Stories
Burying the Sailor from a Faraway Land
Sound:
» Download the sound recording
Well, it seems that a sailor had - that a sailor's body had been washed up on the shore, apparently, according to Griffiths, somewhere in Cardiganshire. And of course he was a stranger. And, the Welsh being, typically, very ready to help, the people of the area made a collection so he could be buried. And as it happened, on the day of the funeral, the clergyman was taken ill, and there was no-one to take the service. They didn't really know what to do. And one of the deacons said to the carpenter:
'He's a stranger, nobody here is going to take offence. He hasn't any relatives
here. You say something.'
And the carpenter looked down at the coffin and said:
TRANSLATION:
'You're a man from a faraway land
If the clergyman were here, you'd be no better off.
Lie [here] now with our forefathers,
When they rise up, you rise up too!'
