Mae g'ovannen, mellyn!



It's been a long time, yet I felt again the nagging need to try my hand at

Quenya composition. And listening to Galadriel's Lament with Marion Zimmer

Bradley's music, I knew what I wished to translate.



From an internal point of view, this makes (some) sense. Though it seems

Galadriel sang in Common Speech, since no understanding issue is mentioned among

the Fellowship, the song might have been a translation of a Quenya original — or

it could have been translated into Quenya at a later stage — as I now will

endeavour to do.



Here is first a line-by-line translation, followed by notes regarding salient

points. I will first try to stay as close as possible to the original. Once it

has been sufficiently proofread, I'll go for a more poetic translation:





I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:

_Lassion lirnen, malinë lassion, ar malinë lassi tassë oller:_



Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.

_Lirnen súreo, súrë tassë tullë ar imíca olvar súnë._



Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,

_Anar pella, Isil pella, fallë né Airenna,_



And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.

_Ar ara Ilmarino falassë tás ollë malin' Alda._



Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone, [5]

_Nú Oiondúneo eleni Eldamardessë silles,_



In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.

_Eldamardessë ara Eldaiva Tiriono rambar._



There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years.

_Tás andavë malinë lassi olier rambinë loannar._



While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven- tears.

_Sívë Ascátala Eari sí lantar Eldarinwë-níri._



O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day,

_Ai Lórien ! Hrívë tulë, i held' ar lasselór' Aurë,_



The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away. [10]

_Lassi lantar mí celumë, i Sírë oasirë._



O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore

_Ai Lórien ! Acc' andavë amárien Sira Hrestanna_



And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.

_Ar mir fifírula rië ilyë malina elanar._



But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,

_Nó qui ciryaron sí lirin, mana cirya nai ninna tuluva,_



What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?

_Mana cirya nai atacoluva ni atta ta Alatairë ?_



L1:

- there _tassë_, _tás_ (VT49:11)

- to grow _ol-_ (VT45:13): grew _ol-nê_ > _ollë_



L2: in -> among _imíca_, _mici_ (VT43:30)



L3: foam _fallë_ (PHAL-)



L4: by > beside _ara_ (VT49:57)



L5:

- Ever-eve _Oio-andúnë_ > _Oiondúnë_

- to shine _sil-_: shone _sil-nê_ > _sillë_



L7:

- to grow _ol-_ (VT45:13): have grown _olië_

- branching > meshed _rambina_ (VT42:12)



L8:

- Sundering > Breaking-asunder _Ascát-(a)-la_

- while here > as here _sívë_



L9:

- naked, stripped bare _helda_ (SKEL-)

- leafless _lassë-lóra_ (VT45:28)



L10: to flow away _oa-sir-_



L11:

- too _acca_ (PE13:108)

- hither _sira_, _sir_ (VT49:18)



L12:

- to twine _lië_ (LT1:271): have twined _i-lí-ie_ > _ilyë_

- _elanor_ > _elanar_



L13: future conditional expressed as _nai_ + future (PE14:59)



L14:

- to bear back _ata-col-_

- across _atta_ (VT49:32)

- so _ta_ (VT49:12)



Namárië,

Elendil

Elendil,



Elmendinqua ar vanima. Hanta le carmalyan.













--- In elfling@yahoogroups.com, "Damien" <elendil.voronda@...> wrote:

>

> Mae g'ovannen, mellyn!

>

> It's been a long time, yet I felt again the nagging need to try my hand at

Quenya composition. And listening to Galadriel's Lament with Marion Zimmer

Bradley's music, I knew what I wished to translate.

>

> From an internal point of view, this makes (some) sense. Though it seems

Galadriel sang in Common Speech, since no understanding issue is mentioned among

the Fellowship, the song might have been a translation of a Quenya original — or

it could have been translated into Quenya at a later stage — as I now will

endeavour to do.

>

> Here is first a line-by-line translation, followed by notes regarding salient

points. I will first try to stay as close as possible to the original. Once it

has been sufficiently proofread, I'll go for a more poetic translation:

>

>

> I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:

> _Lassion lirnen, malinë lassion, ar malinë lassi tassë oller:_

>

> Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.

> _Lirnen súreo, súrë tassë tullë ar imíca olvar súnë._

>

> Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,

> _Anar pella, Isil pella, fallë né Airenna,_

>

> And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.

> _Ar ara Ilmarino falassë tás ollë malin' Alda._

>

> Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone, [5]

> _Nú Oiondúneo eleni Eldamardessë silles,_

>

> In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.

> _Eldamardessë ara Eldaiva Tiriono rambar._

>

> There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years.

> _Tás andavë malinë lassi olier rambinë loannar._

>

> While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven- tears.

> _Sívë Ascátala Eari sí lantar Eldarinwë-níri._

>

> O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day,

> _Ai Lórien ! Hrívë tulë, i held' ar lasselór' Aurë,_

>

> The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away. [10]

> _Lassi lantar mí celumë, i Sírë oasirë._

>

> O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore

> _Ai Lórien ! Acc' andavë amárien Sira Hrestanna_

>

> And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.

> _Ar mir fifírula rië ilyë malina elanar._

>

> But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,

> _Nó qui ciryaron sí lirin, mana cirya nai ninna tuluva,_

>

> What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?

> _Mana cirya nai atacoluva ni atta ta Alatairë ?_

>

> L1:

> - there _tassë_, _tás_ (VT49:11)

> - to grow _ol-_ (VT45:13): grew _ol-nê_ > _ollë_

>

> L2: in -> among _imíca_, _mici_ (VT43:30)

>

> L3: foam _fallë_ (PHAL-)

>

> L4: by > beside _ara_ (VT49:57)

>

> L5:

> - Ever-eve _Oio-andúnë_ > _Oiondúnë_

> - to shine _sil-_: shone _sil-nê_ > _sillë_

>

> L7:

> - to grow _ol-_ (VT45:13): have grown _olië_

> - branching > meshed _rambina_ (VT42:12)

>

> L8:

> - Sundering > Breaking-asunder _Ascát-(a)-la_

> - while here > as here _sívë_

>

> L9:

> - naked, stripped bare _helda_ (SKEL-)

> - leafless _lassë-lóra_ (VT45:28)

>

> L10: to flow away _oa-sir-_

>

> L11:

> - too _acca_ (PE13:108)

> - hither _sira_, _sir_ (VT49:18)

>

> L12:

> - to twine _lië_ (LT1:271): have twined _i-lí-ie_ > _ilyë_

> - _elanor_ > _elanar_

>

> L13: future conditional expressed as _nai_ + future (PE14:59)

>

> L14:

> - to bear back _ata-col-_

> - across _atta_ (VT49:32)

> - so _ta_ (VT49:12)

>

> Namárië,

> Elendil

>

Sorry for the OT



What do you mean "Marion Zimmer Bradley's music"?







> It's been a long time, yet I felt again the nagging need to try my hand at

Quenya composition. And listening to Galadriel's Lament with Marion Zimmer

Bradley's music, I knew what I wished to translate.

>

>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello Palatinus,



Marion Zimmer Bradley apparently composed a melody to go with the song.



You can check out a rendering by Margaret Davis on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzEjHd54reI



Cheers,

Damien



--- In elfling@yahoogroups.com, Palatinus <elfiness@...> wrote:

>

> Sorry for the OT

>

> What do you mean "Marion Zimmer Bradley's music"?