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Posted

A mate of mine, who has never seen a rugby game and has no interest, sent me this saying it was a very positive thing about rugby.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emPhXdwhQoE

didn’t have the heart to point out that it was actually at a soccer game v Austria and not a rugby game v Australia, but it is pretty fabulous anyway.

And that brought up a clip of Max Boyce. Sure some of you know him. My old man and I were huge fans. Saw him live in Brizzy when Wales toured one year (78 i think, lord spare me). Brilliant stuff. Singer/comedian/entertainer and welsh legend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-EKY7z_jeE

good way to start the day.

 

and liked this as well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iPqepdQhR8

 

Posted
13 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emPhXdwhQoE

didn’t have the heart to point out that it was actually at a soccer game v Austria and not a rugby game v Australia, but it is pretty fabulous anyway.

Glad you enjoyed this Ken.  It's an interesting song.  It's actually a protest song about you're beloved Maggie, and devastation to mining towns in Wales.    The translation is here

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/yma-o-hyd-still-here.html

Strangely with the the Welsh football team doing so well, and it offering a much more lucrative avenue out of poor communities, it's rapidly shrinking rugby player pools and there is a talent drain going on between the two sports.      There has been a real birth of pride within the football, the national anthem was largely mouthed in the football not so long ago, and now it's deafening.  also they are starting to resurrect hymns long gone from the rugby.   very strange indeed. 

Myfanwy is always a favourite of mine, and nothing could be more Welsh than the small valley town feel of the video

This singing of then anthem when we beat England 30-3  was also electric.    It sounded like the whole country was in the Millenium Stadium

 

Posted
5 hours ago, 99call said:

Glad you enjoyed this Ken.  It's an interesting song.  It's actually a protest song about you're beloved Maggie, and devastation to mining towns in Wales.    The translation is here

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/yma-o-hyd-still-here.html

Strangely with the the Welsh football team doing so well, and it offering a much more lucrative avenue out of poor communities, it's rapidly shrinking rugby player pools and there is a talent drain going on between the two sports.      There has been a real birth of pride within the football, the national anthem was largely mouthed in the football not so long ago, and now it's deafening.  also they are starting to resurrect hymns long gone from the rugby.   very strange indeed. 

Myfanwy is always a favourite of mine, and nothing could be more Welsh than the small valley town feel of the video

This singing of then anthem when we beat England 30-3  was also electric.    It sounded like the whole country was in the Millenium Stadium

not quite sure i'd describe her as my beloved maggie. the pros and cons perhaps for another day. 

but has any song ever been written in wales that was not about mining towns and depression? 

 

5 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

not quite sure i'd describe her as my beloved maggie. the pros and cons perhaps for another day. 

but has any song ever been written in wales that was not about mining towns and depression? 

i should add that i do have welsh blood. (some scottish and english and apparently possibly a touch of french was well). 

Posted
5 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

but has any song ever been written in wales that was not about mining towns and depression? 

Haha!  quite,  it's our natural inspiration

 

5 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i should add that i do have welsh blood. (some scottish and english and apparently possibly a touch of french was well). 

Sounds like you've got most of the most of the six nations tournament going on in the blood stream.  Especially with the Italians to be shown the door at some point. 

 

Max Boyce's 'Hymns and Arias' is still routinely sung in the crowd, as well as bread of heaven, but sadly you no longer hear other hymns at the rugby, seems to have died out from some reason, even with the language making a comeback. 

Posted
5 hours ago, 99call said:

Haha!  quite,  it's our natural inspiration

i remember that 78 tour. wales was 5 nations champs and had a great side - jpr williams, jj williams, a couple of other williams, several davies (i have davies in the background), quinnell, wheel, price and more. we won the two tests but from memory, the second one exploded into brawls and i think steve finnane (a barrister but always a thug on the field, but there were a few in those days) broke steve price's jaw very badly.

the one which irritated me enormously was the game v Queensland at the time. in those days, Queensland was the best provincial side in the world - gould, paddy batch, paul mclean and his cousin, andrew slack, Hauser, pilecki, cornelson, hillhouse, tony shaw and the greatest forward i've ever seen, mark loane. i fully expected us to beat a full strength wales. we had a narrow loss (incredibly tough game) but the next day, the paper showed mclean clearly scoring in the corner but the tosser ref from nsw had ruled it out. 

those were great days for rugby. 

