Yma o Hyd

Back to List of Songs

Yma o Hyd (Still Here) is a folk song by Dafydd Iwan. The song was released during Iwan and Ar Log's 'Taith Macsen' ("Macsen's Journey") tour in 1983. Since then it has continued to gain popularity at cultural and sporting events. "Macsen Wledig" is the Welsh name for Magnus Maximus, the Roman Emperor (383-8) who removed the Roman legions from Britain.

Here is the melody with the lyrics, in the key of E minor rather than the original A minor, which goes too high for me.

Melody

Lyrics

Dwyt ti'm yn cofio Macsen?		Don't you remember Macsen?
Does neb yn ei nabod o.			Nobody knows him.
Mae mil a chwe chant o flynyddoedd	Sixteen hundred years are
Yn amser rhy hir i'r co'.		a time too long for the memory.
Pan aeth Magnus Maximus o Gymru		When Magnus Maximus went from Wales
Yn y flwyddyn tri chant wyth tri,	In the year three hundred and eighty-three,
A'n gadael yn genedl gyfan,		And leaving us as a whole nation,
A heddiw wele ni:			And today here we are:
Ry'n ni yma o hyd.			We're still here.

{ Ry'n ni yma o hyd,				We're still here,
  Er gwaetha pawb a phopeth (x3)		Despite everyone and everything
  Ry'n ni yma o hyd. } x2			We're still here.

Chwythed y gwynt o'r Dwyrain,		Let the wind blow from the East,
Rhued y storm o'r môr,			Let the storm roar from the sea,
Hollted y mellt yr wybren,		Let the lightning split the sky,
A gwaedded y daran encôr;		And let the thunder shout again;
Llifed dagrau'r gwangalon,		Let the tears of the faint-hearted flow,
A llyfed y taeog y llawr;		And let the serf lick the floor;
Er dued yw'r fagddu o'n cwmpas		Although the blackness is darkening around us
Ry'n ni'n barod am doriad y wawr!	We are ready for the break of dawn!	

Cofiwn i Facsen Wledig			We will remember Magnus Maximus
Adael ein gwlad yn un darn,		Leaving our country in one piece,
A bloeddiwn gerbron y gwledydd		And we will shout before the countries
"Mi fyddwn yma tan Ddydd y Farn!"	"I will be here until Judgment Day!"
Er gwaetha pob Dic Siôn Dafydd,	Despite all the Dic Siôn Dafydds,
Er gwaetha 'rhen Fagi a'i chriw,	Despite old Maggie and her crew,
Byddwn yma hyd ddiwedd amser		We will be here until the end of time
A bydd yr iaith Gymraeg yn fyw!		And the Welsh language will be alive!

Recordings

Notes for Welsh learners

  1. "Ti'm" is short for "ti ddim".
  2. "Co'" is short for "cof" (memory), to rhyme with "o"; final 'f's are often omitted in Welsh.
  3. "Ry'n ni" is a way of contracting "rydym ni" like "dy'n ni" (used in the South). And "rydym ni" is itself a contraction of "yr ydym ni". Contractions, like mutations, have been around for a long time and are "yma o hyd"!
  4. "-ed" is the verb ending for the third person singular imperative, as in "bydded", "let it be".
  5. "Dic Siôn Dafydd" is the title of an 18th Century satirical ballad with a stereotype of an Anglophile Welsh person who deliberately turns their back on the Welsh people, their culture and the Welsh language. A Dic Siôn Dafydd instead embraces the concept of Englishness, English culture and the English language.
  6. " 'Rhen Fagi" translates as "the old Maggie" (i.e. Thatcher), with "yr hen" abbreviated to " 'rhen".

Vocabulary

  1. Chwythu   To blow
  2. Rhuo   To roar
  3. Holli   To split
  4. Gweiddi   To shout
  5. Taran   Thunder (f, taranau)
  6. Encôr   Encore
  7. Llifo   To flow
  8. Gwangalon   timid, faint-hearted
  9. Llyfu   To lick
  10. Taeog   Vassal, serf, bondsman (m, taeogion)
  11. Duo   To blacken, darken
  12. Fagddu   Blackness
  13. Bloeddio   To shout
  14. Gerbron   Before
  15. Barn   Opinion, judgement (f)
  16. Criw   Crew (m, criwiau)
Back to List of Songs