Another Latin Hit From Our Favorite Caterva Puerina (“Boy Band”)
The Backstreet Boys (from Anirudh Koul’s Flickr/Wikimedia Commons)
[Editor’s Note: This is one of the simplest, most direct, literal translations of a modern song that exists in Latin. It’s eminently suitable for first year students, requiring little more than a knowledge of the persons of the verb. It’s also very easy to sing, although it helps greatly to have a knowledge of the soloist/chorus dynamic in the original song (choral parts are put into parentheses). This is also a great introduction to the rare and lovely Latin noun cordolium — found in Plautus — “heartache.” This is also a good introduction to the elision of the ending -um before vowels: hence cor meum amat becomes cor me’amat.]
SIC EGO VOLO / I WANT IT THAT WAY (Backstreet Boys) (Martin/Carlsson)(tr. Kuhner) [1998]
(quod a parenthesibus continetur choro cantatur)
Es me-
a flamma
quam cor
me’ amat
Crede
cum dico
Sic ego volo
Sed nos distamus procul
A corde exsul
Cum dicis
Sic ego volo
Dic mi cur (nil nisi cordolium)
Dic mi cur (et amatorum proelium dic me cur)
Te hoc dicentem nolo, quod
Sic ego volo
Sum tu-
a flamma
Quem cor
tu’ amat
Sic scio
Nunc sero
Sed sic ego volo
Dic mi cur (nil nisi cordolium)
Dic mi cur (et amatorum proelium dic mi cur)
te hoc dicentem nolo, quod
Sic ego volo
[PONS]
Possum videre, rem cecidisse
Ab statu quo solet esse — yeah
Nil refert quam distet
Te scire volo
In corde imo meo
Es me-
a flamma
Quam cor
me’ amat
Tu es (tu es tu es tu es)
Te hoc dicentem nolo (nil nisi cordolium)
(et amatorum proelium)
(te hoc dicentem nolo)
(Siiic ego volo)
Dic mi cur (nil nisi cordolium)
Dic mi cur (et amatorum proelium dic mi cur)
(te hoc dicentem nolo) hoc dicentem
(Sic ego volo)
Dic mi cur (nil nisi cordolium)
Dic mi cur (et amatorum proelium dic mi cur)
(te hoc dicentem nolo quod)
(Sic ego volo)
Quod sic ego volo.