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On the Lyrics of "Duel of the Fates"

5/13/2014

58 Comments

 
Although Return of the Jedi used a wordless male chorus to enhance The Sith Theme, The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars film to feature music with sung lyrics. 

John Williams: "The great sword fight at the end of the film - the decision to make that choral was just the result of my thinking that it should have a ritualistic or quasi-religious feeling, and the introduction of a chorus might be just the thing. ... [T]he medium of chorus and orchestra would give us a sense that we're in a big temple."

Here are the lyrics in full:
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah 
Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah 
Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah 
Korah Keelah Daanyah 
Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah 
Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah 
Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah 
Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah 
Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah 
Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah 
Korah 
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah 
Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah 
Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah 
Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah 
Korah


These words originated in the medieval Welsh poem Cad Goddeu (The Battle of the Trees). The text was translated into English by Robert Graves, and published in 1948 as part of The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth. John Williams selected lines 32-35:
Under the tongue root
a fight most dread,
 and another raging
behind in the head

I have absolutely no idea what any of the original text means, but Williams had it translated into a variety of languages, eventually selecting Sanskrit "because of the quality of the vowels". If we read between the lines, then, John Williams liked the Sanskrit because it helped provide that "ritualistic or quasi-religious" character that was missing from other languages (and, no doubt, English in particular).
58 Comments
Ewok Guy
5/10/2017 10:27:52 am

Thank you

Reply
ChesterKiwi
6/27/2017 09:40:16 pm

Wait, is this the Genius Ewok Guy?

Reply
Ewok
9/14/2017 02:56:50 pm

Ee chee wa maa!

Reply
Jawa
6/26/2022 08:19:29 am

Utinniii!
Omu'sata!

stuff link
3/12/2018 11:23:09 am

CORN ON THE CORN COB CORN ON THE CORN COB

Reply
Grilled kabob
3/20/2018 03:41:49 pm

COLAAAAA GRILLED KABOB!!!!

Penis link
2/1/2019 01:13:32 pm

Allahu ackbar

Reply
hen link
11/21/2019 08:26:09 pm

hamburger

Jeff da muslim
2/9/2020 08:10:16 am

WTF

no
1/27/2021 10:04:49 am

Shut up

Admiral Ackbar
3/23/2023 11:24:22 am

IT'S A TRAP

obiwankinobee link
10/19/2020 09:12:17 am

thanks

Reply
Emperor Palpatine The Resarected link
7/7/2022 01:34:26 pm

Hihihihi how r u

Reply
Random starwars fan
10/3/2017 07:18:50 am

Thank you very much

Reply
Porg
10/13/2017 03:42:05 am

Kwraaah kwraaah kwraaaaaaaaah O.O

Reply
Deranged Green Bean
5/4/2021 08:33:49 am

oHNO its the Vader and/or Voldemort 'Kwraaah kwraaah kwraaaaaaaaah!'

Reply
Emily
12/14/2017 08:09:51 pm

Thank you!
That answers my question

Reply
Jason
1/5/2018 09:09:53 pm

My guess is the original lyrics were meant to mean something along the lines of in words one dreadful battle is fought, and in the mind, another.

Reply
The IronSith
2/3/2018 11:43:14 pm

Very well thought out. I do believe that's what it means.

Reply
Marcello
4/1/2018 11:40:55 am

Thats what it says...

Reply
Deranged Green Bean
5/4/2021 08:34:39 am

I'm quite sure it does

Reply
peves
5/4/2021 05:18:35 pm

Dreading the verbal war, the true war rages in your mind.

Reply
Joe mama
12/31/2021 04:40:10 am

No u

Andrew Love
2/4/2018 09:04:12 am

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10151029661929987&id=9193179986

Reply
Steve
2/4/2018 04:05:00 pm

Maybe the lyrics were in the Huttese language?

Reply
Marcello
4/1/2018 11:40:02 am

Well they aren't so...

Reply
Julia Klinedinst
5/23/2020 03:06:02 pm

Nah. Maybe Gungan?

