My silly translation project: The Captain Planet theme song yn Gymraeg

Welsh Lolfa SSiW Lounge
1

I’ve decided to try my hand at translating some old pop culture stuff that just floats around in my head normally - because then at least when it surfaces I’ll be getting a bit of practice done. First one I’m trying is to translate the theme of the 1990s show Captain Planet. I plan to update this with my progress, and would love to hear any thoughts or advice!
I’ll be posting Saesneg lines first, then Cymraeg.

The first two parts were pretty easy because the characters are just listing off their magic powers:

Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart!
Dear! Tân! Gwynt! Dŵr! Calon!

Go Planet!
Ewch Planed!

By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!

I figured the most straightforward way to make it work was to change it to “When you combine your powers, I am Captain Planet,” because that’s basically what they’re trying to get across.

*Pan i chi cyunaf pŵerau, Capten Planed dw i!

I’m nearly caught up listening in SSIW to where I left off a few years ago, and so still quite foggy on how to talk about we and they, so would especially love feedback on this one.

I’m hoping to get 2 sentences done a day. And when I finish this, I think I’ll tackle the old He-Man theme song; should be plenty of good beginner sentences there because most of the lyrics are speech with the main character saying, “My name is ___ and these other characters are ___ and here are my cool accessories you can ask your mother to buy you for Christmas.”

1 Like
2

A guy I know has done this for a few songs recently for fun. I hope this helps you with inspiration on your project.

Pokémon Theme (Gotta Catch 'Em All!) - Welsh Cover/Fersiwn Gymraeg (Rhaid Ni Ddal Pob Un!) - YouTube

2 Likes
3

Thank you!

4

I am still at work on this project. It has simply grown larger. and it has merged with my writing and reenactment projects. I’m also designing an experimental ‘aeolian crwth,’ despite not having built a musical instrument before. When I walked out of the local violin shop with a cello, I felt like a raccoon that a pizzeria employee keeps letting in the back door.

I’m learning the harp and crwth right now, along with learning about the skills, history, and culture needed to portray a late 12th century Welsh bard. As I’ve continued to think about this project in the context of everything I’m learning, I’ve recognized that I want to strip the lyrics and musical pieces for parts, and then use historical techniques to create a song that would have fit in the courts of Gwynedd. My eventual goal with all this is to pick places in the local parks and downtown areas to perform as my historical persona. I’m learning bardcore songs as well, and also sea shanties. (Side note: I learned that Bryn Terfyl made a sea shanties album! It’s wonderful to sing along with.)

I’ve expanded this project to include music that I think sound promising for a medieval Welsh interpretation. First up is Queen’s ‘Princes of the Universe.’ I’m doing a straight translation first, then I’ll use that to develop the finished song in medieval Welsh. Princes of the Universe feels much more straightforward than some of the other things I want to do, so this is my test piece. (And also my entryway into trying to write my own poetry and music again.)

Twysogion Y Bydysawd | Princes of the Universe

Intro
1. Yma ein ni, geni i bod brenhinoedd.
Here we are, born to be kings.

  1. Ni yw’r Twysogion y Bydysawd.
    We’re the princes of the universe

  2. Dyma dyn ni, yn ymladd goroesaf.
    Here we belong, fighting to survive

  3. Mewn byd gyda’r pŵeroedd tywyllwch, hei!
    In a world with the darkest powers, hey!

Verse 1
1. Geni i fod yn frenhinoedd, Twysogion y bydysawd
And here we are, we’re the princes of the universe
What I like most and also find frustrating about translation is how each language has its own unique words that can overlap with one another, but which are still distinct. Like the different meanings of ‘belong,’ and what is the best word to convey ‘survival’?

Here are some other songs that I working out how to pluck the harp, and plan to transform them:

  • Music from 1980s action franchises: He-man, She-ra, Thundercats

  • Super Sentai music: The Power Rangers and its Japenese predecessors. This presents an opportunity to learn more about the popularity of Welsh poetry in Japan. I’ve read about it, but not about how that developed.

  • Hair metal: I’ve been learning what the techniques are called, and I am excited to apply them to the harp!

