Translated into Quenya by Chaered in 2026.
Retrieved 2026-03-15; first posted on VL on 2026-03-16. Fairly loose translation/adaptation. Not reviewed yet.
A medieval "rota" song, in Middle English; oldest preserved copy 1261-1264.
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Alternative versions: English.
【1】 Lairë ven utúlië
► Summer has arrived,
【2】 Cucua, á lir'
► Loudly sing, cuckoo!
【3】 Losta le' ar
► The seed is growing
【4】 ala erdë
► And the meadow is blooming,
【5】 lassi accapir
► And the wood is coming into leaf now,
【6】 Liralë
► Sing, cuckoo!
【8】 Máma-nyé ná euleryanna
► The ewe is bleating after her lamb,
【9】 Yaxë mundollenn'
► The cow is lowing after her calf;
【10】 Mundo fauya
► The bullock is prancing,
【11】 Naico sauya
► The billy-goat farting,
【12】 Liralë, á lir'
► Sing merrily, cuckoo!
【14】 Cucu', cucu'
► Cuckoo, cuckoo,
【15】 Lirilyë mai na ní
► You sing well, cuckoo,
【16】 Avá lye pusta sí
► Never stop now.
【18】 Lirá cucua • Lirá ma
•
► Sing, cuckoo, now; sing, cuckoo;
【19】 Lirá ma • Lirá cucua
•
► Sing, cuckoo; sing, cuckoo, now!
Translation notes
This was hard to fit into the procrustean bed of the meter, so some things had to be cut, recast or shuffled around.
• Elisions: le;' < lea, lir' < lire, cucu' < cucua, mundollenn; < mundollenna.
• English "cuckoo" is not the same as Quenya "cucua" (= dove/pigeon),
but we currently lack an NQ word for the former, and the latter has almost
the same sound.
We also drop the "loudly", no way to cram "romya(ve)" into that line.
• The NQ gloss "greensward" for "lea" is not exactly the same as a
meadow, but close enough.
• We get the cow to belch instead of start, not many -auya rhymes.
• Rhythmically, the "-nna" of euleryanna falls on "lhouþ".
Very literal back-translation:
Summer has come to us,
Dove, sing!
A greensward blooms, and
a seed grows
leaves pounce
Merry singing!
Sheep-bleat is to a lamb,
Cow [is] to a calf;
A bull belches,
A goat farts,
Merry singing, sing!
Dove, dove,
You sing well for me,
Do not stop now.
Sing dove, sing something;
Sing something, sing dove!
—generated by quettali version 0.33.3