Willy o'Winsbury (ft. Iestyn Tyne)

from The Bitter by Cerys Hafana

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about

Traditional Scottish ballad; Child Ballad 100

'Caru Merch Fonheddig' ('Loving a Noble Woman')- Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1315/1320 – c. 1350/1370)

lyrics

The king had been a prisoner / At a prison long in Spain
And Willy of the Winsbury / Has lain long with his daughter at home
“What ails you, what ails you, my daughter Jane / Why look you so pale and wan?
Have you had any sore sickness / Or yet been sleeping with a man?”

“Cast off, cast off your berry-brown gown / You stand naked upon the stone
That I may know you by your shape / If you be a maiden or none.”
And she’s cast off her berry-brown gown / She stood naked upon the stone
Her apron was low and her haunches were round / Her face was pale and wan.

“Was it a lord or a duke or a knight / Or a man of birth and fame
Or was it with one of my serving men / That’s lately come out of Spain.”
“No it wasn’t with a lord nor a duke or a knight / Nor a man of birth and fame
But it was with Willy of Winsbury / I could hide no longer alone.”

The king has called on his merry men all / By thirty and by three
Sa ying “Fetch me this Willy o’Winsbury / For hanged he shall be.”
But when he came the king before / He was clad all in the red silk
His hair was like the strands of gold / His skin was as white as the milk.

“And it is not a wonder” said the king / “That my daughter’s love you did win
For if I was a woman, as I am a man / My bedfellow you would have been.”
“Now will you marry my daughter Jane / By the truth of your right hand?
Oh will you marry my daughter Jane, I’ll make you the lord of my land.”

“Well yes, I’ll marry your daughter Jane / By the truth of my right hand
Well yes, I’ll marry your daughter Jane / But I’ll not be the lord of your land.”
He’s mounted her on a milk-white steed / Himself on a daple grey
He has made her the lady of as much land / As she shall ride in a long summer’s day.

credits

from The Bitter, released January 24, 2024
triple harp, vocals, percussion – Cerys Hafana
‘Caru Merch Fonheddig’ by Dafydd ap Gwilym – Iestyn Tyne
horns + cornetti – Elaine Turnbull

produced - Cerys Hafana
recorded - Mike West
additional recording - Cerys Hafana
mixed + mastered by Mike West (www.9thwardpickingparlor.com)

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Cerys Hafana Machynlleth, UK

Cerys Hafana is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who mangles, mutates, and transforms traditional music. She explores the creative possibilities and unique qualities of the triple harp, and is also interested in found sounds, archive materials and electronic processing. ... more

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