[tlhIngan Hol] loQ maw' ngoDvam 'a teH... (matlhejchuqtaH maH vIneH neH)

[Daniel Dadap]

The sentiment of this song seems very un-Klingon. But recently a popular Terran imitation of it got caught in my head, and while it was looping there endlessly, the original Klingon lyrics revealed themselves to me, so I figured I’d share them here.

qamuSHa'qu'bej bangwI' 'ach meq vISovbe'
'ej not qa'uchHa'qangbej 'e' vIlIjlaHbe'
toH vay' Dataghpu'mo' quSDaq ba'
maqIHchuqDI' chothlu'moHpu' 'e' Datu''a'
teHba' ngoDvam vaj teH
matlhejchuqtaH maH vIneH neH

I certainly really love you my love but I don’t know the reason
And I cannot forget that I will definitely never be willing to let go of you
Well because you have started something it is obvious (lit: it sits in a chair)
Did you notice that when we met for the first time you made me tempted
This fact is obviously true, so it is true
I only want us to keep accompanying each other

toH jIHvaD potlhbe'qu' ghochlIj ta'meylIj joq
matay'taH maH qaStaHvIS jaj naQ 'e' vIpoQ
wa'logh neH machopchuqpu'mo' qaS Hoch
muDuQlaHchu'taH parmaqvam not 'e' vISov
loQ maw' ngoDvam 'a teH
matlhejchuqtaH maH vIneH neH

Well your destination and/or your accomplishments are really not important to me
I demand that we be together during the entire day
Everything happens because we bit each other just one time
I never knew that this love could perfectly move me emotionally (lit: stab me)
This fact is a little crazy but it’s true
I only want us to keep accompanying each other

jIHvaD bImonchoHpu'
choghelpu' bImI'qangchoH'a'
SoHDaq murItpu' DeSDu'
murItchu'mo' jIlajnISba'

You started to smile at me
You asked me “are you willing to begin dancing”
Arms summoned me to you
Because they summoned me perfectly I obviously must accept

DaH HIQoy bangwI'
vogh DajaHDI' qatlhejmeH pa' vIjaH je
matay'taHvIS SoH jIH je bangwI' jISaHbe'
toH vay' Dataghpu'mo' quSDaq ba'
maqIHchuqDI' chothlu'moHpu' 'e' Datu''a'
potlhbe' ta'lIj 'ej reH
matlhejchuqtaH maH vIneH neH

Now hear me my love
When you go somewhere I will go there as well in order to accompany you
While you and I are together my love I don’t care
Well because you have started something it is obvious (lit: it sits in a chair)
Did you notice that when we met for the first time you made me tempted
Your accomplishments are not important and
I only want us to keep accompanying each other






In case it it’s not obvious what Terran song these lyrics go with, this should be a sufficient clue: when reconstructing these original Klingon lyrics, I wasn’t sure what the scope of “only” was in the line “I only want to be with you”. Does it mean I want to be with only you (and nobody else)? I want only to be with you (and I want nothing else)? Something else? I found it hard to resist the opportunity to say “vIneH neH”, so that kind of forces a meaning of “I merely want to be with you”, which may or may not be what the Terran version intended.