Reply
Deranged Green Bean
5/4/2021 08:35:51 am

Are you serious

Deranged Green Bean
5/4/2021 08:35:21 am

Not quite they were snas krit

Reply
TRUE FAN
2/7/2018 07:04:03 pm

I'm sorry but you have it completely wrong. The real lyrics of Duel of the Fates can be found in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFDT2L5bPFI

Reply
Dissapoint
9/11/2019 05:32:07 am

I expected a Rick-roll :(

Reply
WOW
12/20/2019 12:07:57 pm

Wow.......Just Wow

Reply
Darth Plagueis the wise link
2/7/2018 11:11:13 pm

have you heard of the tragedy of darth plagueis the wise

Reply
Porg2.0
2/22/2018 05:44:06 pm

It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you

Reply
NoName
5/4/2018 08:49:01 am

lol

Reply
Julia Klinedinst
5/23/2020 03:07:19 pm

Yeah he was an idiot because apparently that happened all the time, and yet...

Reply
Jabba
2/23/2018 08:11:35 am

Technically, it's not the first Star Wars film to feature music with sung lyrics. The finale of Return of the Jedi (original version) features the song "Yub Nub", for the Ewok Celebration. While it's not real language at first, it ends with the english lyrics "Celebrate the love!"

Reply
Rawwrrr!
4/25/2018 09:08:46 pm

I didn't think that the last line of the lyrics in the music sung in the finale of Return of the Jedi was "Celebrate the love!" I thought it was, "Down at Fraggle Rock!"

Reply
Kalle
9/26/2018 01:11:45 pm

What about Lapti Nek?

Reply
Alma Buttle
5/12/2018 05:04:13 am

जीभ की जड़ के नीचे
एक लड़ाई सबसे डर
और एक और उग्र
सिर में पीछे
Hindi letters look a lot like something from the SWU

Reply
Ben Dover
5/12/2018 05:05:25 am

Wow Alma Buttle??? Really???

Reply
Hugh Walter Kheel-Yusuf
5/12/2018 05:06:29 am

Mine's more creative
Also get off this web-page. If you're not here for the lyrics then piss off.

Squanchobildasack
10/28/2018 11:58:00 pm

Squancho say da doo dey do de balldildelstiltel my balls smell real bad and stuff.

Reply
Jean Luc Picard
1/9/2019 09:19:41 pm

Engage!

Reply
Mando
5/23/2020 03:08:28 pm

Alright, go away now Trekkie!

;o)

Reply
Esse Quam Videri Se7en
5/25/2019 06:13:35 pm

This song was the best part of this movie!

Reply
Lone Wanderer
11/24/2019 07:12:46 am

Oh no Total Xena Panda

Reply
Maul
1/21/2020 01:24:52 am

Now this, this is a masterpiece.

Reply
Mando
5/23/2020 03:08:57 pm

Funny Maul should think that.....

Reply
Some dude
4/6/2020 02:48:32 pm

I think the meaning behind the words is that one has to learn to accept their dark fate and fight the fight they don’t want to, or it’ll just keep getting worse (behind the head)

Reply
Raphäel
5/11/2020 01:17:57 pm

Wow, great explanation. I wish all the movie soundtracks that use a choir would explain the lyrics to us, interested! Thank you.

Reply
fuck
5/13/2020 06:43:01 pm

make me

Reply
Shehroz
5/14/2020 03:08:23 pm

So Williams chose those lines because they refer to a battle within (light vs dark)? Tongue referring to what you say, and the head referring to what you think?

Reply
Chris Burdick
2/15/2021 01:16:14 pm

Whenever I think of the song "Duel Of The Fates", 2 things come to mind:

1: Darth Maul.
2: A battle that's challenging and terrifying, but has to be won, too.

As for the lyrics, I haven't the faintest idea what the chorus is saying.

Reply
dub
2/23/2021 06:54:27 am

so good

Reply
jeffyboy
8/19/2021 09:54:46 am

I think it means that during negotiations there was a battle in his mind.

Reply
LyricMEThinks
7/22/2022 04:19:25 am

STEPBROTHAAAAA
(Now you’re gonna hear that every time it plays- sorry/not sorry)

Reply
Darth maul
1/14/2023 06:29:13 am

Thank u I listen to it every day and I finally know the lyrics

Reply



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