First, I forgot to mention that the title
miserem me! is a little ambiguous. Initially I thought it was a mistake for
miserum me (accusative of exclamation). Then I realized it might be subj. pres. of
misero hence "Let me feel sory for myself!" or maybe, moving back a few decades, "(It's Not My Party But) I Can Cry If I Want To."
If it's the latter, let me recommend
mei miseret me which, if I'm not mistaken, is a good way of saying "I feel sorry for myself." Also, it has a nasty batch of alliteration, which seems to further what you're doing.
finis illius sit.
femina autem caudam amabit
malo semper uelam dabit
illa ficus quae illa gustat
intro iactat ui furorem
-nice:
furorem is a bit better than
deleritatem, methinks, unless you're looking for out-of-the-way diction.
-
ficus, I'm guessing, works much as
cauda does - the imagery is vivid, to say the least...!
triste et multo cum uino cano amorem esse iram et pacem
or:
ira pace multo uino
tristem amorem esse cano
I still don't see how
triste works in the prose paraphrase. Is it "I sing that love is a sad thing..." or, perhaps, should it be
tristis (note the gender): "Sad, and smashed, I sing that love..."?
And should I assume that
ira pace multo uino are all ablatives of manner with an implied
cum - thus, "angrily, tranquilly, wine-imbibingly, I whine how love is a bitter thing" (loosely)?
speaking of carmina burana, my band plays a reduced-to-two-guitars version of 'o fortuna'. it's really fun to play. and speaking of 'fun', it was hell to write, but I'm glad it's not hell to read.
I just found a neat - and cheap - paperback anthology of medieval Latin lyrics, including a substantial number of the carmina burana. Not as fun reading, I'm sure, as hearing with two guitars. You're referring to a reduction of Carl Orff's orchestration, I'm guessing?
thanks for the help and suggestions.
As ever, my limited knowledge and (at least until I leave the country in June) unlimited time is at your disposal
David