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Compilation of Final Fantasy VII | Advent Children
"The Promised Land" Translation and Notes

Cur in gremio haeremus?
Cur poenam cordi parvo damus?
Stella nobis non concessit, non concessit
Stella nobis non concessit, non concessit

Venarum pulsus in terram fluens
Parvus, parvus pulsus
Cor mortem ducens

Vita mollis in stellam redeunt
Animam sacrificare necesse est?

Cur in gremio, in gremio haeremus?
Cur veniam petimus
In terra fatali?


Translation:

Why do we cling to the womb? (1)
Why do we punish an insignificant heart? (2)
The planet has not submitted to us, has not submitted (3)
The planet has not submitted to us, has not submitted

The pulse of the veins flowing into the earth (4)
Small, insignificant pulse (5)
The heart prolonging death (6)

Weak life returns to the planet (7)
Is it necessary to sacrifice the spirit? (8)

Why do we cling to the womb, to the womb?
Why do we ask forgiveness (9)
In a doomed land? (10)


Alternate Translation:

Why do we cling to the womb?
Why do we pay the penalty for an insignificant heart? (2)
The planet has not submitted to us, has not submitted
The planet has not submitted to us, has not submitted

A pulse of lifeblood flowing into the earth (4)
Small, insignificant pulse
A heart commanding death (6)

Weak life returns to the planet
Is it necessary to sacrifice the soul?

Why do we cling to the womb, to the womb?
Why do we ask forgiveness
In a doomed land?


Translator's Notes:

On "Stella":
I've chosen to translate this as "planet", bringing this more into line with other FFVII translations. This is also not technically incorrect - stella can also means "planet" (consider that the term "planet" means what was to ancient cultures a specific kind of star).

On "parvus":
Means minor, small, little, cheap, or unimportant. I've translated it (with one exception) as "insignificant".

  1. More literally, "Why to we stick within the womb?". "Haereo" can also mean "cling to", hence my more poetic if less literal rendering.

  2. More literally, "Why do we give punishment to an unimportant heart?". But "poena" can also mean "revenge" or "retribution", and with "dare" (damus) means "pay the penalty". So maybe this is "Why do we pay the penalty for an insignificant heart?" As confirmation, "heart" is singular here, not "hearts" as some translations (including some of my earlier attempts, oops) have.

  3. I've very much reworked this line from other translations I've seen. I believe "concedo" in this context (i.e. intransitive) means "give way, yield, submit, succumb". It was definitely used this way - look up "concessit senatus postulationi tuae" ("the Senate yielded to your demand") sometime. The reason I think this is not "forgive", as other translations have, is down to the word "nobis" - that's "to us", not "us" (nos). "the Planet/Star has not forgiven us" would be "stella nos non concessit"; "stella nobis non concessit" has the same form as "concessit senatus postulationi tuae", and therefore means "the Planet/Star has not yielded to us".

  4. "Vena" (venarum) can also mean "life-blood", or "water course".

  5. Just a little playing around with synonyms to avoid repetition.

  6. "Ducens" - commanding , leading. But can also mean "considering, thinking about", or "prolonging". I'm really not sure what sense is meant here. I've seen this translated as "leading to death", the accuracy of which I can't vouch for. However, the same translation connected this line and the previous on as "pulse/of the heart", which is almost certainly incorrect - "pulse of the heart" would require "cordis" (genitive), not "cor".

  7. "mollis" - soft, flexible, pliant; tender, gentle; weak, effeminate; changeable. I've chosen "weak" to fit with the general tone of previous lines.

  8. Anima - soul or spirit. It may or may not be significant that this is the feminine "anima", rather than the masculine "animus".

  9. peto (petimus) - (we) desire; ask for, beg for; reach towards; attack.
    venia (veniam) - kindness; pardon; permission

    So, this could be translated in a number of ways. However, "veniam peto" generally means to ask for forgiveness or permission.

  10. My copy of the lyrics has "terram", but it is almost certainly "terra" - "terram" makes little sense in this context, nor can I hear a final m in my recording. "Fatali" should more properly be "fated", but "doomed" seems to be implied and I couldn't resist the FFVI reference. "Fatali" can als mean "dangerous", or "deadly".


Translation and notes by Anguipes Seraph, October 2006.


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