Translations - "Anduin Flow" (Orinoco Flow in P-AdW Adunaic and P-AdW Westron)

A hypothetical translation of the real world song Orinoco Flow by singer Enya into P-AdW Adunaic and P-AdW Westron.

Of course, the geographic names are translated in such a manner, as to better fit into Tolkien's Legendarium. This also extends to the title of the song: Our translations into P-AdW Adunaic and P-AdW Westron are titled Anduin Flow, not Orinoco Flow.

 

Why Orinoco Flow, of all things ? Aren't there other Enya songs that could be translated into a Tolkien language ? Well, there certainly are some, but  Enya already contributed wondefully to the film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, with the Elvish-only song Aníron (specifically, in Sindarin), and the alternating-English-and-Elvish-strewn lyrics of May It Be, the film's closing credits song. You could also argue that Enya's The Celts might work as an all right theme song (of sorts) for Lady Haleth of the Haladin people (i.e. the House of Haleth), the more distant cousins and allies of the other two Edain peoples (that later became the Númenoreas). Maybe it could even work for other "Haladinic language family" speakers of later eras, such as the Dunlendings.

However, Orinoco Flow jumped at me as an idea because of a simple reason: I was pondering what the lyrics of a Númenorean sailing song would sound like. The Númenoreans were famous sailors, it was a major part of their culture, economy and military as well, so they'd no doubt have a fair few mariner and sailor songs, maybe even their equivalent of shanties. Orinoco Flow is a good candidate to adapt into such a role, with a bit of added adjusting and fictionalization in the translated lyrics, to make them work within the context of the Legendarium.

(C) Ted Nasmith - Aldarion Returns from His First Voyage

First of all, let's of course summarize the lyrics of the original song:


Orinoco Flow

Let me sail, let me sail, let the Orinoco flow
Let me reach, let me beach on the shores of Tripoli
Let me sail, let me sail, let me crash upon your shore
Let me reach, let me beach far beyond the Yellow Sea

(vocals)

Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away

From Bissau to Palau in the shade of Avalon
From Fiji to Tiree and the isles of Ebony
From Peru to Cebu, feel the power of Babylon
From Bali to Cali, far beneath the Coral Sea

(vocals)

Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up
Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up
Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up

(vocals)

Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away

From the North to the South,
Ebudau unto Khartoum
From the deep sea of clouds
to the island of the Moon
Carry me on the waves to the land I've never been
Carry me on the waves to the land I've never seen

We can sail, we can sail with the Orinoco flow
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
We can steer, we can near
with Rob Dickins at the wheel
We can sigh, say goodbye,
Ross and his dependencies

We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away
We can sail, we can sail
Sail away, sail away, sail away

Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away
Sail away, sail away, sail away

Great. But for the sake of our translations, we need an instrumental version. Though there are also non-vocal edits of the original song, we need something that will be not only instruments-only, but also have a more period sound, a more historical sound. An instrumental cover played live on traditional instruments that will better fit into the atmosphere of Tolkien's Legendarium. 

 

 

Voilá ! Here we have an instrumental cover of Orinoco Flow by the Slovenian ensemble Orkester Mandolina Ljubljana ("Lubljana Mandolin Orchestra"). Listen carefully. Mandolins, acoustic guitars, string instruments. Nice cover, isn't it ? And now listen to that same cover version again and read the following translations of the song's lyrics. First the translation into P-AdW Adunaic and then the translation into P-AdW Westron.

