Lyrics again - Arlington Way (English version)

Again just because someone asked and I really like doing this when I can...


Arlington Way
Arlington Way whose idea was it anyway to stay the night out of sight out of mind?
Once in a lifetime a dream must come true I'd be heading there with you
with a spring in the step and a lightness of being and we'd be walking in the door
Arlington way go down to the place do it if you want to - I don't need to know your business
no plan of attack no turning back nobody did it quite as good as you
  
A coin falls to the dance floor it shines in the bright light
uncertain what I wish for heads, you know that tails, I want you back

Once in a lifetime a dream must come true I'd be standing there with you
with a beat in the heart and a mind on the good times and you'd be holding out for more

Nobody said it would be easy nobody said it couldn't come true
nobody said it could feel so natural I don't need to know your business
no plan of attack no turning back nobody did it quite as good as you

You came, you saw you offered me more than I could take  oh I've changed
I won't make the same mistake again but this ain't time for the heavy..


For the Welsh lyric to this song, and the rest of the album, see here:
Paid Edrych Y Lawr

Don't Look Down - lyrics in other languages.

Arlington Way

Arlington way syniad pwy oedd e anyway, i aros y nos, trwy'r nos, heb un co

unwaith mewn bywyddaw na freuddwyd yn wir, mi fyddai'n cerdded gyda ti

yn ysgafn fy ngham a lliwiau mhobv man a by ni'n camu mewn drwy'r drws

Arlington Way, cer lawr i'r lle, na fe os ti isie

sa'i byth angen dallt dy fusnes, dim ystryw i mi, dwi'n iawn ar fi hun

ond doedd na neb oedd yn gystal a thi

swllt yn syrthio at y parfin, ac yn troelli yn y man,

sa'i byth yn gwybod heth i ddymuno-pen? ti'n gweld taw (cynffon)... ti y'wr un

unwaith mewn bywyd daw na freuddwyd yn wir mi fyddai'n cerdded mewn da ti,

gyda chalon yn curo a dyddiau da i'w cofio a by ni'n aros mas tan hwyr

wnaeth neb ddweud y byddai n teimlo mor natoriol

dim ystryw i mi, dwi'n iawn ar fy hyn ond doedd na neb oedd gystal â thi

ne ti ddod a dweud fod na lot mwy i'w wneud nac a wyddwn i

but it's not the same... it's not the same, a na'i byth bod mor ffôl

ond does dim amser nawr ar ôl

naeth neb ddweud y byddai'n hawdd naeth neb dweud na ellid ei wneud

neb i ddweud y byddai'n teimlo mor naturiol

Mae Angen Llong Ar Capten

Dwy law yn erfyn a mi ges fy bun ar lannau'r afon Nil

paid edrych lan a phaid edrych i lawr on ir a goll ac on i braidd ar ddi-hun

galwodd rhywun am ambiwlans clywes i'r rhybydd yn uchel a'n ghr

a phlymiais i mewn i'r dwr yn ddwfn ac anelu an y ffin

dyw e ddim mor anodd ar anorfio gydar llif

pan wyt ti ynghanol breuddwydion hâf neu canol dydd

mae angen awel ar longwr er mewn morio drwy dywydd gwael

mae angen awel ar longwr er mwyn hwylio o lan i lan

mae blodau'r Delta'n tyfi'n hadau mae'r gwair yn tyfu'n wyllt

ond ei di fyth i'r nefoedd os arhosi d'in rhy hir os mynni di fyw am byth

mae'n bryd rhoi'r ffidil yn y to, gwnest dy wely meddai'r Capten

ond allai ddim gwneud hyn a ni alla'i wneudy llall os dwi yn gaeth yn Argae Aswann

paid edrych lan a phaid edrych i lawr paid gweneud hwna a phaid gweneud y llall.

Carolina

Nawr ti'n dweud bo ti'n gadael i weld y byd, a gweld y cefnfor maith

wnai ddim crio na na, na byth difaru dim gof yn lle wyt ti chwaith

mae llgad yr haul ar Carolina mae'n disgleirio i lawr ar Tupelo

na'i ofalu am y deryn a'r gwenyn i gyd a naiff fy meddwl ddim crwydro nôl,

ddim crwydro yn ôl atat ti. Ac os ddoi o hyd i ti ar ddiwrnod da

yr awyr yn las, neb i gwyno'n gas yn gadarn a chywir ar ochr y bryn gydag afon yn ei lli a Luciano y ci

os mai dyna ti moy'n, pacia dim fag, s'dim angen nodyn,

cet at t drws,'drycha' nôl am un tro arall tro'r golau mas

cym un cam at y chwith ac un arall at y dde a cherdda i ffwrdd.

