Hiraeth Song Lyrics

Who is Hiraeth?

Hiraeth (Welsh pronunciation: [hɪraɨ̯θ, hiːrai̯θ]) is a Welsh word that has no direct English translation. The University of Wales, Lampeter, likens it to a homesickness tinged with grief and sadness over the lost or departed, especially in the context of Wales and Welsh culture. It is a mixture of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness or an earnest desire for the Wales of the past. The Cornish and Breton equivalents are hireth and hiraezh. It is associated with the Amharic-Ethiopian concept of tizita, the German concept of Sehnsucht, the Galician-Portuguese saudade or the Romanian dor. A similar Scottish Gaelic term, cianalas, also refers to a type of longing or homesickness, often used in relation to the Outer Hebrides.