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Men of Harlech
Alan
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Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 1530
Location: Wales
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A lady who sings with the Welsh Choir of Southern California has asked for assistance.
One of the choir grew up in Australia and remembers singing this:

Men of Harlech stop your dreaming
Saxon bowmen now are creeping...
. . . and later:
Fight for wives and mothers,
Sisters, friends and brothers
Your country needs
Your valiant deeds
To save your lives and others"


Does anyone recall ever seeing this . . . or know where the entire version might be found? It's not one listed on the RDVC site.
She added: "Thanks so much for your help. * Diolch yn fawr am eich helpu"

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AMB


Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 921
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Alan,

Saxons mentioned, but sadly, not as our USA friend remembers:

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/aitch/songs/103-100.jpeg

AMB
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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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I seem to remember - perhaps on the old forum - that we eventually came up with several versions, mostly emanating from the 18th or 19th centuries, although obviously based on at least one much earlier version.

The one quoted as sung years ago by the lady now in America does include the line "Men of Harlech stop your dreaming ..." - and given that Prebble, Enfield or Baker etc., also used that phrase (I think) and added "...can't you see their spearpoints gleaming" (to add a bit of immediacy?) when rewriting the lyrics to suit their film, it does suggest the version remembered above was one of those available at one time. She also includes the father-sister-brother line, albeit differently to the version Andrerw has shown above, again suggesting she remembers a distinctly different version, if not quite completely.

The only version I grew up with, long before it appeared in the film, was a parody (perhaps one of many) which my mother used to sing. Sadly, I only remember two short lines:

Ancient Briton never hit on
Anything as good as woad to sit on

Peter
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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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Quick google on "my" lines show they come from the "Woad Ode" (and other names) which apparently goes back to the 1920s at least, via the Boy Scouts. And I've clearly misremembered or misheard sit on and fit on . Happy days.

P.
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Alan
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Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 1530
Location: Wales
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These are the versions on this site.

http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/myths/songwords.htm

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Alan
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Joined: 30 Aug 2005
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... and on this. Helpful if there are German speaking Zulus attacking.

http://ingeb.org/songs/menofhar.html?clkd=iwm

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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1797
Location: Near Canterbury, Kent, England.
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Ah, but there were plenty (well, a few!) German-speaking Zulu in Zululand in 1879, and more than a smattering of Zulu-speaking Germans. Both groups, I suspect, would have outnumbered Welsh-speakers of any race in Zululand at the time, so perhaps this German version would have been more useful than the Welsh one after all!

P
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Alan
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.... there's always one clever clogs!

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Peter Ewart


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
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... thought you might say that!!!

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Men of Harlech
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