Y Corryn ar Pry

Dwi an ddangos paradwys i ti, meddai'r corryn wrth y pry, ti am aros da fi: mynd â chwmpawd drwy'r ddinas

fyddai'n disgwyl na a ti, i ddangod y ffordd dwi am droi y gofod rhyngon a'i wneud e yn gan gradd,

am i ni fod da'n gilydd, wyt ti'n barod am noson fel hon?

os rhoi di bobleth sy gen ti, fe gei di bopeth sy gen i a cchymaint nwy

maen cymryd dau i neud y Tango mae gennym wahaniaethau mowr, ti byth yn gof yn dim,

dwi am droi y gofod rhyngom a'i wneud e yn dan dradd, am i ni fod da'n gylidd,

wyt ti'n barod am noson fel hon? fel hon? fflaau yn fy mhen, fy mer, fy nghalonn, fy enaid,

tyrd yn gosach, gad i mi deimlo dy fysedd arna i, fflamau, fflamau, fflamau.

Y Gwydr Argyfwng

Pam nad wyf fi'n dy gredu pam ti'n dweud dy fod di angen fi?

ti oedd y cyntaf i gyrraedd fel rhyw Twm Sion Cati ag os ma ngho i'n gweithio o hyd

mi o ti'n angel ar y penffordd ond yn ddiafol ar y pentan

o ro tin dda ac y barod... i dynnu pen o'i ysgwyddai a rhoi'r drwg yn y caws

ne nes ti neud? be nes to neud? arhosaf ar fy ochr i or dref

yn ara deg mae mynd ymhell ond calon wan sy'n dod heb ymdrech

a gwydr argyfwng syn galw arna i rhoddaf gic a'i chwalu cofn pawb ar ei domen ei hun

pam nad wyf fi'n dy gredu pan ti'n dweud dy fod ti'n caru fi

gwell peidia dweud y gair bach, gwell pedio meddwl am y peth

a bydd e btth amharu ar neb. Mi wn taw bachgen y wlad wyt ti,

wel, merch y wlad wyf fi, torra di wallt yn hir

dy hyn yn werth dim byd ond d-fe ddawnsiaf wrth adael y ty...

Lleuad Gwener

Daeth Lleuad Gwener yn rhy gynnar fe syrthiais I a gwrthod yn hyn oedd ddim gen I

rhyw gynllun gwael, y gwey'n oer, aros yn hwyr a gwylio sothach ar y teledu

am galon lân fy nhim fy hun, am fwy o graiad o llai o siriad gwan

rhyw gynllun oer, rhy gyflym o hyd. aros yn gwely a gwylio rhaglenni gwag

o hyd ac o hyd yn aros anm y dyddiau da

a hyd ac o hyd yn aros am hwyl gwell na hyn.

I Drive, Adref

Un dydd arall i ffeindio'r amser i sgrifennu rhestr,

i groesi un peth mas wedyn ychwanegu rhywbeth arall

na'i ware'r gitar am funed and dyw e byth yn ddigion a dwi'n gorffen y gân heb ei offen

ac yn cerdded i'r mailbox - des in gyfarwydd a hwnna

a gobeithio bydd na ddim dyledion i dalu,

dwi'n gyrru  ffindo llythyren ac yn agor yr amlemn...

Cyfarchion o'r gogledd pam na ddoi di adref?

mae Maine yn oer amser yma'r  flwyddyn ond na'i cadw'r tân yn llosgi..

dwi'n gyrru a dwi'n gyrru, tryd adref

Dydd Mercher , a mae'r plant yn ar ysgol, dyma'r diwrnod cyntaf mewn saith mis i

mi fod ar ben fy hyn a sai'n really gwybod beth i neud...

dyma fi'n mynd i siopa. Siopa dim credit yw e le chi'n prynu pethe wedyn mynd a nhw nôl at y siop

syn grêt tan i chi sylweddoli faint o wastraff amser yw'ch bywyd i gyd, am beth i fi'n disgwl?

am rhywun i alw? pwy? o le? wi'n mynd nôl at y car a dwi'n gyrru undrhyw le

o le i le.... o be i beth?

