Idris Davies
Encyclopedia
Idris Davies was a Welsh
poet. He was born in Rhymney
, near Caerphilly
in South Wales
, the Welsh-speaking son of colliery chief winderman Evan Davies and his wife Elizabeth Ann. Davies became a poet, originally writing in Welsh
, but later writing exclusively in English
. He was the only poet to cover significant events of the early 20th century in the South Wales Valleys
and the South Wales coalfield
, and from a perspective literally at the coalface.
He is now best known for the verses Bells of Rhymney from his Gwalia Deserta, which were later adapted into a popular folk song.
in the nearby McLaren Pit at Abertysswg
and later at the Maerdy Pit, Pontlottyn
. After an accident in which he lost a finger at the coalface, and active participation in the General Strike of 1926, the pit closed and he became unemployed. He spent the next four years following what he called "the long and lonely self-tuition game", having been introduced to the work of Shelley by a fellow miner.
He qualified as a teacher through courses at Loughborough College
and the University of Nottingham
. During the Second World War he took teaching posts at various schools in London
, where he became friends with Dylan Thomas
. In 1947 he returned to teach at a school in the Rhymney Valley
in Wales
.http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/567363. The poems for his second anthology, published by Faber and Faber
in 1945, were chosen by T. S. Eliot
. Eliot thought that Davies' poems had a claim to permanence, describing them as "the best poetic document I know about a particular epoch in a particular place".
His final volume, Selected Poems, was published shortly before his death. Around this time Dylan Thomas wrote Davies a surprisingly touching letter. Thomas had read Bells of Rhymney as part of a St. David's Day radio broadcast, but told Davies that he did not feel the poem was particularly representative of Davies' work, as it was "not angry enough".
Idris Davies died from abdominal cancer
, aged 48, at his mother's house at 7, Victoria Road, Rhymney on Easter Monday, 6 April 1953. He was buried in Rhymney Public Cemetery. There are memorial plaques to Davies at Victoria Road http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/691838 and at the town library.
After his death over two hundred of his manuscript poems and a short verse-play, together with the typescripts of his comprehensive wartime diaries, were deposited at the National Library of Wales
at Aberystwyth
. Later, more of his unpublished poems and most of his prose — an unfinished novel, essays, lecture notes and some of his letters — were found. Some of this later material appeared posthumously in The Collected Poems of Idris Davies (1972); Idris Davies (1972), and Argo Record No. ZPL.1181: Idris Davies (1972).
There is a modern memorial sculpture for Davies in Rhymney, with an inscription reading When April came to Rhymney with shower and sun and shower - the opening line of his poem "Rhymney" http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1083132.
on Imagination until they show signs of understanding him. Then the air will be clear again, and the land be, if not full of, fit for song."
. The work also takes part of its inspiration from the failure of the 1926 UK General Strike
, the Great Depression in the United Kingdom
and their combined effects on the South Wales coal mining
valleys. The stanzas follow the pattern of the wellknown nursery rhyme
"Oranges and Lemons
".
In the late 1950s the verses were adapted into a folk song
by Pete Seeger
and became a folk rock
standard. The song, titled "The Bells of Rhymney
", was covered
by The Byrds
in 1965 and later by many others, including Jimmy Page
, Judy Collins
, Dick Gaughan
, Cher
, Robyn Hitchcock
, John Denver
, The Oysterband
, The Ian Campbell Folk Group, Robin Williamson
and The Alarm
. It has also been performed by Bob Dylan
in some of his live concerts.
At a solo concert in London in the early 2000s, Byrds lead guitar
ist and singer Roger McGuinn
confessed that he had been mis-pronouncing the name Rhymney as 'Rhimney' for over 40 years until his error had been pointed out to him by a lady from South Wales.
More recently some of the other stanzas from Davies' Gwalia Deserta have also been set to music by Welsh performer Max Boyce
as the song When We Walked to Merthyr Tydfil in the Moonlight Long Ago.
