For today's song of the day, I thought I'd do something a little different from the usual contemporary rock and pop fare I usually feature.
Men of Harlech (Rhyfelgyrch Gwr Harlech in Welsh) is a traditional Welsh folk song, said to describe the seven-year siege of Harlech Castle in northwestern Wales by English troops between 1461 and 1468.
Numerous English translations of the song exist, but the version I'm partial to comes from the soundtrack of the 1964 classic film Zulu.
Zulu depicts the Battle of Rorke's Drift (Jan. 22-23, 1879) during the Anglo-Zulu War. In a great scene, the massive Zulu army sings a war chant prior to attacking the badly-outnumbered British garrison of Rorke's Drift.
A Welsh soldier in the garrison begins singing Men of Harlech, and soon the whole garrison is defiantly singing "Keep these burning words before ye, Welshmen will not yield."
It's a wonderful cinematic moment, it's a shame it never happened.
To hear the official version from John Barry's soundtrack, go online here: http://youtu.be/K8ft371DLlo.
Or, to watch the scene from the film with the powerful Zulu chant (performed by actual Zulus hired for the film), go online here: http://youtu.be/s-lDY02DThk.
