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Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: July 22 2010, 18:32 Thanks to the crystal-clear transparency of the 2010 mix of HR, here is my definitive version of the nonsense lyrics in HR Part 2. Comments are very welcome. The transcription is in phonetic Italian, meaning that every word is to be read/sung exactly as it is written, but with an English accent. Borla Di ena Labato Oncota Dolmonya Oh gusto Mekara Ah resta mena (twice) This is for the first time around. Towards the end it's like this (one or two words are changed): Borla Di ena Labato Oncota Dolmonya Oh gusto Mekara Oh gosto mega Borla Di ena Labato Oncota Dolmonya Oh gusto Mekara Ah... None of this means anything in Italian, except, obviously, for "gusto", which means taste, flavour. "Oh gosto" sounds almost like Agosto, which is August. Was HR written or recorded in summer? -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: July 23 2010, 05:20 Quote (Ugo @ July 22 2010, 18:32) Oncota I always hear this as "on the corner".  Not that I think it really is that though. Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

Rider in the Blue Group: Members Posts: 33 Joined: Dec. 2010 Posted: Jan. 06 2011, 02:30 Quote (Ugo @ July 22 2010, 23:32) Thanks to the crystal-clear transparency of the 2010 mix of HR, here is my definitive version of the nonsense lyrics in HR Part 2. Comments are very welcome. The transcription is in phonetic Italian, meaning that every word is to be read/sung exactly as it is written, but with an English accent. Borla Di ena Labato Oncota Dolmonya Oh gusto Mekara Ah resta mena (twice) This is for the first time around. Towards the end it's like this (one or two words are changed): Borla Di ena Labato Oncota Dolmonya Oh gusto Mekara Oh gosto mega Borla Di ena Labato Oncota Dolmonya Oh gusto Mekara Ah... None of this means anything in Italian, except, obviously, for "gusto", which means taste, flavour. "Oh gosto" sounds almost like Agosto, which is August. Was HR written or recorded in summer? Ah, now this is interesting. these words may seem nonsensical but they're actually an ancient Taurean dialect, spoken in the Hergest Ridge area before the Celtic invasion. Roughly translated, it means: 'Borla' --> 'The pie' 'Di ena' --> 'The bad people of the North' 'Labato' --> 'to approach; to come towards a place' 'Oncota' --> 'strange creature' 'Dolmonya' --> 'standing stone' or 'cairn' 'Oh gusto' --> 'wind blowing' 'Mekara' --> 'small rodent-like person' 'Ah resta mena' --> 'tired - need rest' 'Oh gosto mega' --> 'The wind blows stronger' or 'a very big wind'. The translation is rather fragmented and open to interpretation, but with modern computerised thingamabobs, it reads something like: "The bad people of the North, bearing many pies, come towards this place. A strange creature is at the standing stone in the blowing wind. Oh look - a small rodent-like person. I'm knackered!" The second verse has an almost identical meaning, but the final line is "I wish I hadn't eaten so much cabbage last night". -------------- "Our hope's with you..." Back to top

3Wheeler Group: Members Posts: 828 Joined: Aug. 2007 Posted: Jan. 06 2011, 04:35 "The bad people of the North, bearing many pies, come towards this place. A strange creature is at the standing stone in the blowing wind. Oh look - a small rodent-like person. I'm knackered!" Classic!!   -------------- We're Flying Aeroflot, We've Got Reservations. Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Jan. 06 2011, 18:42 Quote (Rider in the Blue @ Jan. 06 2011, 08:30) Roughly translated, it means: 'Borla' --> 'The pie' 'Di ena' --> 'The bad people of the North' 'Labato' --> 'to approach; to come towards a place' 'Oncota' --> 'strange creature' 'Dolmonya' --> 'standing stone' or 'cairn' 'Oh gusto' --> 'wind blowing' 'Mekara' --> 'small rodent-like person' 'Ah resta mena' --> 'tired - need rest' 'Oh gosto mega' --> 'The wind blows stronger' or 'a very big wind'. This sounds very much LewisCarrol-ish. Are you friends with Humpty Dumpty? Have you ever met a freddled gruntbuggly? Have you ever slain a Jabberwock? If you did, could you please tell the slithy toves not to gyre and gimble so fast in the wabe, because I can't see them? And could you please tell the mome raths to stop outgribing, because they're so loud? -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

BubbaMc Group: Members Posts: 14 Joined: Sep. 2010 Posted: Jan. 07 2011, 02:33 Mike said in his autobiography that he doesn't like the sound of people talking in established languages, maybe this is why he creates his own words. Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Jan. 07 2011, 17:39 I think Mike creates his own words because they have to fit the music. We all know how hard it is for him to come up with sensible English lyrics on his own, so it's pretty logical that he invents words. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Delfín Group: Members Posts: 667 Joined: Nov. 2000 Posted: Jan. 07 2011, 19:03 Everything Ugo said (the words) is a very mysterious and specifical thing in its Spanish meaning. Now I don't dare to share it because I have to make sure nobody is gonna be frightened now, but in a short while i will unveil it if i find it appropiate. I think the love expressed in 'Hergest Ridge' has a certain meaning that being intertwined with certain events that happened in Britain on those days, sets a path in which we can read a very specifical message that applies to the world nowadays, and has to do with very powerful and trascendent realities. To insert a hint that might lighten the obvious suspense created, I can add that the last three songs on 'Earth Moving' and the first two ones on 'Discovery' have a lot to do. 'Oncota' means 'creature' and 'Polish parrot' in Spanish, but 'Oh gosto mega' means 'threat from computer viruses' and 'a bad mobile football game' as well. That's only the beginning, but I will rest my case with that. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. -------------- The most precious thing I possess, is knowing the answer's yes Back to top

