This is your guide to singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, the national anthem of Wales.
We have included the lyrics as they are spelt, read and sung in Welsh, as well as phonetically. You can also find the tune, including the lyrics, in the video above.
This is the only national anthem of Wales, which was written in 1856. You can see more on the history of the Welsh national anthem and how it was adopted as such below and find more fascinating things you probably don't know about Wales here.
The anthem is sung before every Wales national rugby team, so you'll hear it a few times during the 2019 Rugby World Cup. It is also sung at several other events and occasions, including on St David's Day. St David is the patron saint of Wales and he is celebrated on March 1 every year.
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau actually has three verses, although you won't hear verses two and three very often, with only the first commonly sung at sporting fixtures. We've focused on the first and second verses here, but you can find the lyrics for the whole song, including the rare second and third verses underneath:
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau lyrics
Verse 1
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad,
Dros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.
Chorus
Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad.
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r heniaith barhau.
Verse 2
Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd,
Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn, i'm golwg sydd hardd;
Trwy deimlad gwladgarol, mor swynol yw si
Ei nentydd, afonydd, i mi.
(Chorus)
Verse 3
Os treisiodd y gelyn fy ngwlad tan ei droed,
Mae hen iaith y Cymry mor fyw ag erioed,
Ni luddiwyd yr awen gan erchyll law brad,
Na thelyn berseiniol fy ngwlad.
(Chorus)
Here's Katherine Jenkins giving us a rendition in the WalesOnline newsroom
The words to the Welsh national anthem spelt phonetically
Verse 1
My hehn oo-lad vurr n'had-die un ann-wil ee mee
Goo-lard bay-rdd* ah chann-tor-yon**
Enn-wog-yon o vree
Ay goo-rol ruv-el-wirr
Chorus
Goo-lard gar-wirr trah mard
Dross rudd*-id cor-llar-sant ay goo-eyed***
Goo-lard! Goo-lard!
Ply-deeol weave eem goo-lard
Trah morh un beerh, eer beerh horff bye
O budd*-ed eer hen ee-eye-th barr hye.
*There are two "th" sounds in Welsh as there are in English."Th" in Welsh is pronounced as in English "think" or "fourth". "Dd" is pronounced as in "this" or "that".
** "ch" is pronounced as in "loch" or "Bach"
*** "ll" is an aspirated L. Form your lips and tongue to pronounce L, then blow air gently around the sides of the tongue. The nearest you can get to this sound in English is to pronounce it as an L with a Th in front of it.
The history of the Welsh national anthem
The Welsh national anthem is a collaboration between harpist James James - who wrote the melody, known as Glan Rhondda - and his father Evan James, who wrote the lyrics.
Usually dated to January 1856, it was written in Pontypridd, where the family lived. A memorial to the pair was unveiled in the town in July 1930.
It was performed for the first time in the vestry of Capel Tabor in Maesteg in either January or February 1856, by a singer called Elizabeth John from Pontypridd.
But it was thanks to the National Eisteddfod in Chester in 1866 that it became the national anthem. It was sung with such passion it was immediately adopted as the anthem. A visitor to that Eisteddfod wrote: "When I see the enthusiasm which these Eisteddfods [sic] awaken in your whole people I am filled with admiration."
The National Library of Wales records that its popularity spread after the Llangollen Eisteddfod in 1858 and was included in many collections of Welsh melodies as it gradually assumed its place in Welsh life.