Evelyn

Drwy y coed fe ffeindiodd hi ei ffordd drwy y dail yn araf ei lliwiau hi a drodd. does dim dryll wrth dy

gefn i'th fygwth di nawr: dyw lladd ddim yn gelfyddyd, oriau a wyr cadw rhag lladd dy galon, ei lladd yn

llywr, ac edrychais ar yr haul, sy'n boddir lawr... fe ddoi di a theimaid newydd... Evelyn.

Tryw'r Drych

Os wyt ti am droedio'r ddear hon, paid dweud, cymer bwyll, gad i dy lygaid arfer â'r goleun

Os wyt ti am droedio'r ddear hon, paid dweud, cymer bwyll, gad i dylygaid arfer â'r goleun

dere'n ara deg Os wyt ti am droedio'r ddacar hon, paid siarad, cymer bwyll

yn dy sgidie gwaith, dilyn yr un daith yna'n droeon

dere'n ara deg dere'n ara deg, (dere'n ara deg ataf i),

rho di ben ar fy nghlun, dy groen ar f'un i,

dy wallt fel y frân. Ddu fel y frân na wyddai erioed am y te rfyn.

Awyrennau

Di awyrennau'n gwneud dim byd i mi dim ond dy weld di a dwi mhell bell i fwrdd

cer âfi i'r un cyfeiriad a dwi'n codi i lle danni'n dau'n cwrdd

ac mea'n ffordd hir lawr pan ti mor bell o'r llawr ac yn bradu bob awr

Di awyrennau'n gwneud dim byd i mi dim ond dy weld di a dwi mhell bell i fwrdd

rho rhyw losin melys imi ac fe gei di bob dim sy ar y bwrdd

ista, ymlacia, ewn yn rhydd anghofia dy flinderau am weddill y dydd

at mae'n ffordd hir lawr pan ti mor bell o'r llawr ac yn bradu bob awr

awyren trên a cheir a chychod di-ri, falle âi ero, un-waith

o ddod a thi yn nes i mi, o ddod â thi yn nes.

Orenau i Florida

Mor ddu a'r môr ar brynhawn ystormus

yn corddi fel corwynt yn dy ymyl fe gerddais,

a son am forladron, mewn trefydd newydd morwyr suddedig a llygaid alaeth

ac fe gerddais yn dy ymyl ne imi beidio, nes imi beidio clywed dy lais

orenau i Florida blodau i Amsterdam gwnaiff dydd o dristwch arall

ddim yn helpu deall pam hydd diwrnod arall o ymaladd

ddim  yn trochi'r eira, orenau  i Florida a moroedd i Galilea

mae'n rhydd cymysgu anrhefn gyda'r bai a'da'ni'n gwneud

mae cariad ym mhob maddeuant, ynysoedd colledig yn arnofio ymhell or lan

milltiroedd a milltiroedd yn arnofio i rywle yn dweud rywbeth ond mae'r ystyr ar goll i fi nawr

orenau i Florida blodau  i Amsterdam gwnaiff dydd  o dristwch arall

ddim gwneud i fi ddeal pam, diwrnod arall o frwydro a'n cantref newydd yn fflam

orenau i Florida a blodau i Amsterdam.

Y Creyr

Fe ddihunodd creyr ym dyhem am goffi, roedd e hanner ffordd

adre felly arhosodd am sbel i brynu cylchgrawn i wybod popeth wrth ddarllen ei gylchgrawn

Ac fe ddaeth hi fewn fel corwynt o egni yn goesau diderfyn a'n sodlau i gyd

am beth wyt ti'n chwilie? Mae bob dim yma'n fy myd

dyweda be ti moi'n pam ti ar bigau'r drain? gad i fi ddywn y dagrau o dy lygaid

ti'n lico swn gitar wrth i ti grwydro mhobman

wyt ti di bod ir Parthenon? ti di bod i India? ti di bod i Manchester?

Ond ai'r gadael fynd yw'r hyn sy'n bwysig?

