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0:00:31 > 0:00:36- A melody may be silenced
0:00:41 > 0:00:43- But it sings still in your mind.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- One of the first poems - I learnt by heart...
0:00:57 > 0:01:00- ..was Sioni Wynwns by Dic Jones.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03- "Who comes again one autumn day
0:01:03 > 0:01:06- "From door to door - the same old way?"
0:01:06 > 0:01:10- As a boy, I met Dic Jones - on the National Eisteddfod field.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13- I was thrilled - to see the great poet in the flesh.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18- I'm sure that hundreds of people - all over Wales...
0:01:18 > 0:01:22- ..have an image of him, - or a line of his, in their mind.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29- While lives mankind - shall live the farmer
0:01:32 > 0:01:35- And an ancient breed - succeed its sire.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40- An old legend persists.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44- It says that this cromlech - is Taliesin's grave.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47- He is the father - of our poetic tradition.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50- Not everyone believes the story...
0:01:51 > 0:01:53- ..but I like to think it's true.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01- What is true is that Dic Jones's - birthplace is nearby.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05- We tend to associate him - with southern Ceredigion.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11- But Penygraig farm, a mile or two - from here, was his mother's home.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15- That was the birthplace - of the popular Chief Bard.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25- Significantly, we have recorded - the birthplace of Dic Jones.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28- We link it with Taliesin's grave.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31- Both were such influential poets.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33- A square mile connects them.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- The circle appears complete.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- And life still goes on.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42- I complete the wheel's circle.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- There's a recurring image - in his poetry.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49- He talks about the wheel of life.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- It's something - that we have to accept.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57- It rolls forward, - and it gives life its purpose.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01- Dic's message was that spring - would always return.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03- Everything came in its season.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09- It was a big theme in his life. - A time for everything.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28- As one are the floors - of the grave and the cradle.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Here we are in Yr Hendre.
0:03:38 > 0:03:44- He became known nationally as - Dic Yr Hendre, Archdruid of Wales.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48- It's impossible to separate - Dic Jones from this farm.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- So many of his poems, of course, - are based on experiences...
0:03:53 > 0:03:55- ..gained living and working here.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58- He says this about it.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- "In smiles and sorrow, - it is to me a magical place."
0:04:14 > 0:04:17- I return with summer older - To the hayfield, and to gather.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23- On these fields, - he had felt hardship and cold.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- He had also felt...
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- .."the funereal wind - blowing fiercely...
0:04:28 > 0:04:31- "..through my clothes - right to the bone."
0:04:37 > 0:04:41- But he also saw - the indications of new life here.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43- He saw the birds in spring...
0:04:43 > 0:04:48- .."speeding to Pen Cribach, - taking food to their chicks."
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- He was a country poet. - He lived there.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02- He loved the countryside.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06- His eyes were everywhere. - He heard and smelt the countryside.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- You smell the countryside - in his poems as well as seeing it.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25- Another local farming family - played a pivotal role...
0:05:26 > 0:05:28- ..in his poetic development.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33- Some nine miles from Yr Hendre - was the Cilie family's farm.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- Cilie is famous throughout Wales.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- Jeremiah and Mary Jones lived here.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48- They had twelve children.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- Six of their sons were poets.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57- They took part in poetic contests - against one another.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59- Among them were Fred, SB and Isfoel.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- Dic Jones came - to this close-knit bardic community.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- He would become - a pupil of the masters.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- One in particular stood out, - Alun Jeremiah Jones.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14- Alun Cilie, - the youngest of the brood.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20- The influence of Bois y Cilie - on Dic was significant, naturally.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25- His father, Alban Lewis, realized - that his son could write a bit.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28- His father first took him to Cilie.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- He wanted him to meet the master.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- Dic then started to go on his own.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- On Saturday nights, - he would meet Alun and Llew.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40- He would go to Cilie farm, - to see Alun.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- The education was informal. - There was no pencil and paper.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- To a degree, as Dic always said...
0:06:47 > 0:06:51- ..you had to persevere - to hear the cynghanedd.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- That was the lesson in one sense.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- When Alun spoke in cynghanedd...
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- ..if you had spotted it, - well, you'd learnt something.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04- Cilie is Wales
0:07:06 > 0:07:08- And Wales has many a Cilie.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16- Against this strong - agricultural background...
0:07:16 > 0:07:20- ..it's no surprise that the land - inspired a famous poem of his.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- He wrote it for the Aberavon - National Eisteddfod in 1966.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29- He won the Chair at the National - for his ode Cynhaeaf - harvest.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- He was delighted, - and I can see us here now.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39- The post van came to the yard.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43- The letter came - in a brown envelope.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- He opened it and said, - "Great, I've got it."
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- I saw this guy - on television at college.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54- He was like a GI with his haircut. - "This guy's won the Chair."
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- He's a real guy, - not like a poet, wearing a tie.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01- And then I read Cynhaeaf.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03- Gosh, I could understand it!
