This is an unusual topic for a “How Much Do You Know” but this one is interesting. I recently watched Episode 1 as part of my Star Wars marathon for Star Wars month. The music in Star Wars is, undoubtedly some of the best music in cinema. John Williams is a legend. The origin of this track from The Phantom Menace score is really cool. It truly illustrates John Williams’s genius. How much do you know about Duel of the Fates?
I’m sure you know, but I’ll remind you, the Duel of the Fates is the track most commonly associated with the duel between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon at the end of The Phantom Menace. It lives rent-free in my head.
The Battle of the Trees
There are lyrics to Duel of the Fates, not the silly ones you’ve seen on YouTube. In fact, the Duel of the Fates is a poem. There is a medieval Welsh poem called Cad Goddeu which translates to The Battle of the Trees. It’s about a magician that builds an army by animating the trees. This, obviously, has no parallel with the duel in The Phantom Menace.
Also, the track is not the entire poem, it’s just lines 32-25 and the lyrics you hear are actually the Sanskrit translation. John Williams tried several different languages before deciding on Sanskrit because he liked the “quality of the vowels” and it fits well with the religious chant he was going for with the music.
He made several modifications to the Sanskrit translation to match the music. The actual lyrics, when directly translated into English, do not make any grammatical sense but the music is brilliant.
Here is a sample of the lyrics you hear:
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah Korah Keelah Daanyah
You can read more about it here, and here is the full poem translated into English.