  • Appalachian music and union organizing music. I can’t think Welsh labor and organizing without also thinking about Appalachia. I don’t come from the poorer parts of Appalachia, but I was raised with a Disneyfied understanding and deep appreciation for the history and culture.
    — Particularly, I feel like ‘West Virginia Coal Mining Disaster.’ The narrator of the song never gives any clues about where this particular disaster happened, so it stands in for all of them.

  • Ghost Riders in the Sky. This is specifically something I want to do for the aeolian crwth I’m designing is supposed to give an impression of what it is like to stand in the middle of the wild hunt, where you’re not being chased or doing the chasing, you’re just observing. I’m in the process of gathering parts and figuring out what sounds I can get with materials that are easy to access.

  • 80s and 90s Sandi Patty music. I’m not religious, so my inspiration just the maximum! excitement! of these songs. They aren’t dripping with pathos, they are perpetually submerged in it.

1 Like
5

Amazing! Hope to see you play somewhere, sometime

1 Like
6

I’m planning to make some videos and music files to publish online. I’ll likely do an audio recording first of me reciting the middle Welsh version of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed.

I have a lot of organization that needs to get done before I can make videos. I’ll probably try out harp videos first, because the harp just sounds so beautiful even if the player isn’t very skilled. I also have STL’s dragonzord ocarina, and I want to mix that together with the harp version of the Power Rangers themesong.

I do want to focus much more on 12th century Welsh music, but that’s harder for me to access. I enjoy the bardcore genre, so I’m starting there.

Also, I started playing the cello sometime last year to gain a background in string music, in preparation for learning the crwth. I’ve talked with Glenn Braun about commissioning a medieval-style horsehair bow for my cello, because I love using the one that came with the crwth so much more. I’ll be excited to share that once I have it and have practiced enough with it.

I have ADHD and a great deal of time, so I always have oodles of things I’m working on. I’ve got a neocities page I’m working on to document all of it - but that’s the part I’m not great at actually getting to. Neocities is a modern version of Geocities, so it is easy to achieve a web 1.0 vibe.

7

Here’s my finished first attempt. Slashes denote explicitation, writing out what is implied by the sentence fragments.

Twysogion Y Bydysawd | Princes of the Universe

Intro

  1. Yma ein ni, geni i bod brenhinoedd.
    Here we are, born to be kings.

  2. Ni yw’r Twysogion y Bydysawd.
    We’re the princes of the universe

  3. Yma dyn ni, yn ymladd goroesaf
    Here we belong, fighting to survive

  4. Mewn byd gyda’r pŵeroedd tywyllwch, hei!
    In a world with the darkest powers, hey!

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 1]

  1. Yma dyn ni, dyn ni’n Twysogion y Bydysawd
    And here we are, we’re the princes of the universe

  2. Dyma ni perthyn, yn ymladd i goroesi
    Here we belong, fighting for survival

  3. Dyn ni wedi ddod i bod y rheolwyr eich byd
    We’ve come to be the rulers of your world

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 2]

  1. Anfaroledig dw i, mae gen i tu mewn i mi’r gwaed brenhinoedd (ie ie)
    I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings (yeah, yeah)

  2. Does gen i ddim (cystadleuydd?), dim dyn gallu fy (____)
    I have no rival, no man can be my equal

  3. Ewch â fi i’r ffutur o dy byd.
    Take me to the future of your world

[Chorus]

  1. /Oedden ni/ Gael eu geni i fod yn frenhinoedd, Twysogion y Bydysawd
    /We were/ Born to be kings, princes of the universe

  2. /Dw i/ Yn ymladd ac yn rhydd, mae dy fyd yn fy llaw
    /I am/ Fighting and free, got your world in my hand

  3. Yma dw i am dy caru ac byddai’n sefyll fy nhir
    I’m here for your love and I’ll make my stand

  4. Oedden ni ngeni i fod Tywysogion y Bydysawd
    We were born to be princes of the universe

[Bridge]

  1. Dim dyn ddim fydda e gallu deall, mae geni fy pŵer mewn fy hun llaw.
    No man could understand, my power is in my own hand

