A Latin Language Version of "From Me to You" - with a Tribute to Eddie O'Hara

A fellow Latin teacher on Twitter told me about a man who, back in the 1960's already, had translated Beatles' songs into Latin in an effort to inspire students about the continued relevance of this ancient language. As I investigated further, I learned that the man in question, Eddie O'Hara, was no simple Latin teacher. He would eventually leave teaching to serve for twenty years as a Member of the British Parliament!

Without ever having had the privilege of corresponding with Eddie O'Hara personally, we are certainly kindred spirits. I also have dabbled in the translation of contemporary music into Latin in the hopes of making the study of the language more interesting to my students. Like him, I served my country in a war zone (I served in Iraq; Mr. O'Hara served in British occupied Cyprus and was the target of an attack, an irony since he would eventually champion the Greek Cypriot cause).

Since there is no evidence that anyone ever put Eddie O'Hara's translations to music, I decided that it was my duty to pay tribute to this great man by doing just that.

Below I offer a video which begins with a tribute to Eddie O'Hara, and then continues with a music video of "From Me to You," translation by the man himself and vocals and music performed by me. Following the video is a grammatical description of his translation. It is not woodenly literal, which I admit I tend toward in my own efforts, but delightfully dynamic. 

I also invite you to learn more about Eddie O'Hara in the obituaries that major news venues published about him.

The Guardian

The Telegraph

The BBC


 Tribute and Music Video of "From Me to You"




Grammatical Description of Eddie O'Hara's Translation

Latin	English	Parsing	Grammar Points
Si	If		Conj.
quid	anything	acc. sing. neut. pronoun	aliquis, aliquid; after “si” shortened to “quid”
habeo	I have	1st pers. sing. pres. act. ind. verb	habeō, habēre, habuī, habitus
quod	which	acc. sing. rel. pronoun	qui, quae, quod
cupis	you want	2nd pers. sing. pres. act. ind. verb	cupiō, cupere, cupīvī, cupītus
Si	If		Conj.
quid	anything	acc. sing. neut. pronoun	aliquis, aliquid; after “si” shortened to “quid”
opus	needful	acc. sing. indecl. noun	opus
auxilii	of help	gen. sing. neut. noun	auxilium, auxilii
Vocanti	to the one calling	dat. sing. pres. act. part.	vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātus
me	me	acc. sing. pronoun	ego, mei
tibi	to you	dat. sing. pronoun	tu, tui
id	it	acc. sing. neut. dem. adj.	is, ea, id
mittam	I will send	1st pers. sing. fut. ind. verb	mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus
Amore	With love	Abl. sing. masc. noun	amor, amoris
a	from		Pres. + Abl.
me	me	abl. sing. pronoun	ego, mei
tibi	to you	dat. sing. pronoun	tu, tui
Bracchia	Arms	nom. pl. neut. noun	bracchium, bracchii
volunt	want	3rd pers. pl. pres. ind. verb	volō, velle, voluī
tenere	to hold	pres. act. inf.	teneō, tenēre, tenuī
Te	You	acc. sing. pronoun	tu, tui
ne	so that not		conj.
tu	you	nom. sing. pronoun	tu, tui
abeas	(you) may go away	2nd pers. sing. pres. act. subj. verb	abeō, abīre, abīvī, abitus
Et	And		Conj.
labra	lips	acc. pl. neut. noun	labrum, labrī
basiare	to kiss	pres. act. inf.	bāsiō, bāsiāre, bāsiāvī, bāsiātus
Dum	Until		Conj.
satis	enough		indeclinable noun
habeas	you may have	2nd pers. sing. pres. act. ind. verb	habeō, habēre, habuī, habitus

Looking for my Life...

The music of that sweet man, George Harrison, has enriched my life in ways inexpressible.

But never more than when I was in Iraq, ten years ago.

He passed away on November 29, 2001. I shed tears of sorrow for his loss and of joy for his life on that day.

In the summer of 2002, I went to work at the National Security Agency as an Arabic linguist.

On November 18, 2002, his last and posthumous album "Brainwashed" was released. I snatched it up immediately. I consider it actually his greatest musical achievement.

