# Unknown language: Nadanu vondo sol



## BrianL

This is a 10-year old mystery to me about what lanuage the lyrics to Outkast- You May Die (Intro) are.

The song is here (its just about the first 20 seconds I'm concerned with. Its just a lady speaking):

sendspace.com/file/4tsux8

I've googled it and it comes up with these lyrics:

"Navem nu cuando sol
Tutu nu vondo nos nu
Vita em no continous non
Nos nu ekta nos sepe ta amen"

This is implying its a mix of spanish and latin. Its not.

Now after listening to it closely... these are the lyrics I get:

"Nadanu vondo sol.
Tutunu vondo nos ??
Vita ?? ?????????
nos nud ?? ???? Amen"

Just going by that first word.... its some kind of Sumerian/Babylonian language used thousands of years ago.

In Sumerian, nadanu= "Give (To Pay)". So I Know that is definetly the right word... After that, though, things get complicated.... There are no "v"'s in the Sumerian language, so it isnt vondo.

Keep in mind that the theme of the album is along the lines of aliens and babylon.

So right now i'm at a loss... but maybe someone can listen to it and give me a proper translation?

Thanks ALOT

- Brian


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## diegodbs

It seems like Brazilian Portuguese or Portuguese spoken with a strange accent.


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## BrianL

I dont think its Brazillian Portugeese... anyone have any other guesses?  This is killing me lol


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## diegodbs

Well, the third sentence begins with "Vida", not "vita" and the end of that sentence seems "continuaçâo" with a wrong pronunciation.


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## BrianL

So right now its:

Nadanu (or Nada Nu) ??vondo?? sol
Tutunu (or Tutu Nu) ??vondo nos??  ????
Vida ?? ?? ?continuaçâo?
??nos?? ??nud?? ??? ?????? Amen


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## daydream

Hi, take a look here: forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=23088


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## BrianL

Ya I saw that.

But he didnt post the song and he posted the wrong lyrics.   Those are completely off.  I dont know how anyone could think they say "cuando" in that first sentence.


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## diegodbs

The third sentence seems to say: Vida e uma continuaçâo.


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## Vanda

Brian, I've tried hard to find an explanation for this intro. At first I thought it could be some Brazilian indigenous language and the conclusion I came to is that it seems they don't want to say anything special. It looks like a prayer with no specific words, but a mixture of - as you've said - Spanish and Latin words, but again I say it looks like meaning nothing. I've even tried one of those "extraterrestrial" electronic translation to Pt and the result was hilarious.

*PS.: *I have to make a correction. Now listening attentively to it I clearly understood these Portuguese words - the *????* goes to the ones I couldn't figure out yet.
Nada novo ?? ??? sol
Tudo novo ???? sol?
a vida é uma continuação
Nosso Senhor é ?? nossa vida. Amén.


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## BrianL

Well, thats definetly the best explanation to date...


But the only thing is, I dont understand why they would say a Portugeese prayer.   I just think it resembles a language from a babylonian times.... It just would make alot more sense due to the whole theme of the album.  


Vanda, from the words that youve found in portugeese.. what does that translate to?


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## Vanda

Brian
I'll try with the words I heard. Anyway I'll ask for some "lending" ears from the people who live with me, later. Probably they can or will be able to fill the gaps I haven't yet.
Nada novo ?? ??? sol - nothing new ??? sun
Tudo novo ???? sol? - all new ???? sun
a vida é uma continuação - life is a continuation
Nosso Senhor é ?? nossa vida. Amén. - Our Lord is ??????


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## GrahamK

Every couple years I look around for a translation of 'Outkast – You May Die' and cannot find one. I decided to take it upon myself to figure this one out. If you listen really carefully I think my written words are accurate. All of those words are Latin, but because Latin influenced so many other languages you may find references in Greek, Spanish, Sumerian, English, French, etc. I learned that some words, like Navem, have multiple meanings depending on the context, the accents, and suffix/prefix.
 So when I was trying to translate it took a while to discover it was all Latin.

