Today I come to you with another fabulous Welsh song which I’ve heard for the first time a few weeks ago and liked it immediately. It is very positive. Betsan Hâf Evans was one of the participants of last year’s Cân I Gymru (Song For Wales) contest and she performed this song. I also like it because I am a name nerd and Eleri is one of my favourite Welsh girl names, I think it’s so melodic and just absolutely lovely.
You may notice that I will favour Welsh language music a bit in the next few days more than music in any other language and it’s first and foremost because Welsh Language Music Day is coming very soon. I can’t wait and I am hoping for discovering lots of new music. Plus currently it is the language I am focusing on the most because is the newest one in my language “collection” and I still have a lot to learn, while English and Swedish are just ones I am kind of polishing. And because of how focused I am recently on the Welsh language, I make lots of new Welsh music discoveries. And I am always pro minor/extincting languages.
This is me Misha. I wanted to tell you a bit about my day. Or more exactly about my lunch today. It was just soooooo yummmmmmmmyyyyyyy!!!
Mum was making herb chicken breasts in parchment for lunch today and I was near her all the time. I love the smell of chicken breasts. And I was really hoping for something delicous to eat today. Yesterday I got a bit of beaf, but beaf is not the same as chicken breast, I prefer chicken breast much much more. I was going around Mum and kept saying “Hhrrru?” all the time, but she wasn’t looking at me and pretended she doesn’t notice me at all, which pissed me off. So I started to climb up her leg and finally she noticed me. Of course she noticed me before, but she didn’t want to talk to me, I don’t know why. She often does that when she prepares yummy food and it isn’t for me. She shook me of her leg and gave me a piece of fresh chicken breast. It was absolutely delicious, but it was too little for me. They still grumble that I am too thin and want me to survive on one piece of chicken. Stupid people. So I continued to rub against her legs and say “Hhrrru?” as good as I I could. And she gave me the next piece, but not more.
Luckily when the lunch was finally prepared all the people came and started to eat and they were much more sympathetic towards me and more willing to share. Mila gave me three big pieces of chicken breast and it was even more yummy than the fresh one. And then Zofijka and her cousin who stayed for the night with her were gaving me small bits until I was completely stuffed. I was clicking very loudly even after I finished eating and Dominika – the cousin – was laughing at me. But it was so good that I couldn’t stop clicking, still feeling that heavenly taste in my mouth. I sat down on the chair when dad finished and washed myself and stroked my head with my paw, which always means that I am happy because I’ve just eaten something extremely delicious and I loved its smell. I wan ted humans to know about it. And they were all laughing and saying I look like a king and Zofijka stroked my head too. Then I went with Mila to her room, we were cuddling for a while, but I was too stuffed and needed to sleep, so she put me to my bed and I slept until now. I just woke up to say “Hhrrru?” to you all, lovely human beings, and to brag a bit about my lunch (wasn’t it yummy?”, but I think now I’ll go off to sleep again.
Did you have something delicious for your lunch or dinner?
Mishest regards.
Misha
PS: Since I’ve already crowled to the keyboard, I decided I will sign personally. I can’t type (yet), and Mila is always doing it for me, ’cause we have a brain connection and she can see what I am thinking of or feeling, but I love to walk on the keyboard, so here’s my signature:
Woooow, it looks much more professional than just short and plain Misha.
PS2: Can you see my photo? Mila set it up as the logo for our blog, but she can’t see so she doesn’t know if it looks well and I want to know what you think of me. Do you also think I am lovely? I hope not. It’s boring and I am still afraid someone will steal me.
The song I picked for yu guys for today is a song from the band Fi A Fo.
They are a duo from north Wales, their songs, or at least these I know, are all in Welsh. Fi A Fo literally means “me and him” and the duo consists of Mali Llyfni and Rhys Jones.
This is my favourite song by them and its title – “Dagra” – means “tears” in English.
Today’s song is in Swedish as well. I decided that since I showed you something from Cornelis Vreeswijk already, we shouldn’t forget about his son – Jack.