One song emerged for me as a fast favorite, "Looking for my Life."

In the summer of 2004, ten years ago right now as I write this, I was on my way to Iraq.

And as I was there, this song took on new dimensions for me.

I took six George songs with me. "Looking for my Life" was among them.

Here are the lyrics and the meaning they then took on for me.

"I never knew that life was loaded."

Me, in Iraq, wearing that gun...

I had never fired a gun before I had to be certified on the Glock 9mm and M4 Assault rifle to go to Iraq. I also never knew that life was loaded. And I prayed every day that I would never face the situation where I would have to draw that gun.

"I never knew that things exploded."

Neither did I. Until I heard mortar shells explode and I ran for my life to shelter. I'm a simple boy from Wisconsin, from farmer stock. And somehow, in the twists and turns of Providence, I was in Iraq and running from explosions.

"Had no idea that I was heading
Toward a state of emergency"

Neither did I, when I applied at the NSA, but I suppose I should have known better...

"I had no fear where I was treading
I only found it out when I was down upon my knees
Looking for my life"

And I really didn't fear where I was treading when I volunteered for duty in Iraq. I wanted a piece of the action. And I would eventually find myself on my knees, looking for my life...

Thank you, George. You gave me strength when I needed it most. 

I pray for your soul. May you be in a Place of Brightness and Repose.

Please listen to the beautiful music of George Harrison, "Looking for my Life."

Grammar Lessons from the Latin Version of "And I Love Her" (Et Eam Amō)

My Latin Language Version of the Lennon-McCartney song "And I Love Her" (Et Eam Amō) is officially released. After the video, I include a description of the grammatical points worth knowing that occur in the song. Enjoy!

Direct Object and Indirect Object

I give her all my love,

omnem amorem meum eī dō

NB: the dative singulars of is and ea (to him/to her) are both eī.

Future Less Vivid Conditional Construction

Both clauses have present subjunctive for a "should-would" conditional:

And if you saw my love

Et si amantem meam videās

You'd love her too.

Eam amēs quoque tū

Neuter Antecedent for Relative Clause

The kiss my lover brings,

Basium quod fert amans mea

She brings to me,

Ea fert mihi

Indirect Statement Introduced by Verb of Knowing

I know this love of mine

Sciō hunc amorem meum

Will never die

numquam morī

Hello! Goodbye! Salve! Vale!

I've created a Latin language version of the Lennon/McCartney song "Hello, Goodbye" as a way to teach Latin students the greetings and also some basic vocabulary. The song employs ample repetition to work magnificently for these purposes.

The background music was all played by me, using Garageband. I chose instruments that roughly matched those available in ancient times, to give the song a Roman sound. A Clavinova Panflute in particular was employed because it seemed to emulate the ancient water organ. I do all the singing on the song (using the scholastic pronunciation).

A few notes on my translation decisions.

I've elsewhere defended my use of sic and non for the affirmative and negative words in ancient spoken Latin.

After the word cur, we have the use of subjunctive in an indirect question:

I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello.
Nōn sciō cūr dīcās valē, dīcō salvē.

Some may question my use of nōn sciō as opposed to nesciō. I'm big on viewing the Romance languages as the best window into authentic spoken language even in the Classical period. No Romance language preserved  nesciō. When I speak Romanian, "I don't know" is Nu știu. And, as it is, nesciō is the equivalent of saying "I dunno" as opposed to "I don't know."

I hope this song helps students master the simple greetings and, along the way, acquire some basic vocabulary in an engaging manner.

George Harrison: Don't Let Me Wait Too Long

Continuing my exploration of what makes George Harrison such a remarkable artist, we come the song "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" from the album Living in the Material World.

The song moves along with bright strumming guitar throughout. He sings, even pleads:

I love you, baby, so don't let me wait too long.

I miss you, baby, so don't let me wait too long.

There are hints of harmony dropped in just occasionally, until finally, in the last run through the chorus, it comes on strong.

This song just makes me smile.

George Harrison: The Lord Loves the one (That Loves the Lord)

This is simply a gorgeous song by George Harrison, coming early in his solo career.

He states here principles of reciprocity and karmic law.

