LatinLanguage.us

That Coldplay song Viva la Vida has been bouncing around my head since last summer. It’s not the greatest tune in the world–too bombastic for my taste–but the line “Roman Cavalry choirs are singing” caught my ear and prompted an immediate Latin translation –Chori Equitum Romanorum–which serendipitously matches the English rhythm.

Alas, most of the song’s lyrics are–to be charitable–melancholy imagist nonsense. Nevertheless, here’s a shot at the chorus:

En campanae Hierosolymorum,
Chori equitum Romanorum
Vitrum, ensis estote aegis,
Legati mihi in alienis.
Quamquam causam nullam causor
A Sancto Petro non vocabor
Verbum non honestum
Cum regnavi iam mundum.

Eh…not great, but these are the things I waste my time with.