 

 

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The translation into P-AdW Adunaic:

 

Phurus an-Aphunîr

Lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg phursâ Aphunîrlat
Lâivâg nipânta, lâivâg niphârsakâ sakîlitnab an-Ârbalkubanad
Lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg nilûha sakalnud kirya,
Lâivâg nipânta, lâivâg niphârsakâ êphan-nadan Âvkorazra(t)

(vocals)

Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

Hisînlonô Adûnimrulônada, imi nâlôt an-Avallôni
Azûlonô Mârandulônada ka êphalak Dulguzâyanet
Ûrenadûnô Êmab-Minrêdûrada, velâg abâr an-Arminalêth
Mêndô an-Aphunîr Nimrulônada, êphan-dûrad Abârazret

(vocals)

Ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada
Ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada
Ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada

(vocals)

Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

Phurutô Kharatada, Umbarô Êphal-Kharatzâyada
Dûrla azrôt an-phânthî azuruda an-Nîlu
Kûyana-hê auda walîmit zâinitada abâlûr ninakhar
Kûyana-hê auda walîmit zâinitada abâlûr nitudda

Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana Aphunîret phurasmâ
Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Nepôil-pânadrukkâ, nepôil-âhranâ
Nimruzîrmâ pânurukkazê
Nepôil-sâika, bithâ tenrutuda
Anadûnêya azru-zâin (an-Andaban)

Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

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Literal translation from P-AdW Adunaic into English:


Anduin Flow ("Flow of the Long-River")

Let me-sail, let me-sail, let flow the-Anduin
Let me-reach, let me-beach on-the-shores of-Pelargir
Let me-sail, let me-sail, let-me crash upon-shore your
Let me-reach, let me-beach far-beyond the Encircling Sea

(vocals)

Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

From-the-Grey-Havens to-Eldalondë, in the-shade of-Avallónë

From-Rómenna to-Lond-Daer and the-faraway-Dark-Land

From-Andúnië to-Dol-Amroth, feel the-power of-Armenelos

From-the-Mouth-of-Anduin to-Edhellond, far-below Belegaer 

(vocals)

Raise-it-up, raise-it-up, raise-it-up
Raise-it-up, raise-it-up, raise-it-up
Raise-it-up, raise-it-up, raise-it-up

(vocals)

Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

From-(the)-North to-(the)-South, from-Umbar to-Far-Harad
From-the-deep-sea of-clouds to-the-island of-the-Moon
Carry-me on the-waves to-the-lands never I've-been
Carry-me on the-waves to-the-lands never I've-seen

We-can-sail, we-can-sail the-Anduin flow-with
We-can-sail, we-can-sail
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
We-can-steer, we-can-near
With-Elendil at-the-steering-wheel
We-can-sigh, say goodbye
To-the-Númenorean sea-lands (of-Middle-earth)

We-can-sail, we-can-sail
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
We-can-sail, we-can-sail
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

(C) Ted Nasmith - Tol Brandir (on the river Anduin)

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The translation into P-AdW Westron:

Phurus an-Mârunîr

Lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg phursâ Mârunîrlat
Lâivâg nipânta, lâivâg niphârsakâ sakîlitnab an-Ârbalkubanad
Lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg nirâmana, lâivâg nilûha sakalnud kirya,
Lâivâg nipânta, lâivâg niphârsakâ êphan-nadan Âvkorazra(t)

 

(vocals)

Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

Hisînlonô Adûn-azurîda, imi nâlôt an-Avallôni
Phurtuhalkô agadîthada an-Bâtigmar ka êphalak Dulguzâyant
Lînthunîrô Saklu-azuruda, velâg abâr an-Êmab-Minrêdûr
Mêndô an-Mârunîr Nimrulônada, êphan-dûrad Abârazret

(vocals)

Ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada
Ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada
Ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada, ôiru-minada

(vocals)

Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

Phurutô Karatada, Umbarô Êphal-Karatzâyada
Dûrla azrôt an-phânthî azuruda an-Nîlu

Kûyana-hê auda walîmit zâinitada abâlûr ninahar
Kûyana-hê auda walîmit zâinitada abâlûr nitudda

Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana Mârunîret phurasmâ
Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Nepôil-pânadrukkâ, nepôil-âhranâ
Cîrdanmâ pânurukkazê
Nepôil-sâika, bithâ tenrutuda
Côphada an-Belsakal
 
Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Nepôil-râmana, nepôil-râmana
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak
Râmanak, râmanak, râmanak