Rider in the Blue Group: Members Posts: 33 Joined: Dec. 2010 Posted: Jan. 07 2011, 20:20 Quote (Ugo @ Jan. 07 2011, 22:39) I think Mike creates his own words because they have to fit the music. We all know how hard it is for him to come up with sensible English lyrics on his own, so it's pretty logical that he invents words. At a guess, Oldfield's intention was to use the human voice as a musical instrument, adding a human presence to the music rather than subverting the meaning of the music that might occur if listeners hear meaningful words. When I listen to music, I tend to concentrate upon sung lyrics which I find often do detract from music. Music is a form of communication, after all. All IMO of course. -------------- "Our hope's with you..." Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Jan. 07 2011, 21:24 Quote (Rider in the Blue @ Jan. 07 2011, 20:20) Quote (Ugo @ Jan. 07 2011, 22:39) I think Mike creates his own words because they have to fit the music. We all know how hard it is for him to come up with sensible English lyrics on his own, so it's pretty logical that he invents words. At a guess, Oldfield's intention was to use the human voice as a musical instrument, adding a human presence to the music rather than subverting the meaning of the music that might occur if listeners hear meaningful words. When I listen to music, I tend to concentrate upon sung lyrics which I find often do detract from music. Music is a form of communication, after all. All IMO of course. This has precedence in classical music. Gliere, for example, composed a piece that is almost a concerto for the human voice, where the coloratura soprana simply utters meaningless syllables. I think in Mike's case the made-up words are not simply to prevent distraction from the music but to add to the sense of strangeness. The final chant in Taurus 2 is a good example. (Berlioz did something similar in The Damnation of Faust, where there is singing in a made-up "infernal" language, which creates a very strange, unearthly feel.) Back to top

Sammy Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: Aug. 2011 Posted: Aug. 18 2011, 04:01 It's funny how we're always looking for meaning in words that do not necessarily have one - it's probably an inseparable & in-built feature of the human mind to try and make sense of the world; I mean, look at religion for a start. Give a name to a mythical deity of your choice and hey presto, now you can argue whether he or she exists or not  (there must be a Great Froolbie somewhere, otherwise what would the term Great Froolbie refer to? ) That aside, it's not only Mike - another artist whose "lyrics" are constantly being debated on to the point of silliness is of course Dead Can Dance - no matter how many times the artists say in interviews that the words are just made up and only are meant to "sound good" and fit to the music, convey an emotion.. the fans are drooling for meaning. The question is, why should we care so much whether the words have real meaning or not? Isn't it just "music"? Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Aug. 18 2011, 19:35 @ nightspore and Sammy: as I've mentioned multiple times in these forums, another guy who has pretty much turned meaningless lyrics into a trademark is Karl Jenkins a.k.a. Adiemus. The lyrics to a song of his start like this: Eh. Emakamàya. Eh. Emakahàya. Amabi-èh. Amabi-èh. Amabi-èh. Amabi-ana. And another says: Eh mayaèh a-kumma yaèh, oh oh oh ah yeah. Eh ma yah, u-ah-eh mammayah eh ma yah, eh ma yah y-kumma yaèh. All of this sounds wonderful in its proper context. Does it have a meaning? No. Also, the Latin phrases he assembled as lyrics for a couple of movements in MotS do not make any proper sense, although all of them are authentic Latin (mostly from the Bible). -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Aug. 19 2011, 00:40 Quote (Ugo @ Aug. 18 2011, 19:35) @ nightspore and Sammy: as I've mentioned multiple times in these forums, another guy who has pretty much turned meaningless lyrics into a trademark is Karl Jenkins a.k.a. Adiemus. The lyrics to a song of his start like this: Eh. Emakamàya. Eh. Emakahàya. Amabi-èh. Amabi-èh. Amabi-èh. Amabi-ana. And another says: Eh mayaèh a-kumma yaèh, oh oh oh ah yeah. Eh ma yah, u-ah-eh mammayah eh ma yah, eh ma yah y-kumma yaèh. All of this sounds wonderful in its proper context. Does it have a meaning? No. Also, the Latin phrases he assembled as lyrics for a couple of movements in MotS do not make any proper sense, although all of them are authentic Latin (mostly from the Bible). Kala? All those AMAs... could have been a coded reference to Usama   Back to top

Sammy Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: Aug. 2011 Posted: Aug. 19 2011, 12:39 ....not to mention the hidden meanings that you're bound to discover if you listen to the music backwards   Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Sep. 12 2012, 09:07 Quote (Delfín @ Jan. 08 2011, 01:03) 'Oncota' means 'creature' and 'Polish parrot' in Spanish, but 'Oh gosto mega' means 'threat from computer viruses' and 'a bad mobile football game' as well. Sorry for telling this to you, Delfïn, but I think this is bull. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Sep. 12 2012, 09:19 Quote (Sammy @ Aug. 18 2011, 10:01) The question is, why should we care so much whether the words have real meaning or not? Isn't it just "music"? Quoting John Lennon: yes it is, yes it is, oh yes it is, yeah!! -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

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