Darkness and Shadows
Darkness and Shadows is a song from the Season 2 soundtrack of The Wheel of Time television series.
Lyrics
Verse 1
Old Tongue
(vid)
(dinya)
(tasu)
(dival)
Official English
(Be-)
Each thread spun
(-ware)
From the wheel,
(Tread)
Boldly facing light,
(Light)
Casts shadows
Literal Translation
(with)
every spinning thread
(care)
for (the) pattern
(make)
face to light
(light)
body makes shadow
Notes
Chinnar tasu shadar is not standard OVS order, but as is sometimes the case in the songs, the melody takes precedence. The parenthetical vocals show an interesting parallel with the official English: "with care" becomes "beware"; "make light" becomes "tread light".
The meaning overall of this verse seems poetic: every spinning thread for the pattern faces the light, but the body casts shadows. In other words, every life casts shadows; no life is purely light.
Verse 2
Old Tongue
(moro)
(ellis)
tam aleika
(ellis)
(pad)
sa zamon, dival
Official English
(Sun)
Each life
(-set)
a twisting weave
(Sun-rise)
Spends half its time
(-rise)
In the dark
Literal Translation
(so)
life thread
(sun)
thread weaving
(sun)
weaving out, in
(up)
in darkness, light
Notes
Apparently moro'ellis may be the term chosen for sunset, contrasting with ellis'pad (sun up) for sunrise. Moro, however, is the word for "so"; it is not entirely clear why it was chosen for this purpose.
A life's thread, weaving, weaving deep, in darkness, in light. This repeats the theme of the previous verse.
Verse 3
Old Tongue
drein drein,
aleika danila
Official English
Ever spinning
Slowly weaving
Slipping patterns
Colors bleeding
Literal Translation
spinning spinning
continue weaving
patterns changing
colors run
Notes
Ta'an appears to be the plural of ta for "pattern". Veren, which also means someone who causes or is associated with change, here seems to function as a participle form of "change". Contrast with gadou, or a speculative participle form gadat.
Verse 4
Old Tongue
(shadarinye shai'zamon)
(shadarinye shai'zamon)
(shadarinye shai'zamon)
Official English
Feel the push and pull
(Of the Shadows and the Darkness)
Shield your weary mind
(From the Shadows and the Darkness)
Find the strength of will
(Through the Shadows and the Darkness)
To resist the thrill
(Of the Shadows and the Darkness)
Literal Translation
feel push (and) pull
(shadows dedicated (to) darkness)
shield (your) weary mind
(shadows dedicated (to) darkness)
(your) will will strengthen against
(shadows dedicated (to) darkness)
open, release my soul
(shadows dedicated (to) darkness)
Notes
We see ethen used as the verb form of "shield".
Frenyanu appears to be the future tense of a verb form of frenya (strength). If we interpret this as OVS-ish order, it is saying that will (noun) will (future) strengthen against (something).
Shadarinye is the -ye suffix form of shadarin, the plural of shadar. This points to using shadar here to refer to The Shadow or Darkfriends metaphorically, perhaps the whole movement of shaidar.
The last non-parenthetical line diverges from the official English, with a very different phrase: "open, release my soul". Perhaps the full passage reads as: feel the push and pull (of the shadows dedicated to darkness), shield your weary mind (from the shadows dedicated to darkness), your will will strengthen against (the shadows dedicated to darkness); open, release my soul (from the shadows dedicated to darkness).