 
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Literal translation from P-AdW Westron into English:

 

Anduin Flow ("Flow of the Great-River")

Let me-sail, let me-sail, let flow the-Anduin
Let me-reach, let me-beach on-the-shores of-Pelargir
Let me-sail, let me-sail, let-me crash upon-shore your
Let me-reach, let me-beach far-beyond the Encircling Sea 

(vocals)

Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

From-the-Grey-Havens to-the-Western-Isles, in the-shade of-Avallónë

From-Forochel to-the-ruins of-Tharbad and the-faraway-Dark-Land

From-Linhir to-Tolfalas, feel the-power of-Dol-Amroth

From-the-Mouth-of-Anduin to-Edhellond, far-below Belegaer 

 

(vocals)

Raise-it-up, raise-it-up, raise-it-up
Raise-it-up, raise-it-up, raise-it-up
Raise-it-up, raise-it-up, raise-it-up

(vocals)

Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

From-(the)-North to-(the)-South, from-Umbar to-Far-Harad
From-the-deep-sea of-clouds to-the-island of-the-Moon
Carry-me on the-waves to-the-lands never I've-been
Carry-me on the-waves to-the-lands never I've-seen

We-can-sail, we-can-sail the-Anduin flow-with
We-can-sail, we-can-sail
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
We-can-steer, we-can-near
With-Cîrdan at-the-steering-wheel
We-can-sigh, say goodbye
To-the-Bay of-Belfalas

We-can-sail, we-can-sail
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
We-can-sail, we-can-sail

Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away
Sail-away, sail-away, sail-away

(C) Ralph Damiani - Eldalondë

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Notes:
- "the Encircling Sea", of course, denotes Ekkaia
- the version of the song in P-AdW Westron does not mention locations related to the destroyed Númenor
- in some parts of the translated lyrics, you can notice differences in the ortographic and pronunciation traditions of Westron and Adunaic (karat instead of kharat for "south", and so on)
- in some parts of the translated lyrics, you can notice differences in the preferred colloquial terminology of Adunaic and Westron (in both languages, the Anduin is known as both the "Long-River" and the "Great-River", but Adunaic uses "Long-River", a term closer to the literal elvish meaning of the name, more commonly, whereas Westron had over the centuries developed a habit of more commonly using the name "Great-River")


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Related articles

Slovak language version of this article


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External links

Tolkien Gateway: Armenelos (Arminalêth), Anduin (Aphunîr, Mârunîr), Andúnië (Ûrenadûnê, Ûrenadûna), Avallónë (Avallôni), Bay of Belfalas (Côphada an-Belsakal), Belegaer (Abârazra), Círdan (Cîrdan), Dark Land (Dulguzâyan), Dol Amroth (Êmab-Minrêdûr), Edhellond (Nimrulôna), Ekkaia (Âvkorazra), Eldalondë (Adûnimrulôna), Elendil (Nimruzîr), Ethir Anduin ("Mouth of the Anduin", Mêndu an-Aphunîr, Mêndu an-Mârunîr), Far Harad (Êphal-Kharatzâyan, Êphal-Karatzâyan), Forochel (Phurtuhalak, Phurtuhalk), Linhir (Lînthunîr), Lond Daer Enedh (Mârandulôna), Middle-earth (Andaban), Mithlond ("Grey Havens", Hisînlona), Númenor (Anadûnê), Pelargir (Ârbalkubanad), Rómenna (Azûlona), Tharbad (Bâtigmar), Tolfalas (Saklu-azurud), Umbar (Umbar), Western Isles (Adûn-azurîd)

Official upload of the song Orinoco Flow (2009 remaster) at the official YouTube channel of Enya (only music) 

Official music video for the song Orinoco Flow from 1988 (official 4k remaster) - music video used in this article

Cover of Orinoco Flow in the spirit of medieval seamanship (by "Hildegard von Blingin'" and "Friar Funk")