Tune and 1st verse traditional, 2nd and third verses Robert Bryan, arrangement Robert Bryan.
The tune and first verse of this song were collected in Utica, New York, USA, in 1903 from a woman who had learned it from her Welsh mother. First published in “Alawon y Celt”, a collection edited by Robert Bryan, who also added the second and third verses, in which the singer sends her true love a message, a theme often associated with songs about birds.
Sources
Gwcw Fach: https://secondhandsongs.com/work/134258
Words
Gwcw fach, ond wyt ti’n ffolog,
Fal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai to,
‘N canu ‘mhlith yr eithin pigog;
Ffal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai to,
Dos i blwy Dolgelle dirion,
Ffal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai io,
Ti gei yno lwyn i gwyrddion.
Ffal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai io.
Gwcw fach, ehed yn union
Tua glan yr afon Wnion;
Ar dy aden, aros ennyd
Wrth anneddle fy anwylyd.
Gwcw fach, os yno gweli
Rywun wyla’r dwr yn heli,
Cana gân y gwanwyn iddo,
Cân o obaith i’w gysuro.
Translation
Little cuckoo, but are you foolish,
Ffal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai to,
Singing among the prickly gorse;
Ffal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai to,
Go to the parish of fair Dolgellau,
Ffal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai io,
You will find there green bushes.
Ffal di ral di rw dw ri rai tai io.
Little cuckoo, fly immediately
To the banks of the Wnion river;
On the wing, wait awhile
By the home of my beloved.
Little cuckoo, if you see there
Someone weeping salt tears,
Sing to him the song of spring,
A song of hope to comfort him.
Translation source: https://www.omniglot.com/songs/welsh/gwcwfach.htm