0:08:03 > 0:08:05- The words conjured up images.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- They weren't just words - and cynghanedd.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11- It all flowed so simply.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14- That was Dic. He was excellent.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- A railway of chaff on the road
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- Plainly where its wheels had been.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- Following on from the harvest - came an ode about spring.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- This gave him the chance - to pay tribute...
0:08:30 > 0:08:32- ..to his bardic teacher, Alun Cilie.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35- Dic Jones thought the world of him.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40- In his eyes, to receive praise - from one of the Cilie clan...
0:08:40 > 0:08:44- ..was the highest accolade - in the world of literature.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- Certainly, his ode Gwanwyn - rises far beyond...
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- ..any controversies - about Eisteddfod prizes.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- On the one hand...
0:08:53 > 0:08:57- ..it tells us that life - marches on, come what may.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- On the other hand, it tells us...
0:09:00 > 0:09:04- ..that something as soft - as a raindrop can move stones.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19- "Gentle May, - let the dove bring a leaf
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- "Way above the flowing river
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- "Let the swallow restore the summer
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- "To shorten Seren's aching winter
0:09:30 > 0:09:33- "Let the black musician - high in the trees
0:09:34 > 0:09:39- "Tune her yellow flute - to your springtime breeze.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44- "In the ditch, I saw carcasses
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- "Of frail, frostbitten lambs
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- "The heavy tax of the gripping cold
0:09:51 > 0:09:54- "Sad playthings - in the icy wind's hold.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01- "But the fields are full of lambs
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- "New mercury on old acres
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- "Wildly blessing - with their tipsy tails
0:10:07 > 0:10:09- "Their mothers' flowing wine.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15- "While age-old families - harvest fruits
0:10:16 > 0:10:19- "And sow the seeds of future roots
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- "While the birds - come in pairs to nest in branches
0:10:23 > 0:10:28- "While the sheep graze, while - horses' hooves try out new dances
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- "The spring of springs - will ever more
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- "Open its door throughout the ages.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42- "While the next bird - hatches in a parents' nest
0:10:42 > 0:10:46- "Faith's flame will burn, - no matter the test
0:10:46 > 0:10:48- "A restless man will open furrow
0:10:48 > 0:10:52- "And the fields - will see the glint of the harrow
0:10:52 > 0:10:56- "Spring and birth - eternal shall remain
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- "And the rocks - shall yield to the gentle rain."
0:11:06 > 0:11:07- .
0:11:13 > 0:11:13- Subtitles
0:11:13 > 0:11:15- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:11:21 > 0:11:26- Come, breeze of Eire, - to our aching land.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46- Imagine how it was in there...
0:11:47 > 0:11:51- ..when a young Dic Jones - ventured into the small room.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53- He was soon accepted by the lads.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57- The Pentre Arms - was that select group's sanctuary.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- No wonder, as the landlord - was another son of Cilie!
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- How many thousands of lines - of poetry were produced there?
0:12:10 > 0:12:14- The lads, on Saturday nights, - used to speak in cynghanedd.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18- They'd spar with each other, - Alun and Dic and T Llew.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- There was a lot of fun at that time.
0:12:21 > 0:12:27- Dic always emphasized - that cynghanedd was an oral craft.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34- In our area, in the south - of Ceredigion, in the Cilie area...
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- ..it was an inextricable part - of everyday life.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- It was a means of passing on news.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- It was a means of recording news.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44- It was a means of grieving.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46- It was a means to celebrate.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- In this way, of course, - poetry became a form.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- The people's story was kept going.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13- An integral part of farming life - is the trip to market or mart.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- I imagine that many of Dic Jones's - poems were conceived...
0:13:18 > 0:13:24- ..after chatting with friends - in the course of buying and selling.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- On the subject of work, - he had understood it well.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36- He said that hard work - could be enjoyable and comforting.
0:13:38 > 0:13:44- "Effort is healthy - Exhaustion also breeds success
0:13:44 > 0:13:51- "A task is full of fun - Work has its comfort and ease."
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- One thing is indisputable.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00- Dic would be wholly engrossed - when creating poetry.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05- Dic might just as well not have - been here, nor I, nor anyone.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09- His mind was absolutely focused - on what he was writing.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13- If you saw him by the hedge, - lighting his pipe...
0:14:13 > 0:14:15- ..things were serious.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19- He would jot things down - on the back of an envelope.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- If he said "Jiawl, 'na fe," - you knew he'd cracked it!
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- He would be back with us - until the next task.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45- In the world of sport, - the focal point is the stadium.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50- This is the stadium - for this area's cynghanedd squads.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52- This is the Emlyn Hotel.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57- In this headquarters, Dic Jones - would hold his cynghanedd classes.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01- He was the coach - of the poetic contestants.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05- You can almost hear the words - all around you as you enter.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08- CACOPHONY OF VOICES
0:15:16 > 0:15:18- His way of thinking helped me.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20- His thoughts came like this.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22- From the side.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- You might be given a theme, - for example, "The Village."
