This thread is for requests for practical help with translating short, very short expressions and so on.

I was tickled by the request for the Latin for seize the night, which I found rather sexy.

Let's keep the Grotesque Translations for blunders and the like.

I didn't know where else to post my request for that phrase. It's the title of a song by Meatloaf from his Bat out of Hell 3 album. The chorus is also in Latin and is two sentences long. If anyone wants to have a go at telling me what it says I'll give you the words.

I’ve found the words on a website:-

Dies irae, Kyrie! Libera me, Domine!
Dies irae, Kyrie! Requiem da, Domine!
Dies irae, Kyrie! Libera me, Domine!
Dies irae, Kyrie! Requiem da, Domine! [etc.]

This means:-

“The day of wrath, O Lord! Deliver me, O Lord!
The day of wrath, O Lord! Grant rest, O Lord!”

The phrases are taken from the Roman Catholic Office and Mass for the Dead. “Dies irae” are the opening words of a hymn by Thomas of Celano, a thirteenth-century Franciscan monk, which is the prescribed Sequence for the Mass for the Dead. Verdi’s Requiem Mass contains a famously powerful setting of the hymn. “Requiem da, Domine” are approximately the opening words of the Introit (actually “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine”). “Libera me, Domine” are part of the Office or burial service.

I must say, bloomsby, no matter what the translation, the very concept of "seizing the night" is sexy.

Woohoo

Thank you so much TabbyTom. That song has haunted me since I purchased the CD in November 2006. The song is actually quite amazing. According to Wikipedia the song was written by Jim Steinman and was used in the various productions of 'Tanz der Vampire' (Dance of the Vampires) a musical remake of the Roman Polanski film 'The Fearless Vampire Killers'. The Broadway version stars Michael Crawford. I like anything with vampires and I too agree there is something sexy, otherworldly and magical about the words Seize the Night. The other song on the album I adore is 'Alive'.