"" () is a Welsh hymn, the words of which were written in the 1890s by Daniel James (Gwyrosydd) and sung to a tune by John Hughes. The song was originally written as a hymn, but has become firmly established as a rugby anthem, associated with the Welsh rugby union, being sung before almost every

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

involving the

Welsh national team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...

– though more likely to be heard sung at matches involving the Welsh football team in recent years. In 2007 the song was one of the traditional Welsh songs to make it to the screen in an S4C television series , an attempt to bring traditional four-part harmony choral singing back to the Welsh rugby terraces. In 2012, the Welsh group Only Boys Aloud sang "" on the British ITV show ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'', coming third in the final. It has since become the most watched Welsh-language video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. "" is unusual among the most popular Welsh traditional songs in that an English-language version of the words is virtually never sung (unlike, for example, ), but the tune does appear, for example, in the British Methodist hymn book ''

Hymns and Psalms ''Hymns and Psalms'' was the primary hymnbook of the Methodist Church of Great Britain from 1983 until 2010. The hymnbook was first published by the Methodist Publishing House in 1983, to replace the ''Methodist Hymn-Book'', which was published s ...

'', set to the lyrics of "I will Sing the Wondrous Story" by P. P. Bliss. The English singing translation by Rees Harris (1874–1954) appeared in ''The Abingdon Song Book'' in 1937. A Spanish-language version of the song exists, sung mostly by Welsh Argentines in , the former Welsh colony in

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

. On 10 September 2019, the song was sung in the

UK House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

by and

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 192 ...

members of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

who were protesting about

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

and the prorogation controversy. The Centre is based at Chapel, the burial place of Daniel James. The chapel and grounds were at the point of dereliction until 2011 but have been restored.

Lyrics

Alternative words in the Welsh version: * Verse 1, line 3: * Verse 2, line 2: * Verse 3, line 2: * Chorus, line 3:

Music

Adaptations

*The tune of "" has been adapted to suit other lyrics which fit its 8787.8787 metrical pattern, notably "A Miner's Lifeguard", " Life's Railway to Heaven", "The Weaver's Song" (

Almanac Singers The Almanac Singers was an American New York City-based folk music group, active between 1940 and 1943, founded by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. The group specialized in topical songs, mostly songs advocating an an ...

), "

What a Friend We Have in Jesus "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, a ...

", "Here is love vast as the ocean" () by William Rees (1802–1883) with elements derived from William Williams (1717–1791). *

Faryl Smith Faryl Smith (born 23 July 1995) is a British soprano whose performance repertoire includes opera, classical and classical crossover. Her diverse concerts draw a wide range of audiences, and she particularly enjoys introducing new audiences to cl ...

recorded a version of the song for her debut album, ''

Faryl ''Faryl'' is the debut album by British mezzo-soprano Faryl Smith, released on 9 March 2009 by Universal Classics and Jazz. Smith rose to fame after her appearance on the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' and signed with Universal after ...

''. * Katherine Jenkins recorded a version for her album '' Second Nature''. * Siobhan Owen recorded a version with voice and harp, featured on her album ''Storybook Journey'' (2012). *

Adrian Mitchell Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's C ...

has written a translation into English, "Shining Heart", for the show " A Child's Christmas in Wales". The lyrics appear in his collection ''Love Songs of World War Three''. * Wirral-based indie band Half Man Half Biscuit performed a medley of "Calon Lan" and the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

' " Help Me, Rhonda" at a gig in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 2011

References

External links

Learn to sing "Calon Lân" online
(S4C 'Codi Canu' Welsh programme site) {{DEFAULTSORT:Calon Lan Welsh Christian hymns Hymn tunes Wales national rugby union team Welsh patriotic songs