Andor

Andor is a song from the Season 3 soundtrack of The Wheel of Time television series.

Lyrics

Verse 1

Old Tongue

chagli thamel,

mishan ni vastri,

belo nin'balt

jalou doko?

Pronunciation

chagli thamel,[ˈtʃaɡ.li ˈtʰä.mɛl ]

mishan ni vastri,[mi.ˈʃan ni ˈvas.tɾi ]

belo nin'balt[ˈbɛ.lo nin.ˈbalt ]

jalou doko?[ˈdʒä.lo̞ː ˈdo.ko ]

Official English

Young lioness

groomed from birth

Where does your heart

Pull you to?

Literal Translation

Young lioness

groomed for rule

your heart desires

where to go?

Notes

Chagli and mishan are new words introduced here. The translation is relatively straightforward, but note that the official English does not 1 for 1 match a more literal translation.

One less-straightforward aspect is the use of nin'balt, a contraction of ninte'balt or ninto'balt.

In the structure of "belo nin'balt jalou doko", doko is the subject, "belo nin'balt" the object. So, "where goes (belo nin'balt)?". Then, belo nin'balt is "your heart desires". So, the question is structurally saying "where goes to your heart desires", i.e. "where goes your heart's desire?".

Verse 2

Old Tongue

attik wadri,

sei’ascar,

kazath nin’zavilat

vakar gavane?

Pronunciation

attik wadri,[ˈäː.tik ˈvad.ɾi ]

sei'ascar,[sɛɪ̯.äs.ˈkäɾ ]

kazath nin'zavilat[ka.ˈzaθ nin.zä.ˈvi.lät ]

vakar gavane?[vä.ˈkäɹ ɡä.ˈvä.nɛɪ̯ ]

Official English

Charming smile,

Sapphire eyes,

What does your will

Say to do?

Literal translation

Smile charming,

eyes blue,

your will says

what move?

Notes

We again see the contracted second person possessive nin on nin'zavilat.

Structurally we see a similar pattern as the previous verse with "kazath nin'zavilat vakar gavane?". "What moves your will says?" or "What moves your will's command?". In other words, "what does your will say to move?".

Here we see vakar being used not only as the word for move in a literal sense, but also as a verb of general action, i.e. "do". Old Tongue tends to split sentences where English might use the word "do" into either using vakar or tasu, with tasu being used where there is more an implication of creation or distortion, and vakar being used where it's implying more of a general action.

Verse 3

Old Tongue

vastri kerenya’an

shivilat e jugitsa

Pronunciation

vastri kerenya'an[ˈvas.tɾi kɛ.ˈɾɛn.jä.än ]

shivilat e jugitsa[ˈʃi.vi.lät ɛ dʒu.ˈɡit.sä ]

Official English

Matriarchy

Aggressive and deadly

Literal Translation

Rule (of) queens

aggressive and deadly

Notes

Matriarchy here is referring literally to Andor's tradition of being ruled by a queen.

Shivilat also appears in Mat Cauthon as "brazen", leaving jugitsa to be "deadly".

Verse 4

Old Tongue

la’kerenya

jaendar scrup

hirato mist

balt ti souvra.

aes nin’sora

mishan ni vastri

ayende balt’raha

Pronunciation

la'kerenya[lä.ˈkɛ.ɾɛn.jä ]

jaendar scrup[ˈdʒäɛn.däɹ skɾup ]

hirato mist[hi.ˈɾä.to mist ]

balt ti souvra.[balt ti ˈso̞ːv.ɾä ]

aes nin'sora[ˈaɪ̯.ɛs nin.ˈsɔ.ɾä ]

mishan ni vastri[mi.ˈʃan ni ˈvas.tɾi ]

ayende balt'raha[ä.ˈjɛn.dɛɪ̯ balt.ˈɾä.hä ]

Official English

Daughter heir

Find your

Middle ground

Between heart and mind.

Your whole life

Groomed to be

Find the strength to break free

Literal Translation

Daughter queen

Find between

middle space

(from) heart to mind

All your life

groomed for rule

release (your) heart free.

Notes

La'kerenya literally says "daughter queen", but might imply "daughter (of) (a/the) queen".

"Jeandar scrup hirato mist balt ti souvra": "Find middle space between heart and mind" is what is meant, but we see that in Old Tongue it is being said as "between middle space heart to mind", or "middle space between heart to mind". So, in English we say "between one thing and another", but in Old Tongue, "between one thing to another".

"Ayende balt'raha" might best be translated as "set (your) heart free". Ayende can mean release or free on its own, but it seems to carry specific connotations of the act of release itself. Raha means free as in existing in a state of freedom, so it is referring to the end result of the release. This is informative as it shows there is a separation in Old Tongue between the act of releasing or freeing, and the ongoing state of being free or having liberty, whereas English collapses these concepts to a degree. Even though English has liberty and free as distinct words, we also have the word "liberate" and "freedom". So, in English the concept comes in matching sets of verbs and nouns/adjectives. In contrast, instead of being associated strictly with freedom, ayende also has associations with death (see ayend).

Verse 5

Old Tongue

sa’rhiod’dekhar

belo nin’balt

jalou doko?

Pronunciation

sa'rhiod'dekhar[säɹ.ʒiː.od.ˈdɛ.käɹ ]

belo nin'balt[ˈbɛ.lo nin.ˈbalt ]

jalou doko?[ˈdʒä.lo̞ː ˈdo.ko ]

Official English

In the midst of politics

Where does your heart

Pull you to?

Literal translation

In the world (of the) political

your heart desires

where to go?

Verse 6

Old Tongue

daghainde desta

nosane nardes.

kazath nin’zavilat

vakar gavane?

Pronunciation

daghainde desta[dä.ˈɡʰɛɪ̯n.dɛɪ̯ ˈdɛs.tä ]

nosane nardes.[no.ˈsä.nɛɪ̯ ˈnäɾ.dɛs ]

kazath nin'zavilat[ka.ˈzaθ nin.zä.ˈvi.lät ]

vakar gavane?[vä.ˈkäɹ ɡä.ˈvä.nɛɪ̯ ]

Official English

Not afraid to

Speak your mind.

What does your will

Say to do?

Literal translation

Unafraid to stop

(and) speak (your) thought.

your will says

what to move?

Verse 7

Old Tongue

vastri kerenya’an

shivilat e jugitsa

Andor vastri

Andor vastri

Pronunciation

vastri kerenya'an[ˈvas.tɾi kɛ.ˈɾɛn.jä.än ]

shivilat e jugitsa[ˈʃi.vi.lät ɛ dʒu.ˈɡit.sä ]

Andor vastri[ˈän.dɔɹ ˈvas.tɾi ]

Andor vastri[ˈän.dɔɹ ˈvas.tɾi ]

Official English

Matriarchy

Aggressive and deadly

Queens of Andor

Queens of Andor

Literal Translation

Rule (of) queens

aggressive and deadly

Rule of Andor

Rule of Andor