David of the White Rock

David Owen, Arranged by Peter Hargreaves

Instrumentation: Brass Band

Length: 4 Minutes

Difficulty: C Grade

Dafydd y Garreg Wen (David of the White Rock) is a traditional Welsh air and folk song.

David Owen, the famous blind harper and composer, lived near Porthmadog in Caernarfonshire, Wales in the first half of the 18th century and was known locally as Dafydd y Garreg Wen. "The White Rock" was the name of the farm near Morfa Bychan on which he lived.

Tradition has it that as Owen lay on his death bed, he called for his harp and composed the haunting air. He died at the age of 29.

The words were added nearly a hundred years later by the poet John Ceiriog Hughes.

See the Scorch version below. For a larger, clearer version, click here!