Dw I'n gwastraffu oriau yn syllu ar wynebau cylchgronnau

yn esgus taw'r  ffasiynau sydd ore, nawr dy fod di'n addor cwbwl I fi

meddianna fi, am i fi brofi blas dy addewid, ond Duw nid oes benadur

Fe wedoedd y creyr dy fod yn y man iawn ti'n lico swn gitar wrth i ti grwydro polman

wyt ti di bod ir Parthenon? ti di bod i Africa? wyt di ti clywed am Salif Keita? ti di bod ar afon y Seine,

a clywed y diafol yn gwaith Skip James? Ond ai'r gadael fynd yw'r hyn sy'n bwysig?

dwi'n gwastraffu oariau ag oriau yn syllu ar wynebau perffaith cylchgronnau

Dw I ddim am godi gwrychyn ond mae'n ffordd rhyfedd i fynd ar drws

gorau yw'r ur sy'n dy gau allan fel y gwynt

cana'r record ac efallai fe ddywedi di riau, fel hen benillion ond y gwir sydd orau

Fe ddisgleiria'r haul yn y gornel dywylla , rhaid gwneud y pethau pwysig yn y fagddu weithiau

Bydd dim diwedd i'r ddefod - na phryn oni bydd angen

ond diawch ferch ti'n gwneud i fi ganu fel hen gytgan.

My incentive is that I will now reward myself by buying her latest album, Tir (2010), which is a recording of sixteen traditional songs and therefore available in Welsh only.

And, odd though that may seem, it is actually still some real incentive.

What next? Well some more from Latitude 2010, including a whole lot of Americana, perhaps?  And some rock and then who knows...

Memories Live Longer Than Dreams --- Don't Look Down

It is something of a change, to say the least, to go to a gig with a group of friends. That was Bellowhead at the Cheese & Grain in Frome yesterday evening and what a show it was. I can quite truthfully say that I haven't seen one obviously better this year, and not for want of trying either, but personal preference might play a part. I have however seen a few that run it close, which only serves to show just how fortunate I have been, and it was on my doorstep! It was so good to have company that I never even thought to take any pictures, let alone take the measures needed to stand a chance of getting anything worthwhile, and I don't regret it for a moment.

The title of the post is however double-edged - it is also that of the final installment of the Leyland Kirby double-vinyl trilogy - and yes, I have! Now that is dealt with I think it time for another more sensible, or simply more varied, selection of new music I want.

That however is not a prospect that is going to test me any less...

From The Outside Looking In - Glastonbury 2009

There has been some fuss in the press today. It is said that the BBC spent as much at £5 million on their coverage of Glastonbury across TV, radio and on-line. How many millions do they spend annually on soaps and sport, none of which I watch? I don't watch much TV as a rule, but I certainly still pay the same licence fee. This weekend I watched enough to almost make it worth it alone. I'm not saying that everyone should feel the same way but I'd like to thank the BBC - this is precisely the never-ending dilemma faced by a public-service broadcaster. Please stick to your guns...

This must be also true of choosing acts for a festival but from all accounts it was quite some festival, even by it's own standards. There was rain, and the concomitant mud, but only in reasonable proportions and would it be the same without it?

Starting as it didn't go on... Friday dawns over one of the many camp sites.

The festival atmosphere should electrify but someone left the charger on too long. By lunch time on Friday the sun had appeared and so it remained for all three days! Thanks to all the aforementioned BBC coverage I soon came to one conclusion - I should have tried to get a ticket!

I thought all three headline acts were excellent and enjoyed every moment of each. What however impressed more was just how much the newer acts were gathering coverage and large crowds. The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs - though not very new as they recently released their third LP, It's Blitz, were show-stopping. Three genuinely new artists in 2009 were:

La Roux, whose début album would have been a run-away at the top of the UK charts on Sunday were it not for the demise of Michael Jackson. As it was it made #2, which was an incredible result for the duo of Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid and single 'In For The Kill' has already become one of the signature sounds of 2009.

Little Boots was another obvious winner and also deservedly so I think.

The third artist that I put in this category will be no surprise either, even though that first album, 'Lungs', is not physically released until this coming Monday (in the UK). Florence and The Machine were simply on another planet.

It would be hard to persuade anyone who had come across them for the first time, that fifteen months ago they were almost unknown outside South London. As well as the main set, which was on TV, they also recorded an acoustic BBC6 Music Hub Session on Friday:

BBC6 Music DJ was Cerys Matthews and she joined them for a duet with Florence Welch.