I don't have a background in Latin but online resources have come a long way since this track was released. Without further adieu, my translation:

_Navem-nu vando Sol
    Tutu no vando nos-nu
    Vita-um no continuus-cum
    Nos-nu ecto-nos a-vita
    Amen_

_I'm eagerly observing The Sun.
    God is floating, observing us.__
__     My life floats on, without interruption.__
__We are outside ourselves, lifeless.
    Amen_

Depending on interpretation, it could also be translated as this:
_
I eagerly observe The Sun
God is above, observing us
My life now floats together with God
We are outside our bodies, lifeless
Amen
_


I spent quite a bit of time on this to get it as accurate as I could. Some of the words and sentances I paraphrased because literal translation doesn't always make sense. Here are my notes. You'll see the literal translation, then my interpretation. Remember words like "Us" can also be "We." Tutu was an Egyption God, but I refer to God in the general sense. "Nu" can be used simply to connect two words that would end in vowels, to make poetry flow more naturally. You get the idea! I hope this prayer is even more enjoyable for you!


    Navem - I am diligent (eager)
    Nu - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movable_nu
Navem-Nu - I'm diligently
Vando - Observing
Sol - Sun 

        Navem-nu vando Sol
        I'm eagerly observing The Sun.

Tutu - God (Egyptian)
No - To swim, float, fly, sail.
Vando - Observing
Nos-Nu - Us

        Tutu no vando nos-nu
        God is floating, observing us.

    Vita - Life, Way of life
    EM=UM - Latin Suffix, singular
Vita-Um - My Life
No - to swim, float, fly, sail. 
    Continuus - Continuous, uninterrupted, together, connection
    cum – (soft c, \sum\) with
Continuus-cum - (with uninterruption) without interruption

        Vita-um no continuus-cum
        My life floats on, without interruption.

    Nos - We/Us
Nos-Nu - We are
    Ecto - (prefix) Outside of (or around)
    Nos - Us
Ecto-Nos - Outside ourselves.
a-Vita - Without life.

        Nos-nu ecto-nos a-vita
        We are outside ourselves, lifeless.

        Amen


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## Forero

It must be Portuguese, but the accent is really strange, and the grammar seems more like English. It sounds to me something like:

_Nada novo fando sol_ Nothing new under the sun.
_Tudo novo fando nosso﻿ senhor_ Everything new from our Lord.
_Vida hai continuação_ Life goes on.
_Nosso senhor ..?.. nossa vida_ Our Lord ..?.. our life.

_Fam_ may be _vem_, and _vem do_ "comes from", which makes sense too. No idea what _hai_ would be.


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## GrahamK

I had a very similar response from a friend when I posted this today! I'm awaiting response and verification from someone I know who speaks Portuguese natively.

David P: Ah. The prayer is Portuguese, which is a bit annoying to transcribe phonetically. And the accent is unusual.

Nada de novo vem do sol
Tudo de novo vem do nosso senhor
A vida é uma continuação
O nosso senhor é que dá a nossa vida
ámen.

There is nothing new under the sun
All that is new comes from our Lord
Life is a progression
It is our Lord who gives us life
amen.

My translation. The first line is from Ecclesiastes 1:9.  biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%201:1-2:2&version=NRSVCE


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## mopc

Im a native speaker of Brazilian Portuguese. The first verse actually translates as "nothing new comes from the Sun". 
It is undoubtably Portuguese, albeit with an accent that is closer to Portugal than Brazil.


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## ecassell

Graham K has it right in what he posted in 2012. 

Nada de novo vem do sol
Tudo de novo vem do nosso senhor
A vida é uma continuação
O nosso senhor é que dá a nossa vida, ámen

About the accent, because it's not Brazilian, is thought to be from the Azores Islands.

From http://genius.com/493096 

The album opens up with a Portuguese prayer best translated as:

Nothing new comes from the Sun, all that is new comes from our lord, life is a continuation, it is our lord who gives life, amen.”

This might be influence by the Bible passage Ecclesiastes 1:14 which reads:

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

The accent sounds like it is from the Azores Islands.


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