0:15:28 > 0:15:30- You'd think of an ordinary village.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- He'd think differently. - The universe is a village.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- Our house becomes a village.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39- His alternative view - was a lesson for me.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48- A man who knows - that he knows nothing
0:15:49 > 0:15:51- Knows more than all his teachers.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- In addition to the National Chair...
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- ..Dic Jones - won the Urdd Chair five times.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- He produced seven volumes of poetry.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08- He enthralled audiences - all over Wales in poetic contests.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15- But this is how - he describes the biggest prize.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- "When you craft a poem which is - totally and utterly satisfying...
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- "..you know - down in the depths of your soul...
0:16:24 > 0:16:28- "..that it matters not - what an adjudicator or anyone says.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33- "It's as though you have derived - assistance from an external force.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- "As though it had always existed.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- "You have been fortunate enough...
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- "..to be in just the right place - to find it.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45- "One has truly received the prize."
0:16:46 > 0:16:48- He probably felt that way...
0:16:48 > 0:16:53- ..on completing this perfect poem.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56- It's simple and straightforward, - but it says it all.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- "My hopes are a part of you
0:17:07 > 0:17:11- "My suffering and fear are yours
0:17:12 > 0:17:15- "In your golden hours, - my pride is full of you
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- "In your darkest hours, - my prayer is for you
0:17:20 > 0:17:24- "Where you are, the whole world - is better, it's true
0:17:24 > 0:17:28- "My whole joy, my friend, - is made of you."
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- He mixed with people all his life.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47- There are so many examples - arising from his work...
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- ..that I know have offered comfort.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55- People have said - that reading Dic's poems...
0:17:55 > 0:17:59- ..has enabled them to come to terms - with some awful experience.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- It may have been a bereavement.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- For Dic, it was a catharsis - to write these pieces.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08- He couldn't help himself.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13- This was all the more so - if something had happened to us.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15- We had our share of troubles.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20- I know that they helped - a great many people.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25- I meet people who quote works by Dic - that have been a comfort to them.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- Different poems - comfort different people.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34- The gift of weeping - is humankind's value.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36- In his poem Miserere...
0:18:36 > 0:18:41- ..Dic Jones - takes us from despair to hope.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44- We're taken - from grey clouds to the sun.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- It's over there somewhere.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- "There is worse suffering than mine
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- "In the hearts of men, I know
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- "But which heavy heart - is made lighter
0:19:22 > 0:19:24- "Knowing the suffering of another?
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- "There is a heavier burden than mine
0:19:28 > 0:19:32- "Its weight making weak other men
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- "There is an anguish, - maybe, that's greater
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- "But no anguish is as bitter.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- "Grey clouds gather, - encircling me
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- "Their fear drawing nearer
0:19:54 > 0:19:57- "On black waves, they keep coming
0:19:58 > 0:20:00- "And my doubts are ever increasing.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08- "What's the point of warm words?
0:20:09 > 0:20:13- "Fellowship and friendship? - It's all false.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- "Nobody knows - others' hopes for tomorrow
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- "Nor the neighbours' silent sorrow.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- "No doubt the weather - will get better
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- "Spring will be a softer season
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- "Yet this heart cannot see
0:20:36 > 0:20:38- "The golden rock on the horizon.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- "Onwards, though I know not where
0:20:48 > 0:20:51- "A glistening cloud - shines out its silver
0:20:52 > 0:20:54- "Above the fog - through the black fear
0:20:55 > 0:20:59- "A piece of the sun, - somewhere yonder."
0:21:08 > 0:21:12- I think I've read Dic's books - more since his death...
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- ..than I did when he was alive.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19- There are things I search for. - Yes, I think that's true.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24- There are some things, by now, - that maybe I understand better.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33- Everything about Dic was big. - Big glasses, big hands.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37- And a big heart. - Dic was a big hero to me.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- "A piece of the sun, - somewhere yonder."
0:21:52 > 0:21:56- How often has that line - lifted people's spirits?
0:21:56 > 0:21:58- There's a quiet optimism...
0:21:58 > 0:22:03- ..and a kind of quiet acceptance - in so many of his poems.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- He keeps returning - to this same message.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10- We must live - through the fun and the tears.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13- He realizes that this - is the order of things.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21- What we have in Dic's poems - are the great eternal themes.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23- Timeless themes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:29- It so happened that the countryside - and the fields were his observatory.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33- That was coincidental. - He had a great vision.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- He possessed great narrative skill.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41- His work will stand the test of time - without a shadow of a doubt.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- "Seeing, sometime, a second visit
0:22:54 > 0:22:57- "The same journey - And the same friends once more
0:22:57 > 0:22:59- "The same fun, and the same tears
0:23:00 > 0:23:03- "As is the order, the second time."
0:23:36 > 0:23:38- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:23:39 > 0:23:39- .