(Ŵŵ, Ŵŵ, Ŵŵ, Ŵŵ)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

  1. (Mae pobl siarad ar ti, mae pobl ddweud fod ti wedi gen dy dydd.)
    (People talk about you, people say you’ve had your day)

  2. Dyn dw i bod fyddai’n mynd bell
    I’m a man that will go far

  3. /Bydda i’n/ Ffeindio y’r lleuad ag estyn am y sêr
    Find the moon and reach for the stars

  4. Gyda fy cledd a fy mhen ddal yn uchel
    With my sword and head held high

  5. /Mae/ rhaid i fi i basio’r prawf, ie
    /I’ve/ Got to pass the test first time, yeah

  6. Dw i’n gwybod fod pobl siarad am i fi, dw i’n ei glwyd bob dydd
    I know that people talk about me, I hear it every day

  7. Ond dw i’n gallu eich profi anghywir, achos dw i’n cywiro prif y tro cyntaf
    But I can prove them wrong, 'cause I’m right first time

[Interlude]

  1. Ie, ie, iawn
    Yeah, yeah, alright

  2. Dyn ni’n mynd, dyn ni’n mynd, ha-ha!
    Let’s go, let’s go, ha-ha!

  3. Ie, /ti/ gwylior dyn hwn yn hedfan
    Yeah, /you/ watch this man fly, whoo!

  4. Dod y hogan, dewch ar, dewch ar, dewch ar
    Bring on the girls, come on, come on, come on

[Pre-Chorus]

  1. Yma dyn ni’n bod (yma dyn ni’n bod)
    Here we are (here we are)

  2. /Oedden ni/ ngeni i fod frenhinoedd
    /We were/ Born to be kings

  3. Ni yw’r Tywysogion y Bydysawd.
    We’re the princes of the universe

  4. Dyma ni perthyn.
    Here we belong

[Chorus]

  1. /Oedden ni/ Gael eu geni i fod yn frenhinoedd, Tywysogion y Bydysawd
    /We were/ Born to be kings, princes of the universe

2./Dw i/ Yn ymladd ac yn rhydd, mae dy fyd yn fy llaw
/I am/ Fighting and free, got the world in my hands

  1. Yma dw i am dy caru ac byddai’n sefyll fy nhir
    I’m here for your love and I’ll make my stand

  2. Oedden ni gael eu geni i fod yn Tywysogion y Bydysawd
    We were born to be princes of the universe

  3. Bydysawd, bydysawd, bydysawd
    (Universe, universe, universe)

1 Like
8

Great song choice.

1 Like
9

Finally, here is my best first draft attempt:

Captain Planet translation: A straightforward translation of the Captain Planet theme song, with some notes for the eventual goal of stripping the song into parts and then developing a historically-inspired interpretation.

Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart!
Dear! Tân! Gwynt! Dŵr! Calon!

Go Planet!
Ewch Planed!

By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!
*Pan i chi cyunaf pŵerau, Capten Planed dw i!

Earth!
Dear!

Fire!
Tân

Wind!
Gwynt!

Water!
Dŵr!

Heart! GO PLANET!
Galon! Ewch PLANED!

(With your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!)
(Efo dych pŵerau casglu, Capten Planed dw i!)

Captain Planet! He’s a hero!
Capten Planed! Mae e ein harwr ni!
Archaic: Capten Planed! Mae e ein harwron ni!

/He is/ Gonna take pollution down to zero!
Mae e’n mynd i gostwng llygredd i sero
Archaic: Fe ddwg bob llygredd i ddim

He’s our powers magnified
Mae e pŵerau [?]
Ef yw e in grymoedd wedi’u mwyhau
Ef yw e in grymoedd wedi’u mwyhau.
Archaic: Ef yw ein grym ni wedi’i fwyhau

And he’s fighting on the planet’s side
Ag mae e brwydraft ar y’r ochr planedau!

Captain Planet! He’s a hero!
Capten Planed! Mae e’n ein harwr ni!
Archaic: Capten Planed! Mae e’n ein harwron ni!

