Ar Hyd y Nos

Ar Hyd y Nos (English: All Through the Night) is a Welsh folksong sung to a tune that was first recorded in Edward Jones' Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welsh Bards (1784). The Welsh lyrics were written by John Ceiriog Hughes, and have been translated into several languages, including English (most famously by Harold Boulton^[1]) and Breton. One of the earliest English versions was by Thomas Oliphant in 1862.^[2]

The melody was used by John Gay in The Beggar's Opera.^[3] It is also used in the hymn "Go My Children With My Blessing."

The song is highly popular with traditional Welsh male voice choirs, and is sung by them at festivals in Wales and around the world.^[3]

The song is also sometimes considered a Christmas carol, and as such has been performed by many artists on Christmas albums, including Olivia Newton-John and Michael McDonald, who sang it as a duet on Newton-John's 2007 album Christmas Wish. Cerys Matthews sang it solo on her 2010 album Tir.^[4]

American spiritual singer Anthony Brown recorded the English version by Sir Harold Boulton on his 2006 album Each Other's Light, Songs Of Peace, Hope And Justice.^[5]

"Ar Hyd Y Nos", recorded in 1899

Lyrics

Welsh[6] Holl amrantau'r sêr ddywedant Ar hyd y nos "Dyma'r ffordd i fro gogoniant," Ar hyd y nos. Golau arall yw tywyllwch I arddangos gwir brydferthwch Teulu'r nefoedd mewn tawelwch Ar hyd y nos. O mor siriol, gwena seren Ar hyd y nos I oleuo'i chwaer ddaearen Ar hyd y nos. Nos yw henaint pan ddaw cystudd Ond i harddu dyn a'i hwyrddydd Rhown ein golau gwan i'n gilydd Ar hyd y nos.

English All the stars' twinkles say All through the night "This is the way to the realm of glory," All through the night. Darkness is another light That exposes true beauty The Heavenly family in peace All through the night. O, how cheerful smiles the star, All through the night To light its earthly sister All through the night. Old age is night when affliction comes But to beautify man in his late days We'll put our weak light together All through the night.

Different English lyrics were written by Sir Harold Boulton in 1884 and set to the same tune.

Sleep my child and peace attend thee, All through the night Guardian angels God will send thee, All through the night Soft the drowsy hours are creeping Hill and vale in slumber steeping, I my loving vigil keeping All through the night. While the moon her watch is keeping All through the night While the weary world is sleeping All through the night O'er thy spirit gently stealing Visions of delight revealing Breathes a pure and holy feeling All through the night.

Variations

In an alternate version, the second verse is substituted with:

Angels watching ever round thee All through the night In thy slumbers close surround thee All through the night They will of all fears disarm thee, No forebodings should alarm thee, They will let no peril harm thee All through the night.[7]

Another alternate version features a more neutral, night song text:

Deep the silence 'round us spreading all through the night. Dark the path that we are treading all through the night. Still the coming day discerning by the hope within us burning. To the dawn our footsteps turning all through the night. Star of faith the dark adorning all through the night. Leads us fearless t'wards the morning all through the night. Though our hearts be wrapt in sorrow, from the hope of dawn we borrow promise of a glad tomorrow all through the night.[8]

Yet another alternate version of the second verse is as follows:

You my child a babe of wonder All through the night Dreams you dream can't break from thunder All through the night Through your dreams you're gently healing Visions of delight revealing Slumber time is so appealing All through the night

A. G. Prys-Jones wrote a more literal but still rhyming version:

Ev'ry star in heaven is singing All through the night, Hear the glorious music ringing All through the night. Songs of sweet ethereal lightness Wrought in realms of peace and whiteness; See, the dark gives way to brightness All through the night. Look, my love, the stars are smiling All through the night. Lighting, soothing and beguiling Earth's sombre plight: So, when age brings grief and sorrow, From each other we can borrow Faith in our sublime tomorrow, All through the night.

The tune is also used in the hymn "For the Fruit of All Creation" by Fred Pratt Green.^[9]

The first verse of Green's lyrics (used widely in the harvest season and at Thanksgiving) ends with these words:

"For the plowing, sowing, reaping, silent growth while we are sleeping, Future needs in earth's safekeeping, thanks be to God."

Cultural references

In music

• Ferdinand Ries used the tune and variations upon it in Ouverture bardique (WoO 24, 1815).
• British composer Cyril Scott used the tune for the first of his three British Melodies for piano (1912).
• The doo-wop group The Mystics, in the line-up that included Paul Simon (then recording at Jerry Landis) had a hit with a sped-up version.
• Peter, Paul and Mary sing a version on their lullaby album Peter, Paul and Mommy

In film

• The film Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage, features his character's wife singing the English version of the song to their child.
• An a cappella version of the song occurs very briefly at the end of the Vulcan/Volcano scene in Terry Gilliam's film, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, (1988) as Vulcan kisses Venus. It is assumed that the cyclopes/miners are the singers.
• Carter Burwell's soundtrack to the film, The General's Daughter, features a version of the tune played on a glockenspiel.
• In the 1945 film version of Emlyn Williams' The Corn Is Green, the children in the school are taught the English version.
• In the 1949 British Ealing comedy film, A Run for Your Money, starring Donald Houston, the song is sung at the Amateur Night performance and also heard as a theme on the train trip home.^[10]

In television

• The TV movie A Child's Christmas in Wales features the family singing the song towards the end of the film, but in English.
• In season 3 of the series Angel, the character Daniel Holtz is frequently heard singing the English version of this song.
• In the episode "Thursday's Child" in season 5 of Road to Avonlea, Alec King (played by Cedric Smith) sings the English version of this song to his son Daniel. However, the lullaby applies to everyone else awake in the household, given the recent bout of tuberculosis in the youngest daughter, Cecily, which has thrown the family into crisis.
• In the episode "Denial, Anger, Acceptance" of HBO's popular television show The Sopranos, Meadow Soprano and her choir sing the English version of the song, intercut with the mock execution of Christopher Moltisanti, and the real execution of Brendan Filone.

In video games

• Chapter IV of the 2015 video game The Order: 1886 features the Sir Harold Boulton lyrics of the folk song on a collectible wax cylinder in the psychiatric ward of The Royal London Hospital.

References

1. Krehbiel, Henry Edward, ed. Famous Songs. Cincinnati: John Church Co., 1902.
2. published in Welsh Melodies, With Welsh And English Poetry, by John Jones (Talhaiarn) & Thomas Oliphant. Author: John Thomas
3. Hywel, John (1987). Famous Songs of Wales/Caneuon Enwog Cymru. Penygroes, Caernarfon: Gwynn. ISBN 0-900426-60-8.
4. "TIR - Cerys Matthews - iTunes Preview". Rainbow City Records. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
5. "Each Other's Light, Songs of Peace, Hope and Justice - Anthony Brown - iTunes Preview". Brown, Anthony (2006). Retrieved 30 May 2013.
6. "Ar Hyd Y Nos/All Through The Night". Cymdeithas Madog. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
7. All Through the Night Translation, http://www.mcglaun.com/thru_night.htm
8. Free Sheet music of All through the night, http://www.labbe.de/liederbaum/index.asp?themaid=5&titelid=83
9. Hymnal "Praise for the Lord" #919, words copyright 1970 by Hope Publishing Co.
10. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041831/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd

External links

• Ar Hyd y Nos: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Verse and prose translations