The Bells of Rhymney
Encyclopedia
"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. The work was inspired by a local coal mining
disaster and by the failure of the 1926 General Strike
and the "Bells of Rhymney" stanza
s follow the pattern of the nursery rhyme
"Oranges and Lemons
". In addition to Rhymney
, the poem also refers to the bells of a number of other places in South Wales
, including Merthyr
, Rhondda
, Blaina
, Caerphilly
, Neath
, Brecon
, Swansea
, Newport
, Cardiff
, and the Wye Valley
.
Two decades after Gwalia Deserta was published, Seeger used one part of the work as lyrics
for his song "The Bells of Rhymney" after discovering them in a book by Dylan Thomas
. The song was first released as part of a suite of songs, including "Sinking of the Ruben James
" and "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
", on Seeger and Sonny Terry
's 1958 live album
, Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry. The song was also included on Seeger's 1967 compilation album
, Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits.
Arguably the most famous rendition of the song is the version recorded by the American folk rock
band
The Byrds
. The Byrds' recording of "The Bells of Rhymney" was committed to tape on April 14, 1965 and released as part of the band's debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man
. At the time of recording, the song was a relative newcomer to The Byrds' repertoire, having first been performed during the band's March 1965, pre-fame residency at Ciro's
nightclub
on the Sunset Strip
in Los Angeles. Lead guitarist Jim McGuinn
had brought the song to the band after becoming familiar with it as an arranger
on Judy Collins' third album, Judy Collins 3
, which itself included a cover version
of "The Bells of Rhymney". Although The Byrds were anxious to correctly pronounce the Welsh place-names in the song's lyrics on their recording, they actually mispronounced the name Rhymney as "Rimney" (it should be pronounced as "Rumney").
The Byrds' version of "The Bells of Rhymney" features a number of the band's early musical trademarks, including their complex harmony singing
and McGuinn's jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker
guitar playing. In his book Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, author Scott Schinder has noted that the band's rendition of the song "managed to craft the dour subject matter into a radio-friendly pop song without sacrificing the song's haunting message." The Byrds' recording of "The Bells of Rhymney" was also influential on The Beatles
, particularly George Harrison
, who constructed his song "If I Needed Someone
" around the same guitar riff
that The Byrds had used in the song.
"The Bells of Rhymney" was also covered by Cher
, soon after the release of The Byrds' version, on her All I Really Want to Do
album. The song has been recorded by many other artists over the years, including The Serendipity Singers
, The Alarm
, The Ian Campbell Folk Group
, John Denver
, Jimmy Page
, Robyn Hitchcock
, Oysterband
and Ralph McTell
. As a result, the song has been important in making the town of Rhymney
known to many outside Wales.
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....
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...
, using words written by Welsh poet Idris Davies
Idris Davies
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...
. The lyrics to the song were drawn from part of Davies' poetic work Gwalia Deserta, which was first published in 1938. The work was inspired by a local 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,...
disaster and by the failure of the 1926 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...
and the "Bells of Rhymney" stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s follow the pattern of the 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 addition to 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...
, the poem also refers to the bells of a number of other places 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...
, including Merthyr
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
, Rhondda
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
, Blaina
Blaina
Blaina is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of Monmouthshire.-Notable people:...
, 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...
, Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, and the Wye Valley
Wye Valley
The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in southern Britain....
.
Two decades after Gwalia Deserta was published, Seeger used one part of the work as lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
for his song "The Bells of Rhymney" after discovering them in a book by 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...
. The song was first released as part of a suite of songs, including "Sinking of the Ruben James
Reuben James (Woody Guthrie song)
“Reuben James” is a song by Woody Guthrie about the sinking of the U.S. convoy escort, the Reuben James, which was the first U.S. naval ship sunk by German U-boats in World War II. Woody Guthrie had started to write a song including each name on the casualty list of the sinking...
" and "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is a children's song with a cumulative structure. The song was written by Alan Mills, and the lyrics were penned by Rose Bonne...
", on Seeger and Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
's 1958 live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry. The song was also included on Seeger's 1967 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits.
Arguably the most famous rendition of the song is the version recorded by the American 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...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
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...
. The Byrds' recording of "The Bells of Rhymney" was committed to tape on April 14, 1965 and released as part of the band's debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man
Mr. Tambourine Man (album)
Mr. Tambourine Man is the debut album by the American folk rock band The Byrds and was released in June 1965 on Columbia Records . The album, along with the single of the same name, established the band as an internationally successful rock act and was also influential in originating the musical...
. At the time of recording, the song was a relative newcomer to The Byrds' repertoire, having first been performed during the band's March 1965, pre-fame residency at Ciro's
Ciro's
Ciro's was a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip, opened in January 1940, by entrepreneur William Wilkerson. Herman Hover took over management of Ciro's in 1942 until it closed its doors in 1957...
nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
on the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
in Los Angeles. Lead guitarist Jim 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...
had brought the song to the band after becoming familiar with it as an arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
on Judy Collins' third album, Judy Collins 3
Judy Collins 3 (Judy Collins album)
Judy Collins #3 is an album by American folk singer Judy Collins released in 1963. It spent 10 weeks on Billboard's Top 150 album charts in 1964, peaking at #126 on May 16.-Track listing:# "Anathea"...
, which itself included a cover version
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...
of "The Bells of Rhymney". Although The Byrds were anxious to correctly pronounce the Welsh place-names in the song's lyrics on their recording, they actually mispronounced the name Rhymney as "Rimney" (it should be pronounced as "Rumney").
The Byrds' version of "The Bells of Rhymney" features a number of the band's early musical trademarks, including their complex harmony singing
Vocal harmony
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...
and McGuinn's jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
guitar playing. In his book Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, author Scott Schinder has noted that the band's rendition of the song "managed to craft the dour subject matter into a radio-friendly pop song without sacrificing the song's haunting message." The Byrds' recording of "The Bells of Rhymney" was also influential on The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, particularly George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, who constructed his song "If I Needed Someone
If I Needed Someone
"If I Needed Someone" is a song written by George Harrison. Versions by The Beatles and by The Hollies appeared simultaneously, both being released in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1965. The Hollies version appeared on a single. Most of the Hollies previous singles had been big top ten hits...
" around the same guitar riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
that The Byrds had used in the song.
"The Bells of Rhymney" was also covered by 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...
, soon after the release of The Byrds' version, on her All I Really Want to Do
All I Really Want to Do (album)
All I Really Want to Do is the debut solo album by American singer and actress Cher and was released on October 16, 1965 by Imperial Records. The album was produced for Cher by her husband and singing partner, Sonny Bono, with contributions from arranger Harold Battiste...
album. The song has been recorded by many other artists over the years, including The Serendipity Singers
The Serendipity Singers
The Serendipity Singers were a 1960s American folk group, similar to The New Christy Minstrels.This nine-member folk-oriented group started at the University of Colorado with seven original members of a group called the Newport Singers...
, 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...
, The Ian Campbell Folk Group
Ian Campbell Folk Group
The Ian Campbell Folk Group were one of the most popular and respected folk groups of the British folk revival of the 1960s. The group made many appearances on radio, television, and at national and international venues and festivals. They performed a mixture of British traditional folk music and...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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....
, Oysterband
Oysterband
Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
and Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....
. As a result, the song has been important in making the town of 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...
known to many outside Wales.