In a setting by Jef Le Penven it has become one of the most popular Breton-language songs,[1] performed by Alan Stivell, Yann-Fañch Kemener, Julie Fowlis and others.
After his death in action on 10 April 1917,[1] this poem was published in Ar en deulin (1921), a collection of his works edited by his friend Pierre Mocaër [fr].
[5] Le Penven's song, with its flexibility of musical phrase and sensitivity to the language of the original poem, suggests both traditional Breton laments and more modern idioms.
[8] The song was popularised by Alan Stivell under the title Je suis né au milieu de la mer on his first album Reflets [fr].
[14] In 2021, 50 years after the version popularized by Alan Stivell, the group Fleuves [fr] rearranged the melody accompanied by the vocals of Sarah Floc'h on the EP Odyssea.