We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
supported by
Bob Gorzynski
Bob Gorzynski thumbnail
myzomela
myzomela thumbnail
wilwalker
wilwalker thumbnail
robert van leeuwen
robert van leeuwen thumbnail
kimba11
kimba11 thumbnail
jkmelb
jkmelb thumbnail
Paul Wagner
Paul Wagner thumbnail
osherwood
osherwood thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $2 AUD  or more

     

about

Bwmba is a traditional Welsh folk song with shocking lyrics about a bad-arse woman. It is described by the Museum of Wales as a ‘frolicsome tirade against a worthless wife’. Otherwise known as misogyny.
Bush Gothic band leader Jenny M. Thomas joins Angharad (both mothers, both folk divas) in taking drastic musical measures to give the song a femfolk make over.

lyrics

GYMRAEG
Pan oeddwn gynt yn fachgen,
Heb feddwl gwaeth nag amgen,
Fe rois fy mryd ar ferched glân
I hala’r byd yn llawen

O’r diwedd mi briodes
Â’r lana’ ferch a weles;
Fe fuase’n well imi, wir ddyn byw,
Briodi â Gwyddeles.

Ni fedre weu na gwinio,
Na golchi’n lân na smwddio,
Na chwiro patshyn ar fy mritsh,
Fe haedder’r ferch ei chicio.

Bwmba bwmba bwmba dwdl ei
Bwmba bwmba bey–oh
Na chwiro patshyn ar fy mritsh,
Fe haedder’r ferch ei chicio.

Fe gane wrth fynd i’r gwely,
Fe lefe beth wrth godi;
Eistedde lawr yn ochor tân,
Se awr ddim byd iddi grafu.

Ond ‘Thank you, Miss’, daeth Ange,
Ymaflodd yn ei sodle:
Fe ath â’r ferch i mas o’r byd -
Y very thing oedd eisie.

Holl fechgyn teidi’r cwmni,
Cymerwch gyngor gen i:
Gofalwch fod yn ben ar y wraig
Ar ôl i chwi briodi.

Bwmba bwmba bwmba dwdl ei
Bwmba bwmba bey–oh
Gofalwch fod yn ben ar y wraig
Ar ôl i chwi briodi.


ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Years ago, when I was a lad,
No worse than any other,
I set my mind on pretty girls
To fill the world with laughter

And in the end I married,
With the prettiest girl I'd ever seen;
I'd have been better off, by the living God,
If I'd married an Irishwoman!

She couldn't knit, she couldn't sew,
She couldn't wash clothes nor iron them,
Nor darn a patch on my trousers,
The woman deserved a kicking!

Boom–bah boom–bah boom–bah doodle eh,
Boom–bah boom–bah bey–oh,
Nor darn a patch on my trousers,
The woman deserved a kicking

She’d sing on the way to bed,
She'd cry a little when she got up;
She'd sit by the fireside,
And scratch herself for hours on end

But, "Thank you, Miss", Death came,
And got hold of her by her heels;
He took the woman from this world –
The very thing that was needed!

All the tidy lads in this company,
Take some advice from me:
Make sure it's you wears the trousers
After you get married

Boom–bah boom–bah boom–bah doodle eh
Boom–bah boom–bah bey–oh,
He took the woman from this world –
The very thing that was needed

credits

released June 12, 2022
LYRICS: TRAD
MUSIC: TRAD, Dan Witton, Jenny M. Thomas, Chris Lewis, Angharad Jenkins

Angharad Jenkins - vocal
Jenny M Thomas -  vocal, fiddle, piano, banjo-mandolin
Dan Witton - programming, double bass
Chris Lewis - programming, drum kit

Recorded by the musicians in their own homes.
Mixed by Tilman Robionson
Produced by Jenny M. Thomas with additional production by Tilman Robinson

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Bush Gothic image

Bush Gothic Melbourne, Australia

BBC Music Magazine - 5 STARS, World Music Albums of the year 2016,
fRoots Album of the Year 2016: Runner Up. Adelaide Fringe Festival Best Music Weekly Award 2017 & 2018. Defiantly modern, achingly old, Bush Gothic re-imagine songs of heartbreak and tragedy amongst convicts, desperate miners and criminal women. ... more

contact / help

Contact Bush Gothic

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like BWMBA, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Fabiana Palladino stops by to talk about her mesmeric debut LP.
listen now