Jack (or Lars Jacob) Vreeswijk was born on January 25th 1964 and his mother is Cornelis’ first wife, Ingalill Rehnberg. Having such an unusual and complicated father Jack had undoubtedly very interesting, but also a bit chaotic childhood. He decided to follow his father’s footsteps and become a musician.
Of course, because his dad is so much beloved in Sweden, he is widely known as his son over there and often covers his songs, but has also quite a lot of his own.
“Rosenblad, Rosenblad” is Cornelis’ song though. However, as much as I love Cornelis music, as for “Rosenblad…” I feel like Jack’s version speaks to me more.
The song is really expressive and just great I think. As for the word Rosenblad, it may mean rose leaf in Swedish, but it is also a surname of Vreeswijk’s fictional muse, Ann-Katrrin Rosenblad.
I guess this song doesn’t exist on Youtube in the album version, so I will give you the link to it on Spotify. Hope you don’t mind.
So the song for Friday will be again quite exceptional. It is one of my favourite songs of an artist whose lyricism I really admire and who has been one of my faza people. His name is Cornelis Vreeswijk, he comes from the Netherlands, but lived and created his music and poems mostly in Sweden, and spoke Swedish fluently. He was a singer, poet and actor and is beloved and famous in Sweden. He lived between 1937-1987 and was often quite controversial, living a stormy life. Being a conservative and Christian, I disagree with many of his views that he held as a socialist (though we do have a few points where we meet even in terms of worldview), but I love his sense of humour, sensitivity, intelligence and perceptiveness in how he describes the world, people etc.
So as I said “Grimasch Om Morgonen” is my favourite song from Cornelis’ entire discography, I think it’s really beautiful, but also quite sad, bitter and even a bit cynical. Maybe that’s why I love it too.
So to lessen the language barrier at least a bit, I’ll do my best to translate it into English, however, keep in mind, that I am not a native speaker of either of these languages, so it may not be a masterpiece and probably won’t be.
Now the dew is falling and the sun is rising
But you can’t hear it
You’re lying without blouse and skirt
With your lips close to my ear
Be serious now, you ask firmly
You’re laughing out songs and singing jokes
You can, but don’t want to write
a song about the fragile happiness
Now the sun is rising and the dew is falling
for the poor people and for the rich.
But Luck has a poisoned thorn
that you need to carefully avoid.
She happily lingers for a few days
but when you want to capture her
her eyes turn ice cold
and you become as bitter as bile
Now the dew is falling without a sound
and grass and leaves become wet
And every morning, the sun is the bride
though no wedding hymns can be heard
Ann-Katarin, you need to know that
there is a certain happiness which dies from laughter.
So, did I ever mention on here before how crazy I am about harp? Well, Celtic harp mainly, but also harp in general. I think I didn’t do it, so I do now. I really really love harp. Welsh triple harp, Irish Celtic harp, classical harp and even autoharp and other kinds of harps. Well I probably haven’t heard them all, but all of these I’ve heard, I love, or at least like.
So today I come to you with a piece from the repertoire of Aine Minogue – who is an Irish Celtic harpist, currently living in the US. She is also singing frequently on her albums, her music is extremely soothing, dream-like, but her voice is also very soothing and unique so her harp, voice and other instruments make a really great mix. I sometimes just can’t stop listen to her.
this is an instrumental. I chose it firstly because it’s just so beautiful, so much of harp, such beautiful, but simple harmonies, etc. but also because of the fact that it is a perfect track for yesterday. That’s why I am so sorry I didn’t manage to show you it on time.
Yesterday, besides the fact that it was my birthday, 😀 it was also the feast day of saint Bridget of Kildare, who is an Irish saint, but centuries ago, Celts honoured one of their goddesses, Brigid, on this day. Actually, some people say that Brigid and saint Bridgt are one and the same person, just that the first evolved in the latter in people’s minds when Catholicism started to dominate Celtic beliefs. Brigid’s feast day was also called Imbolc and marked the beginning of spring.
Brigid was the goddess of the hearth, poetry, healing, childbirth and unity.
OK, so here’s this stunning piece of Aine’s music:
My Inner MishMash 