"Me zo ganet e kreiz ar mor" ("I was born in the midst of the sea") is an autobiographical poem by the Breton-language writer

Yann-Ber Kalloc'h Yann-Ber Kalloc'h (born ''Jean-Pierre Calloc'h'' in French; 21 July 1888 – 10 April 1917) was a Breton war poet who wrote in both Breton and French. Life Yann-Ber Kalloc'h was born on the island of Groix, near Lorient, on July 24, 1888. He w ...

which celebrates the island of Groix, where he was born, and describes his parents' struggles and his own. In a setting by

Jef Le Penven Jef Le Penven (3 November 1919 - 30 April 1967) was a French composer, born in Pontivy, Morbihan, Brittany. Le Penven was the twelfth child of a family of cabinet makers. He was brought up in an atmosphere of traditional vernacular music, learnin ...

it has become one of the most popular Breton-language songs, performed by

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a French, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specifically ...

Yann-Fañch Kemener Yann-Fañch Loeiz Kemener (April 7, 1957 – March 16, 2019) was a traditional singer and ethnomusicologist from Brittany, born in Sainte-Tréphine, Côtes-d'Armor, France. Known in French as Jean-François Louis Quémener. He took part in rev ...

Julie Fowlis Julie Fowlis (born 20 June 1978) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Early life Fowlis grew up on North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gaelic-speaking community. Her mothe ...

and others. The title has several variants, including Me zo ganet e kreiz er mor and Me zo gañnet é kreiz er mor.

Summary

The narrator describes the island of Groix where he was born. He explains that his father is a sailor, as his own forefathers were, and that he works with his mother in the fields to feed himself. Then he declares to Saint Mary that their happiness has left in a coffin to sleep in the field of mourning. But he considers that these tears are in vain, that you have to be strong for tomorrow. With his worldly happiness erased, the seminary, then the army, he walked towards God, reflecting on what he can say to him while awaiting his judgment.

Origins

The text is the work of

(born Jean-Pierre Calloc'h, and also known as Bleimor), a poet born on the island of Groix,

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastli ...

, off the coast of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, in 1888. After his death in action on 10 April 1917, this poem was published in ''Ar en deulin'' (1921), a collection of his works edited by his friend . It also appeared a few years later in ''Minhoarheu ha dareu. Sourires et pleurs. Poésies de Bretagne'' (Quimper, 1926). It was set to music by

(1919–1967), a Breton composer, conductor and folksong-collector. Le Penven's song, with its flexibility of musical phrase and sensitivity to the language of the original poem, suggests both traditional Breton laments and more modern idioms.

Interpretations

In the 1960s, Eliane Pronost, accompanied by the Kanerien Bro-Ouelou Plouézec choir, performed it on a 45 rpm record on the label, followed by Rozenn Bellec and , also on Mouez-Breiz. The song was popularised by

under the title ''Je suis né au milieu de la mer'' on his first album '. It was performed by

Héritage des Celtes L'Héritage des Celtes (The Celts Heritage) is a 50-piece Pan-Celt band with musicians from Celtic nations, started by two Bretons in the town of Quimper ; the producer Jacques Bernard and the guitarist Dan Ar Braz. It started as a gathering of f ...

on their 1994 self-titled album, and by

with

Didier Squiban Didier Squiban (born 23 September 1959 in ''Ploudalmézeau'' (Finistère)) is a French pianist and composer. His musical work is a combination of traditional Breton music, jazz improvisation and classical romanticism and has added the piano to ...

on the album ''Enez Eusa'' (1996). In 1997 the Celtic rock band recorded it on their album ', and

Andrea Ar Gouilh Andrée Le Gouil (born 13 July 1935), known by her stage name Andrea Ar Gouilh, is a French singer. A pioneer in the revival of Breton chanson, she performs songs from ''Barzaz Breiz'', a collection of popular Breton songs, but also more recent c ...

on ''Priñs ar C'hornog aour: hommage à Jef Le Penven''.

included a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

version of the song on her 2009 album ''

Uam UAM or Uam may refer to: Universities * Arturo Michelena University (''Universidad Arturo Michelena''), Valencia, Venezuela *Autonomous University of Madrid (''Universidad Autonóma de Madrid''), Spain *Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico ...

''. In 2021, 50 years after the version popularized by Alan Stivell, the group rearranged the melody accompanied by the vocals of Sarah Floc'h on the EP ''Odyssea''.

Footnotes

External links

{{Wikisourcelang, br, Péden én téoéled, Me zo ganet e kreiz ar mor
Full text in Breton
at Gallica
Full text in French
at Gallica Breton-language literature Breton songs French poems Poems published posthumously