"The Lord Loves the one that loves the Lord."

Now, I'm going to bet that as George would deepen in his spirituality through the years, he would also assert that the Lord loves the one that doesn't return the Lord's love. But the overall point of this song is that we humans get back in this universe to the measure that we give.

"And the law says whatever we do's gonna come right back on you."

This song culminates in what I personally will rank as one of the top five guitar solos by George in any song, solo or Beatles.

If you've never heard this song, stay for the ending, where his guitar just sings.

Wake Up My Love

I'm beginning here a series of essays celebrating the life and music of an artist who touched my life deeply--George Harrison.

Most know him simply as the "Quiet Beatle." But an exploration of his music, which only surges in strength and depth near the end of the Beatles and continues unabated until his untimely death in 2001, shows him to be anything but Quiet. Rather, he boldly proclaims simple but ancient truths through delicately beautiful music.

My twin brother Kevin and I discovered George Harrison in our first year at college. And his overt spirituality was a direct factor in my own adult rediscovery of the faith tradition of my nurture. The fact that I did not enter into the Hinduism in which he came to find meaning is immaterial. I consider him, as it were, a sort of spiritual advisor and the man to whom, more than any other, I owe my spiritual life.

The first piece I will examine is a song from one of his very least successful and little known albums, Gone Troppo (1982).

The song "Wake Up My Love" is a fast, bright, happy, piece that opens the second side of the album. (I call them "sides" because back then I put this piece of black vinyl on a turntable.

A tradition developed in our household. My father, who was ever the early riser, had taken a liking to George as well, especially charmed by some of George's covers from songs of his era, such as "True Love."

So, as we sipped our first cups of coffee in the very early morning (perhaps 6:00 AM), my father, my brother Kevin, and I would put on "Wake Up My Love" and sip and sing. And then we would head into our days.

The song opens and George is asking someone to wake up:

Here I go again
Here that knocking won't you let me in
Only want that same old thing
Yet it's me here ring, ring, ring
I want your love
Wake up my love
And let it in

In another verse, George again pleads for someone to wake up and let in his love:

My life's been so many ways
Too much darkness gets me crazed
All around us people fight
Christ, I'm looking for some light
Inside your love
Wake up my love
And let it in

And here's where, typical of George, the song has actually taken a twist. He's not saying "Christ" here as an offhand mild expletive. No, he's been addressing Christ all along. And he's looking for light inside Christ's love.

Now, I need to be clear that George lived and died a convinced devotee of the Krishna expression of Hinduism. His son Dhani sprinkled George's ashes in the Ganges after his death, per the artist's wishes. But George espoused a big tent view of the Godhead. He believed that Jesus was some expression of the Godhead. He believed the same about Krishna. He was not a Bahai, who believe in a formal recognition of multiple incarnations, naming several of them. George's religious views were his own.
 
In the end of the song, he lifts the veil on the secret subject of the song and he explicitly tells God of his desire to draw closer to him:

Oh, I need you, Lord
Oh, I need you more.
With this emptiness outside
You know, Lord, it drives me wild
I got tired of wrong and right
it can seem I need your light.
That's me knocking on your door
And it's you I'm looking for

Oh Lord!
Oh Lord!

I want your love. Wake up my love. And let it in...

George here is expressing a beautiful song within the ancient motif of the Sleeping Deity.

It finds expression, for instance, in the Book of Psalms 44:23, "Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever."

As well, in the Gospel of Matthew 8:24-27, Jesus is asleep when the boat that he and the disciples are in is hit by a sudden storm. They have to awaken their Lord, who then calms the storm.

So there is nothing faithless about asking God to wake up. We know, of course, that God never sleeps. In Psalm 121:4 we read that he who keeps Israel "neither sleeps nor slumbers." But the Psalmist who wrote 44 above was not faithless to express his frustration at God apparently not acting and asking that question. And so, George knows the God on whose door he knocks is not sleeping behind it. He merely means that, in his human weakness, he grows weak in the aridity he feels as he continues to seek a deeper relationship with God without any immediate feeling of spiritual effect. But George stays faithful to the God he loves and keeps knocking at that door.

Listen now to this beautiful piece.