In February 2010 Davies' work was mentioned, by Conserative
MP David T C Davies and Plaid Cymru
MP Hywel Williams
, in a Parliamentary debate concerning heath-care in Wales.
Published posthumously:
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
poet. He was born in Rhymney
Rhymney
Rhymney is a town and a community located in the county borough of Caerphilly in south-east Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Along with the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is designated as the 'Upper Rhymney Valley' by the local...
, near Caerphilly
Caerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, the Welsh-speaking son of colliery chief winderman Evan Davies and his wife Elizabeth Ann. Davies became a poet, originally writing in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, but later writing exclusively in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He was the only poet to cover significant events of the early 20th century in the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
and the South Wales coalfield
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
, and from a perspective literally at the coalface.
He is now best known for the verses Bells of Rhymney from his Gwalia Deserta, which were later adapted into a popular folk song.
Life
After leaving the local school at the age of fourteen, for the next seven years Davies worked underground as a minerMiner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
in the nearby McLaren Pit at Abertysswg
Abertysswg
Abertysswg is a village in the county borough of Caerphilly, Wales.-Location:Situated in the South Wales Valleys, Abertysswg is a small village located to the east of Pontlottyn and south-east of Rhymney. The nearest major town is Merthyr Tydfil. The Rhymney River lies just west of the village...
and later at the Maerdy Pit, Pontlottyn
Pontlottyn
Pontlottyn |Caerphilly]], within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom. It is sited just to the south of Rhymney, and to the west of the Rhymney River.-History:...
. After an accident in which he lost a finger at the coalface, and active participation in the General Strike of 1926, the pit closed and he became unemployed. He spent the next four years following what he called "the long and lonely self-tuition game", having been introduced to the work of Shelley by a fellow miner.
He qualified as a teacher through courses at Loughborough College
Loughborough College
Loughborough College is a college of Further Education in Leicestershire, England established in 1909. It is located opposite Loughborough University on Epinal Way, and adjacent to the Loughborough University School of Art and Design, situated next to the main entrance of the college...
and the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
. During the Second World War he took teaching posts at various schools in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he became friends with Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
. In 1947 he returned to teach at a school in the Rhymney Valley
Rhymney Valley
The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/567363. The poems for his second anthology, published by Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
in 1945, were chosen by T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
. Eliot thought that Davies' poems had a claim to permanence, describing them as "the best poetic document I know about a particular epoch in a particular place".
His final volume, Selected Poems, was published shortly before his death. Around this time Dylan Thomas wrote Davies a surprisingly touching letter. Thomas had read Bells of Rhymney as part of a St. David's Day radio broadcast, but told Davies that he did not feel the poem was particularly representative of Davies' work, as it was "not angry enough".
Idris Davies died from abdominal cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, aged 48, at his mother's house at 7, Victoria Road, Rhymney on Easter Monday, 6 April 1953. He was buried in Rhymney Public Cemetery. There are memorial plaques to Davies at Victoria Road http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/691838 and at the town library.
After his death over two hundred of his manuscript poems and a short verse-play, together with the typescripts of his comprehensive wartime diaries, were deposited at the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
at Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
. Later, more of his unpublished poems and most of his prose — an unfinished novel, essays, lecture notes and some of his letters — were found. Some of this later material appeared posthumously in The Collected Poems of Idris Davies (1972); Idris Davies (1972), and Argo Record No. ZPL.1181: Idris Davies (1972).
There is a modern memorial sculpture for Davies in Rhymney, with an inscription reading When April came to Rhymney with shower and sun and shower - the opening line of his poem "Rhymney" http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1083132.
Views
In a diary entry Davies wrote: "I am a socialist. That is why I want as much beauty as possible in our everyday lives, and so I am an enemy of pseudo-poetry and pseudo-art of all kinds. Too many "poets of the Left", as they call themselves, are badly in need of instruction as to the difference between poetry and propaganda... These people should read William BlakeWilliam Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
on Imagination until they show signs of understanding him. Then the air will be clear again, and the land be, if not full of, fit for song."