Gonna take pollution down to zero!
Mae e’n mynd i gostwng llygredd i sero
Archaic: Fe ddwg bob llygredd i ddim

Gonna help him put asunder
Fe’i helpwn i’w gyrru ar hollti
Alternative: Cynorthwywn ef i dryllio
[Hollti - split, cleave, rend, sever, shatter, make forked]
[Dryllio - to cut up, break in to pieces, shatter, crush, destroy, subdue]
(Note: Probably a little more violent than what was intended in the original, which is what my eventual reinterpretation will lean towards.)

Bad guys who like to loot and plunder
Bois drwg sy’n hoff i’n dwyn ac ysbeilio
Alternatives: Dihirod hoff y ysbeilio
[Pobl drwg - bad people] [Lladron - thieves]

Archaic: [Drwgweithredwyr - wrong-doers/evildoers]

(You’ll pay for this Captain Planet!)
(Bydd i di’n talu i hwn Capten Planed!)

We’re the Planeteers! You can be one too!
Ni yw’r Planedwyr! Gelli di fod yn un hefyd!
Archaic: Gelli dithau fod yn un!

'Cause saving our planet is the thing to do!
'Achos achub y blaned yw’r peth i’w wnedu!
Archaic: Canys achub y blaned yw’r peth i’w wneud!

Looting and polluting is not the way
Ysbeillio a llygru - nid dyna’r ffordd (Looting and polluting - that’s not the way.)

Hear what Captain Planet has to say!
Clywech beth sy’n Captain Planet cael i ddweud!

(The power is YOURS!)
(Chi biau’r pŵer!)
Alternative: (Chi biau’r grym!)

10

Here are my next planned translations to work on:

Ghost Riders in the Sky (Johnny Cash)
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
The Mariner’s Revenge (The Decembrists)
Blood on the Saddle (old cowboy song with contested origin)
Eagle and the Hawk (John Denver)
From a Distance (Julie Gold)

Songs by Shayfer James:

  • Battlecry
  • Hatchets
  • Where We Belong
  • Godspeed

Theme songs for He-man and She-ra, along with the closing credits song ‘I have the power,’ from 'The secret of the Sword, music from the Christmas special, and from the 2018 She-ra show.

I’m very excited about Ghost Riders in the Sky, because I think it would sound amazing on the crwth.

2 Likes
11

Oh man, Ghost Riders in the Sky played on the crwth sounds like an absolute masterpiece waiting to happen! That and the Gordon Lightfoot track are going to be fantastic projects. Keep up the awesome translation work!

2 Likes
12

I’m especially excited about the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald because it contains a reference to Lake Ontario (aka what some badly behaved adult children are calling the ‘Lake of America.’). Every little touchpoint of reality that can’t be denied is important right now. There is an amazing man who turns protests against ICE into dance parties, dressed as a giraffe in a thong. That’s inspiring me to bring out my harp and cello when it comes time to vote, and make the atmosphere joyful.

Ghost Riders In The Sky: I really hope one day to try and make a bass crwth. My understanding is the example of crwths we have now were captured at the end of the crwth’s popularity, and that we don’t know what other forms the crwth might have taken.
I’ve been learning about helmholtz resonators and other weird sound physics stuff. I feel like working this in to a crwth that specializes in deep notes would be phenomenal for any ‘wild hunt’ related song. Given how many other projects I’m excited about, I’ll assume that might be 20 years down the road - but well worth the effort.

Anyway, a fun update for me: I found an app called ScoreCloud Express that does a decent job transcribing down individual notes that are sung. This should really speed up the process of me setting up arrangements for the harp. That’s good motivation to get more translations done.

Also, I’ve been practicing almost every day the fast harp picking techniques from Bill Taylor’s excellent little condensed pamphlet: Bill Taylor - Harpist | Fingernail Techniques Booklet
I can’t wait to attack some 80s/early90s guitar rock with these.

I feel like I could start recording some things now to put online, but it’s hard to find the time when I’m much more excited about sitting down and playing the instruments. My crwth is starting to not sound like a herd of screeching cats and walruses, which makes it so much more enjoyable. XD

2 Likes
13

You really do need to do that! There’s quite a number of us, I’m sure, who are very curious to hear how this is all going. It sounds amazing!

2 Likes