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Yma o Hyd

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"Yma o Hyd"
Single by Dafydd Iwan ac Ar Log
from the album Yma o Hyd
Released1983
Recorded1981
GenreFolk music
Length4:11
Songwriter(s)Dafydd Iwan
Yma o Hyd performed by Dafydd Iwan and Ar Log
File:Ar Log & Dafydd Iwan in 2005.jpg
Dafydd Iwan with Ar Log in 2005.

Yma o Hyd (English: "Still Here") is a patriotic song in the Welsh language first released by Dafydd Iwan and Ar Log in 1983.

Background

"Yma O Hyd" ("Still Here") was released in 1983 during Dafydd Iwan and Ar Log's 'Taith Macsen' ("Macsen's Journey") tour to “raise the spirits, to remind people we still speak Welsh against all odds, to show we are still here".[1]

Welsh historian and Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament, Gwynfor Evans, is said to have given Dafydd Iwan the idea for the song.[2] Dafydd Iwan describes it as a "very positive song" that celebrates the "survival of the language against all odds and the survival of a nation".[3] The song cites the survival of Wales and the Welsh language for over 1,600 years, ever since Roman officer, Magnus Maximus, left Wales and the island of Britain to become Emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 383 AD, and thus the year in which the modern country of Wales was born.[4]

Martin Johnes, professor of history at Swansea University, has suggested that the song is an anthem for “Welsh nationalists, Welsh-speaking culture and the industrial working class of Wales". "Wales was politically annexed in 1280; we haven’t had a totally self-governing political unit since." The language was banished from officialdom by Henry VIII of England in 1536 which lasted over 400 years, until 1942, and so “the survival of Welsh identity is pretty remarkable”.[4]

Use as an anthem

In the present day, the song and particularly the chorus is known to most people who live or have lived in Wales: “Er gwaetha pawb a phopeth / Ry’n ni yma o hyd” ("In spite of everyone and everything / We're still here").[4]

In response to Thatcher

It has been suggested that the song played a "not insignificant" role in raising the morale of Welsh nationalists during Margaret Thatcher's 1980s tenure as Prime Minister of the UK.[2] The original version of the song refers to Thatcher, "Er gwaetha hen Fagi a'i chriw" ("Despite old Maggie and her crew”).[4] Following Thatcher's ordered closure of Welsh mines, fewer than 40% of Welsh households were headed by someone in full-time employment by 1986 and "two-thirds of Welsh miners would become redundant".[4][5]

Welsh education and language

The song also inspired a resurgence of support for Welsh medium education and (amongst other factors) contributed to the delivery of the Education Reform Act of 1988. The song also contributed to support for the Welsh language, namely the Welsh Language Act 1993, which placed Welsh on equal footing with English in Wales for the first time in UK history. [2]

Welsh devolution and independence

The song contributed to support for a National Assembly for Wales (later renamed Senedd) and in 1998 the Welsh electorate voted in favour of Welsh devolution.[2] In January 2020, the song reached number one in the UK iTunes chart, spurred on by purchases by supporters of Welsh independence group YesCymru. The campaign mirrored the success of the Wolfe Tones song "Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" earlier that month.[6]

Welsh Sport

The song is frequently sung by supporters of the Scarlets rugby team, and Wrexham A.F.C.

The song also became an unofficial anthem for the Wales national football team.[1] Originally sung by supporters in the stands of Wales football matches, the song was then adopted as a motivating anthem by the Wales players themselves. The players requested that Dafydd Iwan perform the song live before kick off of the penultimate game of the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign against Austria, winning 2-1.[7] The song was also sung live by Iwan in the final match of the campaign that saw Wales qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1958 after defeating Ukraine 1-0. Gareth Bale, the Welsh captain, also led the Welsh team in singing along with Iwan after the final whistle.[8][9] Wales national football team coach, Rob Page, said about the song, "Yma o Hyd, that's a massive anthem for us now. Chris Gunter started it. We played it every day before training and on the coach, and that's something we've got now as our anthem. It's a big part of what we're all about."[10] The song reached No.1 in the iTunes charts once again in June 2022 following a campaign by Welsh football supporters.[11]

A new version of the song was used for the official soundtrack and music video for Wales at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, featuring voices of y Wal Goch (Red Wall) of Wales fans. Dafydd Iwan said of the new remix, “It’s an impossible dream come true and the incredible sound of The Red Wall on this track is exciting and inspiring to hear ...No other nation will have anything like this to inspire their team on the grandest stage of them all.”[12]

The official video includes highlights and low points of Welsh football history and significant cultural moments. Some moments featured include the miners' strike, Iwan being released from prison following his arrest for vandalising road signs as part of a campaign for the Welsh language and Michael Sheen's speech to the Wales squad.[13]

Use in media

  • A chapter on the history of the song and its context appears in Siôn Jobbins's book, The Phenomenon of Welshness, or 'How many aircraft carriers would an independent Wales need?' .[14]
  • A version of the song appears in the Welsh black comedy film The Toll, released in the UK in 2021.[15]
  • The song was sampled in a bilingual rap song as part of Wales' FIFA World Cup campaign by rap artist Sage Todz, titled "O HYD".[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Yma o Hyd: the defiant Welsh folk song that's been 1,600 years in the making". the Guardian. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  2. ^ a b c d Dr E. Wyn James (2005). "Painting the World Green: Dafydd Iwan and the Welsh Protest Ballad". Folk Music Journal. 8 (5): 594–618.
  3. ^ "Jeremy Vine On 5's tweet - "Yma o Hyd, a Welsh-language single released in 1983, has hit the top of the charts after football fans started singing it at Welsh international games. The singer, songwriter Dafydd Iwan, tells us what it's like to top the charts and why it's is so special. #JeremyVine " - Trendsmap". www.trendsmap.com. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Yma o Hyd: the defiant Welsh folk song that's been 1,600 years in the making". the Guardian. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  5. ^ Shipton, Martin (2014-03-03). "Margaret Thatcher 'lied to miners about jobs and the extent of her plans to close pits'". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  6. ^ Stephens, Lydia (12 January 2020). "A Welsh folk legend is outselling Stormzy in the iTunes charts". Walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Yma o Hyd: the defiant Welsh folk song that's been 1,600 years in the making". the Guardian. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  8. ^ Mitchelmore, Ian (2022-03-28). "The player behind Dafydd Iwan's iconic Yma o Hyd rendition revealed". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  9. ^ Williams, Glen (2022-06-05). "Gareth Bale leads brilliant rendition of Yma o Hyd after Wales beat Ukraine". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  10. ^ Coleman, Tom (2022-03-29). "Yma o Hyd full lyrics, meaning and why Wales football fans started singing it". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  11. ^ "Dafydd Iwan hits the number one spot with Yma o Hyd". 8 June 2022.
  12. ^ "World Cup 2022: The music video for Yma O Hyd is here". ITV News. 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  13. ^ Mitchelmore, Ian (2022-11-07). "The full video for Wales' World Cup song has been released and it's epic". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  14. ^ Jobbins, Sion (2011). The phenomenon of Welshness : or, "How many aircraft carriers would an independent Wales have?". Gwasg Carreg Gwalch.
  15. ^ "IMDb". IMDb.
  16. ^ "Watch: Stunning new version of 'Yma o Hyd' by Welsh Drill artist Sage Todz released". Nation.Cymru. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
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