The Ash Grove
(Llwyn On)
Version 1

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Barry Taylor
Information
Lyrics

"One of the few Welsh Folk songs that has become part of the folk song heritage all over the world. According to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, it appeared "in a mutilated form as "Cease Your Funning" in John Gay's "The Beggar Opera" in 1728."

There is another set of lyrics at The Ash Grove (Version 2).

The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking,
The harp through it playing has language for me;
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking,
A host of kind faces is gazing on me.
The friends of my childhood again are before me,
Each step wakes a mem'ry, as freely I roam;
With soft whispers laden, its leaves rustle o'er me;
The ash grove, the ashgrove alone is my home.

My lips smile no more, my heart loses its lightness,
No dream of the future my spirit can cheer;
I only can brood on the past and its brightness,
The dead I have mourned are again living here.
From ev'ry dark nook they press forward to meet me;
I lift up my eyes to the broad leafy dome,
And others are there, looking downward to greet me;
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.
Lyrics in Welsh
  • Llwyn Onn (From Taylor's Traditional Tunebook)
Related Links
From Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
See Bibliography for full information.