By Michael Stevenson / Dai Bando
St. David is the patron saint of Wales and he is celebrated every year on his feast day, March 1st. Today, Welsh people will adorn their winter clothing with either a daffodil or a leek, the latter because St David himself ate only leeks with water. No ‘bangers and mash’. No Guinness. Just leeks and water. I wonder if St. David left a decent tip on the counter after his pitiful lunch? I bet he did.
St. David (or Dewi Sant in Welsh) lived in the sixth century in Wales. He once brought a child back to life by splashing the boy’s face with tears. He was also famous for his saying “Gwenwch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd” which means “Do the little things in life.” I love that St. David appreciated the “little things” in life, especially with the knowledge he could raise a child back from the dead! I can just hear him, “No ‘thank you’ is necessary, lad. Care to join me in a daffodil and leek salad?”
To celebrate this day, I’ve created a Spotify playlist titled “St. David’s Day” (see bottom of post). I’ve included several of my favorite Welsh recording artists (Welshman Tom Jones a notable exception, whose records I love, but don’t quite fit with these others.)
Cerys Hafana is a recent favorite of mine. She’s still just a kid and plays guitar, piano and the Welsh triple harp. Her vocals usually are in the Welsh language. Can’t wait to hear more from her.
For over 20 years, I’ve loved the music of Katell Keineg who sometimes lives in Paris and/or Dublin while also visiting Joe’s Pub in New York City on occasion. Katell has recorded four albums, mostly in English with an occasional song in her native Welsh language. Her father is playwright Paol Keineg and her songs are filled with literary allusions and topics (such as her song about feminist painter Leonor Fini.)
Another Welsh harpist whose music I love is Catrin Finch. She recorded a fantastic album “Soar” a few years ago, with Sengalese kora musician Seckou Keita, who is known as “the Jimi Hendrix of the Kora” (you didn’t know there was such thing, did you?) “Soar” was one of my most played albums off of Spotify, Spotify has informed me (now that we’re talking again). Catrin Finch is awesome. Search out her cover of Debussy’s Claire de Lune.
The Hobbledehoy’s favorite practitioner of “American Primitive” guitar is Gwenifer Raymond. Gwenifer was born in Taffs Well, near Cardiff, leading to the title of her album, Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain. “American primitive” is an idiosyncratic approach to instrumental fingerstyle guitar, drawing equally from folk, blues, and contemporary classical sources and played in nonstandard and often wild tunings. She’s somewhat Goth Welsh and comes with a PhD in astrophysics. Love her.
The renowned Welsh opera singer Bryn Terfel’s “We’ll Keep a Welcome” is a great introduction to Welsh traditional and classical music. I saw Bryn Terfel perform in France several years ago. I was the American guy in the audience yelling a request for the Welsh tune “Bugail Aberdyfi” until an old French lady struck me with a large baguette.
If you love the 1947 film How Green Was My Valley as I do, then you’ll appreciate the addition of Alfred Newman’s soundtrack from John Ford’s classic film. The track “School” evokes the pain and humiliation the character Huw experiences after being severely beaten by a schoolteacher. Young Huw is later avenged when the village’s prizefighter (named Dai Bando, coincidentally) beats the living-shit out of Huw’s sadistic teacher. This scene left quite an impression on me, as you may have gathered.
Actor Roddy McDowall portrayed the character “Huw Morgan” in How Green Was My Valley. In a Cape Cod bookstore, I once saw a framed drawing of a Welsh village that young Roddy McDowell penciled while filming the movie. It was signed by Roddy and in mint condition. I’ll always kick myself for not buying it right away because when I returned to the shop with cash in hand, it was no longer on the wall. “Twmffat!” as they say in Wales.
I have a bit of Welsh ancestry from my paternal grandmother’s side of the family. I loved my Grandma Greta, who resided with my grandfather on John Street, in Newport, Rhode Island. To make Grandma Greta laugh, I would do an imitation of Jimmy Durante, using my grandfather’s hat as a prop. At five years old, I could mimic Durante’s goofy walk, and deliver his classic catchphrases like “I’ve got a million of ’em” and “Everybody wants to get into the act!” Grandma Greta would howl with laughter.
When one of us at the Sunday dinner table irritated her with a foolish or unkind remark, Granda Greta would scold, “Eat your bun!” This eventually became our family’s inside-expression meaning, “shut the hell up.” Grandma Greta never once said “Eat your bun” to me.
I also loved my grandmother’s sister Theresa, whom we called “Teddy.” She would join us for vacations on Cape Cod as well as at all the holiday dinners. Shortly before she passed away, Great Aunt Teddy told me quite a bit about my Welsh heritage, claiming that we were descendants of the Morgans – not the fictional family from “How Green Was My Valley,” but specifically Captain Morgan, the Pirate. I intend to research this when I can afford to resubscribe to Ancestry.com, but first I must cancel Netflix, Hulu and pay another invoice from Brown Dermatology.
Happy St. David’s Day! I hope you enjoy this Spotify playlist.
And remember -“Gwenwch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd” (Do the little things in life.) And use sunscreen.
