English} EXEC_SUSPEND/.

NOTE: I've tried to follow the spirit, since a direct translation would be terrible. Taking the first line as an example: "A new green life blossoms, eternally" wouldn't fit in much with the theme quite as well as the statement of insignificance. (Except, of course, at the very end.)

My lord, no one's made a translation video of this song until now? This game's been out for five years!

If you're curious as to what the Latin means, the lines immediately following them mean the same thing. Asmodeus is the demon of lust in the Malleus Maleficarum (1486); the original lyrics are 'the squirming incarnation of lust, trapped in the darkness'. 'Omelas' is a reference to a short story by LeGuin, building off one of the themes of Doestovesky's Brothers Karamazov: the paradise in which a single innocent is tortured. Fajr and maghrib are the morning and night prayers in Islam.

Well, I've spent quite a bit of time on this, and I can see several reasons why a video hadn't been made for it yet.

-It's complicated. The lyrics are very much Japanese, and thus struggle against translation.
-It's long. Not even fast or with large gaps, but with extremely dragged-out singing parts.
-It's weird. Not sure why, but it just gives me a strange feeling to translate.
-And at times it just makes no sense.

No, I'm not trying to push an agenda or anything by using religious terms. I simply believe that they're appropriate references, since the song itself sounds a bit like a sermon.

Fun fact: 'suhada' is the Arabic plural for 'martyr' or 'witness', though it means 'bare skin' in Japanese. Interesting phonological similarity.

Raw lyrics and basis of translation from:
http://artonelico.isisview.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=59
Aquagon, A Revyateil's Melody

Translated by yours truly.

(First guy who knows who's house that is at around 4:15 gets a cookie and/or a sub.)

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[IzanagiProductions1]

FUCKING FINALLY. SOMEONE ENGLISH SUBBED THIS SONG.

Thank you for existing. Now to finally understand this masterpiece.

[MiniNymph]

I really like that this video has been uploaded. Somehow, it doesn't give me the same feeling with these lyrics, though. The last bit was always more sad; I guess the way it says 'live forever' (rather than pervious translations where, to someone who didn't know the story, it sounds like she is giving up her life) makes it less emotional.

It's probably a good thing though; means I don’t have to cry my eyes out listening to it.

[sanktkaiservia09]

@amitabho123

i think the translation we see is the ones that are officially made for the song. the lyrics could be directly translated but most of the lyrics behind AT songs have their own story behind it, take it as a literature or poem.

for example, the translation for the phrase yasra dius manaf can be directly translated and have the same meaning, but it has its own hidden meaning for each time the phrase is repeated

[SariaSchala]

@SariaSchala but same difference.

[SariaSchala]

@amitabho123 I'm gonna side with you here: I think cultural references are awesome, and really convey the meaning of the song. Come to think of it, such things could also apply to mythic figures such as the Hindu goddess Kali, who both creates and destroys. It could be saying "she laments over the pain she must cause to maintain the world's balance, for if light overpowers darkness the world ends". Now, I was actually imagining the Greek goddess Eris, who I imagine to be a lot like Kali (c)

[amitabho123]

@udsuna The thing is, it's so much drier without cultural context, and the original hadn't any references. A direct translation would be "so as to compensate for the world's sins, a life is sacrificed".

You must understand; I'm not only constrained by my ego, but by . The source I'm taking from- linked to in the description- hasn't exactly been the purveyor of good intentions, and so I avoid plagiarism very carefully. I figured referencing Omelas would keep the concept while avoiding problems.

[udsuna]

@amitabho123 I suggest you don't translate name/cultural references. Viewers can either do some research or shut up. That's what the internet's for- obscure information that before would take years to discover, found in seconds.

Toying with language in order to find the right meaning is one thing- japanese is not easy to translate into english. Hymmnos is easier, still a pain. But don't change what the song means by including things that don't belong.

[amitabho123]

@udsuna The only reason I know about Omelas is because of TVTropes, but I digress.

These translations aren't exactly very accessible, the more I think of it; not many people know about the tropopause (red line in spellcheck, hah) or many English-speaking peoples of the fajr and maghrib. Probably should work on that.

Eh, gotta cut some slack. I'm fourteen, haven't exactly developed an elegant writer's (or rather, translator's) voice yet. Stitching emptiness with bits of purple prose, that's me.

[udsuna]

@amitabho123 ... So you reference something that is, quite probably, even MORE obscure than this game? The only reason I even knew about Omelas is due to a college thesis where I chose to compare various visions of paradise against their historical and cultural context. That one came up. Otherwise, I never would have known.

And I'm a writer.. who's interested in these subjects. Your average person doesn't even know where the word 'utopia' actually comes from.

Nice quote, however.

[amitabho123]

@udsuna I'm afraid that Omelas is the translator's conceit of dynamic equivalence. It doesn't actually mention the story, I'm just putting it into relative cultural equivalence. >_<

Also, relevant quote on martyrdom: "None who, in the grace of God (in the Hereafter) would wish to return to this world, even if he were to be given its entirety, except the martyr, who would like to come back to the world and be martyred again." -Muhammed, narrated by Anas bin Malik in Hadith 52