Sosban Fach (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

for "little saucepan") is a traditional Welsh

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

song. It is one of the best-known and most often sung songs in the Welsh language. The song is based on a verse written by Mynyddog in 1873 as part of his song ''Rheolau yr Aelwyd'' ("Rules of the home") — see below. Talog Williams, an accountant from Dowlais, created the song we have today by altering Mynyddog's verse and adding four new verses. The song catalogues the troubles of a harassed housewife. The song is associated with the

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

and, more recently, the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

regional rugby side. The association derives from Llanelli's tin plating industry, which used to tin-plate steel saucepans and other kitchen utensils as a cheap supply to the British public. During the final years of

Stradey Park Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of s ...

, the former ground of Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets, the goalposts were adorned with Scarlet saucepans as a tribute to the town's history; the utensils have been transferred to the clubs' new ground,

Parc y Scarlets ''Parc y Scarlets'' (, en, Scarlets Park) is a rugby union stadium in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, that opened in November 2008 as the new home of the Scarlets and Llanelli RFC. The ground replaced Stradey Park, the home of Llanelli's rugby teams ...

. The Scarlets' official magazine is titled ''Sosban''.

Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...

recorded the song on his 2000 album '' We'll Keep a Welcome''.

Lyrics

Variations

This song has been adopted by the fans of the rugby team, the

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

. Many English variations can be heard in the stands during rugby matches. After Llanelli beat a strong New Zealand side on 31 October 1972, a new English chorus could be heard: :Who beat the All Blacks, :Who beat the All Blacks, :Who beat the All Blacks :Good old Sosban fach. Honouring the Llanelli RFC teams which beat the touring Australian national teams in 1908 and 1992, a further English chorus variation has been sung alongside the All Blacks verse: : Who beat the Walla-Wallabies? : Who beat the Walla-Wallabies? : Who beat the Walla-Wallabies? : Good old Sosban Fach Other variations include the following. :Who beat the Leicester Tigers? :Who beat the Leicester Tigers? :Good old Dafydd James Dafydd James refers to a player who scored the winning points in a

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

match. A verse was "uncovered" in Patagonia that is sung by descendants of Welsh settlers and follows the second original verse: :Fe gladdwyd y gath mewn lle doniol: :Mewn bocs lle'r oedd Nain yn cadw'r startsh, :A dodwyd ei chorff mewn beddrod, :A'r band yn chwarae y death-marchTwm Morys ("The cat was buried in a funny place / In a box where Granny kept starch / Her body was placed in a grave / And the band is playing the death march.")

Original verse by Mynyddog

Other media

Author

Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually de ...

refers to the song several times as 'Calcifer's silly saucepan song' in her book ''

Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...

''. The Welsh rock band

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

has a recording of the song on the live album ''Back Into the Future'', 1973. It is sung by the Gwalia Male Choir.

References

External links