Calon Lan
(A/N: Not meant to offend the Welsh since I'm Welsh, its actually meant to open eyes of those who look straight through us.)
Me and my wife are on our honeymoon. Again.
I love Alice; I love her with all my heart but Wales? I didn't even know there was a country called Wales! Its like a tiny cast off country in the middle of Britain for Christ sake! Why the hell would she want to come here? I went along with it though, just to keep her happy. Its not raining but there's still an eerie and creepy atmosphere its also very cloudy and dreary. She takes my hand in hers,
"I want to show you something," she declares.
I reluctantly agree and then she drags me through a field. Admittedly it is very pretty, the hills are green and the grass is lightly sprinkled in morning dew, she gives me a playful push and I fall on my face and the morning dew soaks me. Great. I grab her legs so she loses balance to; we end up tackling each other in the damp green. We struggle to our feet, panting, Alice grins at me and then takes my hand and drags me somewhere else. She takes me to a small market place where people are entertaining and selling. I must admit it does make you feel happy. An old woman started to play the harp and sand something in a language I didn't understand.
"Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus,
Aur y byd na'I berlau mân:
Gofyn wyf am galon hapus,
Calon onest, calon lân.
Calon lân yn llawn daioni,
Tecach yw na'r lili dlos:
Dim ond calon lân all ganu
Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos."
Alice grins and pulls us toward the singing elderly woman; she gets a pound (God these British people are weird they call dollars; pounds) out of her pocket and places it neatly at the woman's feet. I turn to leave but Alice tugs on my arm,
"I want to stay a little longer, wait there."
I roll my eyes but I wait patiently as the old woman carries on another verse in the same language as before.
"Pe dymunwn olud bydol,
Hedyn buan ganddo sydd;
Golud calon lân, rinweddol,
Yn dwyn bythol elw fydd.
Calon lân yn llawn daioni,
Tecach yw na'r lili dlos:
Dim ond calon lân all ganu
Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos."
I give Alice a 'Can-we-go-now look but she rolls her eyes and turns back to the woman and asks her something in this foreign language,
"Gaffwy a cer?"
Does Alice have a degree in gibberish that I don't know about? Well anyway the woman nods and says:
"Bynci , Byncia."
My brow furrows, I feel like exclaiming "Stop talking gibberish!"
The woman hands Alice a piece of paper with some more gibberish words written on it, the woman starts to play and Alice starts to sing the un-known words.
"Hwyr a bore fy nymuniad
Gwyd I'r nef ar adain cân
Ar I Dduw, er mwyn fy Ngheidwad,
Roddi I mi galon lân.
Calon lân yn llawn daioni,
Tecach yw na'r lili dlos:
Dim ond calon lân all ganu
Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos."
Alice has an amazing voice, its sweet and high and she sings in an innocent soprano.I wrap my arms around her and then I throw a pound at the woman's feet.
"Diolch iawn lawer" The elderly woman calls as we walk on.
"What language was that?" I ask, deeply confounded.
Alice laughs, "Welsh, or as they call it Cymraeg."
"What did that song mean? And how do you know Welsh? And-"
"Oho!" Alice jeers "Wales isn't to boring now is it Jasper?"
"Just tell me what it means" I say slowly, starting to get frustrated,
"Not until you admit I was right!"
"You were right" I murmur,
"What was that? Didn't hear you sorry" she teases,
"You were right!" I exclaim "Now tell me what it means."
She smiles and kisses the tip of my nose, she makes motions with her hands to say she wants a piggy back, the kind a two year old would do to get an adults attention. I lift her onto my back and I start to walk back to our hotel, she sings softly in my ear, it's the same tune as the welsh one but its been translated into English.
"I don't ask for a luxurious life,
the world's gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.
A pure heart full of goodness
Is fairer than the pretty lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day, sing in the night.
If I wished for worldly wealth,
It would swiftly go to seed;
The riches of a virtuous, pure heart
Will bear eternal profit.
A pure heart full of goodness
Is fairer than the pretty lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day, sing in the night.
Evening and morning, my wish
Rising to heaven on the wing of song
To God, for the sake of my Savior,
Give me a pure heart.
A pure heart full of goodness
Is fairer than the pretty lily,
None but a pure heart can sing,
Sing in the day, sing in the night.."
We're at the hotel now, I put her down she smiles,
"So is Wales so bad?"
I grin, "I could get used to it…"
"Good!" she squeals "Cause' tomorrow we're going shopping in Cardiff!"
I gulp, this was going to be a long honey moon.