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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2023 March 9

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March 9

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"Hello Earth"

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In Kate Bush's song "Hello Earth", parts seem like a Gregorian chant or chorus, presumably in Latin. Does anybody know how this translates? 136.56.52.157 (talk) 23:23, 9 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It is German and it means:
"Deeper deeper
Somewhere deep
Is there a light"
per Google Translate. Cullen328 (talk) 23:32, 9 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! 136.56.52.157 (talk) 23:43, 9 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
If you join the lines and add punctuation (Tiefer, tiefer, irgendwo in der tiefe, gibt es ein licht.), Google Translate does not use an inversion but translates this as "Deeper, deeper, somewhere in the depths there is a light." Trivia: according to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia, the album notes credit this German excursion to Gabi Zangerl, a friend of Bush.[1] Yet another non-RS source reveals that the chorus was inspired by the song "Zinskaro" in Werner Herzog's film Nosferatu the Vampyre and that the chant is in fact a traditional lyrical song from Georgia, specifically from the area around Georgia's capital Tbilisi.[2] It can be heard on YouTube e.g. here.  --Lambiam 11:39, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting. Somehow listening to this makes me want to re-listen to Enigma.[3] --136.56.52.157 (talk) 19:19, 10 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]