Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau verse." <poem>The land of my fathers is dear unto me, Land of poets and singers, and people of stature, Its warring defenders, so gallant and brave, For freedom their life's blood they gave O land of the mountains, the bard's paradise, Whose precipice, valleys are fair to my eyes, Green murmuring forest, far echoing flood Fire the fancy and quicken the blood For tho' the fierce foeman has ravaged your realm, The old speech of Wales he cannot o'erwhelm, Our passionate poets to silence command, Nor banish the harp from your strand.</poem> "A more literal translation is:" The old land
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ("Eos Morlais"), one of the leading Welsh soloists of his day. It was increasingly sung at patriotic gatherings and gradually it developed into a national anthem. "Hen wlad fy nhadau" was also one of the first Welsh-language songs recorded when Madge Breese sang it on 11 March 1899, for the Gramophone Company, as part of the first recording in the Welsh language. In 1905, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" became the first national anthem to be sung at the start of a sporting event. Although crowds singing anthems during matches was commonplace, there was no precedent for the anthem to be