Bells of Rhymney
The Bells of Rhymney verses appear as Part XV of Davies' extended poetical work Gwalia Dseerta published in 1938 and inspired partly by the Marine Colliery disaster of 1 March 1927 at Cwm near Ebbw ValeEbbw Vale
Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough...
. The work also takes part of its inspiration from the failure of the 1926 UK General Strike
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
, the Great Depression in the United Kingdom
Great Depression in the United Kingdom
The Great Depression in the United Kingdom, also known as the Great Slump, was a period of national economic downturn in the 1930s, which had its origins in the global Great Depression...
and their combined effects on the South Wales coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
valleys. The stanzas follow the pattern of the wellknown nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
"Oranges and Lemons
Oranges and Lemons
"Oranges and Lemons" is an English nursery rhyme and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as #3190.-Lyrics:Common modern versions include:...
".
In the late 1950s the verses were adapted into a folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
by Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
and became a folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
standard. The song, titled "The Bells of Rhymney
The Bells of Rhymney
"The Bells of Rhymney" is a song first recorded by folk singer Pete Seeger, using words written by Welsh poet Idris Davies. The lyrics to the song were drawn from part of Davies' poetic work Gwalia Deserta, which was first published in 1938...
", was covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
in 1965 and later by many others, including Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, Dick Gaughan
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
, John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, The Oysterband
Oysterband
Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
, The Ian Campbell Folk Group, Robin Williamson
Robin Williamson
Robin Williamson is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, songwriter and storyteller, who first made his name as a founder member of The Incredible String Band.-Career:...
and The Alarm
The Alarm
The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...
. It has also been performed by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
in some of his live concerts.
At a solo concert in London in the early 2000s, Byrds lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist and singer Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
confessed that he had been mis-pronouncing the name Rhymney as 'Rhimney' for over 40 years until his error had been pointed out to him by a lady from South Wales.
More recently some of the other stanzas from Davies' Gwalia Deserta have also been set to music by Welsh performer Max Boyce
Max Boyce
Maxwell Boyce MBE is a Welsh comedian, singer and former coal miner. He rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales...
as the song When We Walked to Merthyr Tydfil in the Moonlight Long Ago.
In February 2010 Davies' work was mentioned, by Conserative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP David T C Davies and Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
MP Hywel Williams
Hywel Williams
Hywel Williams is a Welsh politician and Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Arfon. He previously represented Caernarfon.-Biography:He was educated at Ysgol Glan y Môr, Pwllheli and the University of Wales, Cardiff....
, in a Parliamentary debate concerning heath-care in Wales.
Works
In Davies' own lifetime:- Gwalia Deserta (literally The Leaving of Wales) (1938) DentJ. M. DentJoseph Malaby Dent was a British book publisher who produced the Everyman's Library series.Dent was born in Darlington in what is now the Britaania public house. After a short and unsuccessful stint as an apprentice printer he took up bookbinding...
- The Angry Summer: A Poem of 1926 (1943) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
- Tonypandy and other poems (1945) Faber and Faber
- Selected Poems (1953) Faber and Faber
Published posthumously:
- Collected Poems (1972) Gomer PressGomer PressGomer Press is a printing and publishing company based in Llandysul, west Wales. The company was first established in 1892 and is owned by the same family to this day. Jonathan Lewis, the great grandson of the company's founder, is the current managing director...
- Complete Poems (1994, ed. Dafydd Johnston) University of Wales PressUniversity of Wales PressThe University of Wales Press was founded in 1922 as a central service of the University of Wales. It publishes academic journals and around sixty books a year in the English and Welsh languages, based around a core of six subjects: History; Political Philosophy and Religious Studies;Welsh and...
- A Carol for the Coalfield and other poems (2002) Gwasg Carreg GwalchGwasg Carreg GwalchGwasg Carreg Gwalch is a publishing company based in Llanrwst, Wales. They specialise in publishing works in the Welsh language, but also publish English-language books of Welsh interest....