Dos i Ganu

Dafydd Iwan sings 11 songs on his new album “Dos i ganu”, 7 of which are brand new compositions, 2 recent songs by Tudur Huws Jones, one traditional love song, and also new lyrics by Dafydd to “You raise me up”, which he dedicates to his wife Bethan for helping him through the dark days. The album, together with the title-song, was inspired by a banner placed on a bridge in Caernarfon during the May 2008 elections, following the furore caused by a plan to re-organise Gwynedd schools. “I was the whipping-boy then”, says Dafydd, “ so there is inevitably a personal and political undercurrent to many of these songs, sometimes in earnest, but often in more frivolous vein.” One song sure to raise a few smiles (and possibly a few grimaces) is “Mwstasho y gaucho”, the words by an anonymous poet, possibly with Patagonian links, but possibly about a real-life person. Dafydd invites suggestions! For the first time ever, Dafydd expresses his anti-war views from the point of view of a Welsh soldier injured in Iraq, “What is worse to my mind than sending our young people to die in war, “says Dafydd, “ is to send them to die in an illegal war such as the Iraq war”. Another theme running through many of these tracks is the power of the song, and how songs can boost the spirits and help keep the faith.

1. Dos i Ganu
2. Tyrd, Aros am Funud
3. Mae Gen i F'egwyddorion
4. Mae Cymru'n Mynnu Byw
5. Mwstasho y Gaucho
6. Cana dy Gân
7. Cân y Milwr
8. Cysura Fi
9. Ambell i Gân
10. Angor
11. Amser Maith yn Ôl