Latin Song Translation: "Starman" by David Bowie
A hit off the classic 1972 album Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, translated into Latin
Confession time: One of the things this whole song translation project has been building to was the idea to “steal” the concept behind Seu Jorge’s soundtrack from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and remake it but with Latin lyrics. Considering it’s most likely the best-selling set of song translations out there, aiming that high is my best bet to make something broadly marketable. Plus, the image on the original album cover seems to intentionally draw from the storied history of the phrygian cap, and I thought re-making that picture in lorica segmentata would be a neat little connection as a throughline to ancient history. I’ve translated two Bowie songs already, and if there is further interest after this article gets published, I’ll go ahead and start commissioning some artists to do the instrumentals for a full length album. Like this post and comment what other songs you’d like to see (deep cuts, etc.) and I’ll do the best I can to include what people want.
Olim vocem portatam a vento
Cum cubabam audivi.
Dixit “ Magnam animam habesne?”
“Ita vero” dixi.
Sonor mox marcescere coepit
Sed a lenta voce subiectus est
quae tum cantum caliginosam cecinit.
Vir qui ab stellis venit
Vult nobis convenire
Sed credit nos timere.
Vir qui ab stellis venit
Nobis dicit non vitas
Nostras vero abuti
Et dicit:
Pueri id perdant,
Pueri id sumant,
Pueri tum saltent.
Volui disserere haec res, sic te vocavi
Ut firmem quae vera esse.
Ecce! Navem extra tuam fenestram video,
Similis candidae stellae ardet.
Non mone papam tuam de nave.
Si eum possimus signum dare, veniat.
Vir qui ab stellis venit
Vult nobis convenire
Sed credit nos timere.
Vir qui ab stellis venit
Nobis dicit non vitas
Nostras vero abuti
Et dicit:
Pueri id perdant,
Pueri id sumant,
Pueri tum saltent.
Vir qui ab stellis venit
Vult nobis convenire
Sed credit nos timere.
Vir qui ab stellis venit
Nobis dicit non vitas
Nostras vero abuti
Et dicit:
Pueri id perdant,
Pueri id sumant,
Pueri tum saltent.
La, la, la, etc.
