The Bells of Rhymney
Rhymney is known to many outside of Wales due to folk singer Pete Seeger's song "The Bells of Rhymney". The lyrics to the song are drawn from a poem by Idris Davies who was born in Rhymney in 1905. The poem was first published in Davies' 1938 anthology Gwalia Deserta. The poem was inspired by the failure of the 1926 General Strike and by the Marine Colliery disaster of 1 March 1927. In addition to Rhymney, the poem also refers to the bells of Merthyr, Rhondda, Blaina, Caerphilly, Neath, Brecon, Swansea, Newport, Cardiff and the Wye Valley.
The song has been covered by a number of acts over the years, including Judy Collins, Cher, The Alarm, The Ian Campbell Folk Group, John Denver, Robyn Hitchcock, Oysterband and Ralph McTell. Arguably the most widely known rendition of the song, however, was that recorded by the American band The Byrds for their 1965 album Mr. Tambourine Man.
Read more about this topic: Rhymney
Famous quotes containing the word bells:
“These days of disinheritance, we feast
On human heads. True, birds rebuild
Old nests and there is blue in the woods.
The church bells clap one night in the week.
But that’s all done. It is what used to be....”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)