The Proclaimers praise Dafydd Iwan's 'Yma o Hyd' as they tell Wales to 'fight for independence'

By NationCymru 1 July 2022

The Proclaimers have praised Dafydd Iwan's anthem 'Yma o Hyd' as they said they would "without a doubt" want independence if they came from Wales.

In an interview with the magazine Golwg, they said said Wales's needed to form a "mass social movement" in which people "acted, voted and campaigned" for independence.

They were speaking before Wales' first independence match in three years in Wrexham, starting at 12pm tomorrow.

Among the performers at that event will be Dafydd Iwan, whose song 'Yma o Hyd' about Welsh self-determination hit the top of the iTunes charts after he performed it before Wales' qualification match against Ukraine last month.

The Proclaimers' Craig Reid told Golwg magazine that he thought that what Dafydd Iwan had achieved was "fantastic."

"Well done for doing what we haven't been able to do!" said Charlie Reid, who said that the brothers are big fans of Hibernian FC but have yet to be invited to sign a pro-independence anthem in front of the Scottish national football fans.

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'Fight back'

The Proclaimers are best known for their song 'Gonna Be (500 Miles)' but are now at the forefront of the Scottish independence movement.

But one of their most popular songs is now 'Cap in Hand', which has in the chorus the words: 'I can't understand why we let someone else rule our land'.

"If I were a Welshman, I would want independence for Wales," the Proclaimers' Craig Reid told Golwg magazine. "Without an ounce of doubt, I would."

"The pressure still has to be maintained, because the pressure is always going to come from other directions - it's coming from the unionists, from the English nationalists, who want Scotland and Wales and Ireland to be second class, and are now open in their contempt for what they call 'the Celtic fringe'," he said.

His brother Charlie Reid said Wales must "fight back".

“Whatever you defend or try to expand, whatever you try to improve - you have to fight back,” he said.

"If you don't, you're going to be crushed by these people... I think there's more reason than ever to push on."

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6 comments

Cathy Jones 2 July 2026

Indeed! Cymru, I love you now, but just think what we could be, hopes met and children running free?

Fi yn unig 2 July 2026

What an inspiration Craig is and I thank him for his support. His words need to be heeded by the doubters. It’s the freedom of Independence or the contempt of second class citizenship.

Steve Duggan 2 July 2026

Well said Craig, Now is the time for both Cymru and Alba to enter the family of world nations, become a fully recognised UN member. The Union is dead long live our independent nations.

Y Cymro 2 July 2026

Wise words from the Reid brothers. With Independence we seek our freedom. No outside force has the right to deny or determine our future. Only we do! Independence is a normal state of being. It's replicated throughout the animal kingdom. We are born. Remain in our infancy short-term to be nourished & cared for, until strong enough to fend for ourselves until we eventually fly the nest so to speak. Dependency on the other hand should only be temporary, and if prolonged, quickly becomes unnatural. See, if a bird remains in its nest too long, shows no interest in flying away, can only mean one thing. The likelihood is that it's deliberately had its wings clipped, And a bird that cannot fly is usually kept caged.

Julie Jones 2 July 2026

Excellent stuff from a top band! What we need now is Welsh artists, writers, journalists, broadcasters and so forth to come out and proclaim their support for Independence.

James William Soares Jones 2 July 2026

Cymru is Wales, Wales is Cymru. Yma o Hyd, as heard on my first broadband computer rebuilt with my own hands, riveted me! No, I didn't understand the Cymraeg lyrics. I learned later WHY this song grabbed my brain so powerfully.