I have always loved this fun song, especially helpful with the Welsh lyrics. I wondered if anyone has the English lyrics? I get the gist about fine food, wine and good company but it would be good to understand it all.
I’m sure we can throw something together via crowd-sourcing. I don’t have time to translate it all, but I can start us off with the chorus:
Because we’re all running like rats
If you have half an hour, flatter me
And remember the same old things that worry everyone
But we’re all soil in the end
Oh life is so fine
The taste of grapes is strong in the wine
and the company is good
Hey! Finlandia! I was very confused the first time I heard this in Welsh The video I saw didn’t have Finlandia in the title and it took me very long to realise why it sounded so familiar.
Thank you very much for taking the time to do the chorus. That’s the bit I sing the most! It’s a great catchy tune, one of those you can’t get out of your head!
I guess Sebona Fi is something like soap me, lather me?
I once heard Yws trying to explain on the radio that he was using the verb seboni not literally but in the sense of flatter or indulge. I think the sense of the English soft-soap might be related: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soft-soap
Yes, that is the case. Of course, brass bands grew up in the industrial parts of England as well, but the male choirs were much more of a Welsh thing. I guess they were extensions of the chapel tradition, and the much more ancient singing traditions that the Welsh are famous for. Even Gerallt Gymro (1146 - 1223) pointed out that if two Welsh people sang, they would never both sing the tune…
I remember hearing that brass instruments were great for the creativity of industrial workers, owing to the nice chunky size of the valves and slides (for trombones) and also the need for some strong lung power. I guess that lung power and control has a part to play in choir singing, also.
Going back to bands and Churches/Chapels - fair play to the Salvation Army, for its part in this in Wales.