5 hours ago, 99call said:

Max Boyce's 'Hymns and Arias' is still routinely sung in the crowd, as well as bread of heaven, but sadly you no longer hear other hymns at the rugby, seems to have died out from some reason, even with the language making a comeback. 

i remember being at the old cardiff a couple of times. amazing stuff. 

  • Like 1
Posted
2 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

i remember that 78 tour. wales was 5 nations champs and had a great side - jpr williams, jj williams, a couple of other williams, several davies (i have davies in the background), quinnell, wheel, price and more. we won the two tests but from memory, the second one exploded into brawls and i think steve finnane (a barrister but always a thug on the field, but there were a few in those days) broke steve price's jaw very badly.

the one which irritated me enormously was the game v Queensland at the time. in those days, Queensland was the best provincial side in the world - gould, paddy batch, paul mclean and his cousin, andrew slack, Hauser, pilecki, cornelson, hillhouse, tony shaw and the greatest forward i've ever seen, mark loane. i fully expected us to beat a full strength wales. we had a narrow loss (incredibly tough game) but the next day, the paper showed mclean clearly scoring in the corner but the tosser ref from nsw had ruled it out. 

those were great days for rugby. 

 

Although you still get it obviously with Lions tours,  I really miss seeing provincial sides playing national touring sides, something so exciting about those moments when local lads get the once in a lifetime chance to fell the giants.   If you ever have a spare half our or so, this is magical.  really captures the era.       great to sit and smoke a cigar with

 

  • Like 2
Posted

i have seen this bit. love the guy saying how he clapped the haka because he liked it and his team mates were not impressed. much different game back then. 

i used to know the old welsh and lions prop john o'shea reasonably well. terrific bloke. not seen him for some years. he married an aussie olympian and moved to brizzy and worked in the wine industry for years. vert entertaining speaker and story teller. 

  • Thanks 1
Posted
1 hour ago, 99call said:

Haha!  quite,  it's our natural inspiration

I knew there was a reason we get along so well.

I manage here (in California) with many Irish friends, all of whom have sympathy.

Of course I'm many generations removed, but my grandad did try to keep us informed.

  • Thanks 1
Posted
On 9/15/2022 at 11:08 AM, Jack said:

I knew there was a reason we get along so well.

I manage here (in California) with many Irish friends, all of whom have sympathy.

Of course I'm many generations removed, but my grandad did try to keep us informed.

haha!,  As a celt I imagine California is pure torture Ha!   I remember hearing that when the Scots first landed in America they hit Miami, and immediately left and travelled north until they hit Nova Scotia,  mad bastards! you've got to love it. 

 

On 9/15/2022 at 8:58 AM, Ken Gargett said:

good way to start the day.

I was thinking about this thread today, and I was trying to remember something that I'd seen that was similar and incredibly touching. 

So football songs/chants usually take the flavour of variations of "you're going home in a f***ing ambulance". which is one of the many reasons why I detest football.   But a friend forwarded me this once of a Hibs football/Proclaimers song 'Sunshine on Leith' on the occasion of them finally winning the Scottish cup final.   Such a wonderful song, and to hear thousands of supposedly 'tough' football fans screaming their hearts out in unison, to what are some pretty emotive/vulnerable lyrics, I found to be pretty powerful. 

 

 

Posted
4 hours ago, 99call said:

I was thinking about this thread today, and I was trying to remember something that I'd seen that was similar and incredibly touching. 

So football songs/chants usually take the flavour of variations of "you're going home in a f***ing ambulance". which is one of the many reasons why I detest football.   But a friend forwarded me this once of a Hibs football/Proclaimers song 'Sunshine on Leith' on the occasion of them finally winning the Scottish cup final.   Such a wonderful song, and to hear thousands of supposedly 'tough' football fans screaming their hearts out in unison, to what are some pretty emotive/vulnerable lyrics, I found to be pretty powerful.

How coincidental, I literally had that album on an hour ago.

I was introduced to the Proclaimers by the same cousin who taught me how to make a Millwall Brick, not that I have use for such knowledge.

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