Men of Harlech

Harlech Castle stands high above the Merionethshire sea-shore. The original fort, was probably built by Prince Gwynedd in AD530. It was rebuilt by the English king, Edward I in 1282. Later it became known as Harlech, or above the boulders. Llech means huge stone. If you've ever seen the film "Braveheart" then you know a bit about Edward the First. He was the king that fought against William Wallace in Scotland and our very own Prince Llewellyn here in Wales.

During the War of the Roses, King Edward IV ordered William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, to lead a powerful army to Harlech, and demanded the surrender of the place. Sir Richard Herbert, the Earl's brother, replied: `I held a tower in France till all the old women in Wales heard of it, and now all the old women in France shall hear how I defend this castle.' In the end, hunger forced the intrepid Welshman (Dafydd ap Jevan) to an honourable surrender.

You might have heard this song being sung in another battle. Have you seen the film "Zulu" staring Michael Caine and two famous Welshmen, Stanley Baker and Ivor Emanuel? If so, you might remember the famous battle scene towards the end where a huge army of Zulu warriors face a small but gallant band of Welsh soldiers defending a small hospital at Rourke's Drift. As the two brave Welshmen listen to the Zulu battle hymn, Stanley Baker turns to Ivor Emanuel and says, "There's fine singing Jones. Do you think the Welsh can do better than that?" Ivor replies," Well they've certainly got a good bass section, but they haven't got the top tenors, that's for sure." And he raises his voice and sings:-

Men of Harlech

Harlech cyfod dy faneri,
gwel y celyn enyn yn i,
Y meirion wyr oll i wnaedd i
Cymru fo am byth.

Aed y waedd ac aed y weddi,
I bob cwr o'n gwlad uchelfri.
Nes adsinia yr eiryri
Cymru fo am byth.

Arwyr, sawdwyr sydyn.
Rhuth rwyn ar y celyn.
Gyrwn ef i ffoi o nant
a bryn a phant a Dyffryn.
Chwifiwn faner goruchafiaeth
gorfoleddwn yn ei al aeth.
Clywir llef ein buddugol iaeth,
Cymru fo am byth.

This wonderful march simply cries out for some percussion.
If you play the song, using the player bar above, you can add some drum or cymbal beats by mouse clicking over these images.
You could also try to write out your arrangement.
Click here to get the music to Men of Harlech.
Print it out and mark down where you could add drum and cymbal beats.