Harmony Yemanya – “Hiraeth Am Feirion” (Longing For Meirionethshire).

Hey people! 🙂

Today I’d like to share with you a traditional song I’ve recently heard, from an artist who is very new to me. I heard her for the first time on Blas Folk Radio Cymru.

Harmony Yemanya is the artistic name of Hilary Davies, who is a flautist, singer, songwriter and composer based in Gwynedd and London. This particular song that I want to show you though, is, just like I said, her rendition of a traditional tune. I was wondering where her artistic name came from and it seems like there is some, I guess Nigerian, goddess named Yemaya and one of the way to spell her name is also Yemanya so perhaps it’s in relation to that.

The song is about one’s longing to a (now historic) county in northwestern Wales, which is called Meirionethshire in English.

I managed to find a translation of this song into English, on the website of a Welsh band called Ffynnon

and here it is:

 

There is a mountain in the sea which hides Meirioneth

I had sight of it once only before it broke my heart

Wind from the sea and sun from the mountain

Grey rocks instead of trees

And gulls instead of people

I will make a boat of the oak of love

And its mast, the wood of experience

And put longing in its sail to make it go

Wave to wave to my own land