It is supposed to be summer... Virtual Festival 1

It's the 4th July - which is just another day here in the UK, but it is supposed to be a summer day. Is that so? - fat chance!
Worse still, the radio stations have gone to pot as well. It is, and this is clearly an import from the US, the 'High School Prom' season and while that is a fairly recent import in the UK calendar, and with which I do not have a problem, I really wonder if what the radio stations have decided to play "in honor" bears a resemblance to any contemporary trend!
It seems to consist mostly of pop and disco ballads from 1975 -1988, which were all released far before the current protagonists were born. I'm not against the revival of old music, far from it in fact, but I think that this programming is actually aimed at an older audience - probably the parents of those school-leavers.

The radio was turned off early this evening and the advantage of having a sizable music collection of my own, whether currently in vogue or not, became very apparent and I'm old enough to make my own bad choices in music! I did think about the possibility of doing a mid-year 'favourites' list but have decided to do something different over the next few days and that is to try and decide which acts would appear, if I were arranging a festival line-up this so-called summer, and I will exclude any act that I have already seen performing live.

Every festival needs at least one infectious feel-good band and this would be my first choice:

This is a live DVD, recorded at Pure Groove in London in 2008.

In the last couple of years the seemingly impossible has happened and the UK has taken at least some notice of 'country music' if only in the cross-over formats. That said, this has to be one of the most improbable artists to play a part in that change...

This is a promo copy (PROP 05309) of Cock A Hoop (2003).

Since then she has returned to Wales and, as she is bilingual, may well reappear later in this list.

Wales, Welsh artists, and the Welsh language...

Just about thirty miles from here as the crow flies lies a country that has produced at least its fair share of well known popular artists of many genres. Here are a few that come to mind, in no particular order: Shirley Bassey, Aled Jones, The Automatic, Lostprophets, Super Furry Animals, Charlotte Church, Catatonia, The Stereophonics, Tom Jones, Goldie Lookin' Chain, The Manic Street Preachers... and so the list goes on.
They all of course hail from Wales but what few of them do is sing in Welsh. [Just in case anyone here is confusing Welsh accents or dialect (of English) I'm referring to the Welsh language here - that which sounds, and if seen written, seems about as familiar as would Finnish for example.] I'm already on record as saying that I have no problem with foreign language music and I've mentioned one Welsh language artist already...

Well, if you are curious to hear what modern Welsh language music sounds like I have two more you might care to listen to!

Cerys Matthews, formerly the lead singer with Catatonia in the late 1990s has released two solo albums - Cock A Hoop (2003) and Never Said Goodbye (2006), on which only the occasional track is sung in Welsh - but she is however well known as a collector of traditional Welsh language songs. I have just learned today of her forthcoming EP, entirely sung in Welsh. I haven't heard it as yet, but I'm working on getting a copy. It is entitled Awyren (Aeroplane) and is due to be released on 15th October 2007 on Cardiff-based label 'Kung Fu Records'.

Then there is Cate Le Bon, who is yet another artist I saw live at Latitude 2007. Like Gwenno Saunders and Cerys Matthews she is a native of South Wales and is bilingual. She is also fine writer of what some reviewers have labelled nu-folk - a term I don't actually particularly like and indie-alt-folk is probably far better if rather clumsy. What sets her apart from most is that she writes and sings pretty much equally in Welsh and English. She was the second act on the 'Lake Stage', promoted by BBC Radio 1, on Sunday with a set consisting of four tracks sung in English followed by another four sung in Welsh and, if truth be told, they were all very good. The relatively small crowd was probably a result of the collective hangover that can come from two full days spent at a festival... I've since read more glowing reports and she's definitely one to watch in 2007/8.

Apart from singing she mostly plays guitar, but sometimes keyboards and it is rumoured, but I never saw it myself, drums. Her début album, Pet Deaths, is due out before too long. Rumour has it that this may actually be preceded by a Welsh-language EP.

She seems to have the support of young fans too...

These three girls spent the whole set utterly absorbed in the music, probably planning their future careers, and as I left for the Obelisk Stage in order to catch The Hoosiers they were busy "interviewing" the camera operator for good measure!