Featured Welsh Content
A song with Welsh lyrics was crafted exclusively for a promotional commercial for the 2009 release of Xbox 360 game Halo 3: ODST.
Following music company Human Worldwide reaching out to the Celtic Arts Center in North Hollywood, one member – Welsh author Peter Freeman – took on the role of creating the lyrics. Performed by vocalist Kathy Fisher, the result was a song that tied in with the Halo franchise’s themes, and references were made to the Welsh otherworld Annwn and the cheating of “dihenydd” – a Welsh term for “death”.
Human Worldwide composer Gareth Williams named the song “The Life”, which was an adaptation of the band Light of Aidan’s own Welsh song “Lament”. A longer version of The Life was created for the movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Watch the full commercial below or by clicking here.
Thank you to song creator Peter Freeman for the insight into this piece of Welsh gaming history. Read more details in his own words here and here.
The Welsh lyrics are as follows:
Gafflwn Dihenydd o’r fuddugol yn wiriol sydd,
Ni fydd neb yn ein drechu,
Falch ydy ni i drochu,
Traed o flaen i’r Annwn
mewn y gwybodaeth fe godwn ni.
The English translation is as follows:
We cheat Death from his rightful victory,
No one can defeat us,
We are glad to plunge feet first into Annwn
in the knowledge that we will rise.