Jan-01 - 11:01 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: alt. verses to Hal An Tow
Subject: Lyr Add: HAL AN TOW (in Cornish)
That's interesting as a parody, and I do like the sentiments expressed in the last verse. We should make it clear, though (so that nobody misunderstands) that the song is Cornish and belongs specifically to an annual, traditional festival (revived in 1930 after a period of quiescence of around 70 years) and so is one of those relatively few songs that still belong to a particular, identifiable community, and perhaps shouldn't be messed around with, out of respect for the people to whose tradition it belongs and who keep it alive. Here is the translation into Cornish given in Kennedy's book:
HAL-AN-TOW
(Translation into Cornish by Talek and Ylewyth)
Robin Hood ha Jowan Výghan An dheu res éth dhe 'n fér, O Ha ný 'wra mós dhe 'n gellywyk wér Pyth 'wrellons ena dhe výras, O Rag helghya yorgh, O Rag helghya yorgh ha da Hal-an-tow, fest cabúly, O Rak ný a séf dyworth an tarth a'n jéth, O Ha rag dhe hedhes Haf dhe dré An Haf ha 'n spernen wyn, O Rag Haf üs ow-tós, O Ha Gwaf üs ow-mós, O.
Pléma an Spanyer-na A wra fás mar vrás, O? Y whrons ý dybry an blüven goth Ha ný a dheber an golýth, O Yn oll an týryow Py lé yth yllyn, O.
'Wos Sen Jory an marrek-na Sen Jory ef o marrek, O Yn mysk pup oll yn Crystyoneth Sen Jory yú an gwella, O Yn oll an týryow Py lé yth yllyn, O.
Durson' An Mary Moses Hag oll hý nell ha nerth, O Ha danvon crés dhyn yn Kernow Ha déth ha nóswyth ynweth, O Ha danvon crés dhe Gernow Ha bys vynary, O.
I still haven't found a way to make long accents ("-" superscript) in .html, so have substituted acute accents; these are not used in Cornish, so shouldn't lead to any confusion, though obviously it's less than ideal. I can't at present find biographical details for Talek and Ylewyth, but these are their Bardic names, not their real ones. Both are 20th century. I mistakenly described the first link I gave above as the DT entry; it is in fact another thread, lyr and tune Helston Hal an Tow. The DT entry is here: Hal An Tow. The first link is to the English text, verses 1,2,3 and 5 of which are translated into Cornish here.