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Latin songs in zombies


RichKiller

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Latin in zombies is one of the most interesting yet overlooked concepts in zombies.  
From uses of Latin in hidden notes in Kino to the names main crews of the storyline, the Latin language takes an undeniable part in zombies.
Today I want to focus on Latin songs in zombies as well as the campaign, with a bigger focus on zombies of course. 
I will talk about 3 songs: Ego Vivo, Agnus Dei, and Dies Irae.

 

Ego Vivo
 

 

Ego Vivo plays during the Shadowman bossfight the SoE Easter Egg.
It also plays during the BO3 campaign mission "Demon within" during the Tank sequence
("Demon within" is the only campaign mission with zombies, more on that later).

"Ego Vivo" means "I live" in Latin. As far as I can tell, there is no online source providing even a suggestion to the song's lyrics. 
I have talked with many Latin speakers that struggled to get a full grasp of the words spoken here, which would be a good reason as to why such lyrics do not seem to exist. 
For what may possibly be the first time, here the actual lyrics to the song, as received "through the Aether": 

Quote

 

Ego veni in mundum 
Quis est meum factorem suum? 
Qui fecita me temptanda 

Ego vivo
Ego spiro 
Quis est meum factorem?
Ubi est ergo poeta 

 

Here is the suggested translation of the song:

Quote

I came into the world
Who is my maker?
I look to the sky // This translation has some uncertainty

I live
I breathe
Who is my maker?
Where is the maker

As said, this song comes from the mission "Demon within", and the lyrics seem to be first and foremost about Corvus:
Corvus is a single entity representing the conscious of many test subjects.
Once awakened,  Corvus/ the test subjects have an existential crisis: They don't know who they are and why they exist.
Their main clue is the frozen forest, which evidently was simply an idea coming from Salim's therapy. 
Corvus was chasing for answers, which he eventually found in the last mission.
(This being said, upon basic digging on BO3's story, it is not clear whether the last mission is real or not.
My take is that it happens in the player's and Taylor's mind before the player dies, but this is not a BO3 campaign storyline thread). 
LonePotableGelding-size_restricted.gif

 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3] I am not a mistake : GamePhysics 

 

As said, "Ego Vivo" means "I live" in Latin. "I live" is another Black ops 3 track. There are actually two versions, Electric and Orchestral versions. 
The electric version plays at the main menu of Black ops 3, the menu that unites the three main modes: Zombies, Campaign and MP. 
The orchestral version plays in the cutscene of the last campaign mission, as well in key points during the SoE EE. 

The main reference of "I live" in zombies dates back to the Moon EE (Which is also restated during Nuketown Zombies):  

Quote

I live! The power, the power! I will control them all! I will destroy you all! But not before we continue the game...

Of course, this is said once Ultimis Richtofen enters the MPD.
Given the connection between the Shadowman and Ultimis Richtofen, the choice for "I live" here is very interesting. 
And once again, just like Corvus, we can ask ourselves: How did the shadowman came to be?

Is it some kind of a mistake, test subject experiments gone wrong (Pinnaz's MTD theory), similarly to Corvus?
Does the MPD here has a greater role in his creation and existence?
Or his existence is axiomatic, he just exists, nothing created him, similarly to a god?

Feel free to share your opinions below. 

 

 

Agnus Dei

Once again, and not for the last time, we are back to Moon and the MPD. 
Upon openning the MPD, a song plays: 

Even though this topic is very old I could not find any reference to it in the forums. 
The lyrics this time are very simple:

Quote

Agnus, Agnus,
Dei Agnus Dei,
Agnus Dei,
Agnus Dei,
Agnus Dei,
...

"Agnus Dei" translates to "Lamb of god". "Lamb of god" is basically another name for Jesus, the son of god (according to Christianity). 
What's more interesting is that use of that phrase "Agnus Dei". Agnus Dei is the name of a chant/prayer: 

Quote

 

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

 

The Roman Catholic translation is as follows (this is the main translation in wikipedia):

Quote

 

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

 

There is also an Anglican version which is very similar to the above, but contains yet more interesting concepts: 

Quote

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, grant us peace.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace.

Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the world, grant us peace.

First, this song poses Samantha as some kind of a savior, just as Samantha claims to be in the Origins ending cutscene. 
Samantha is a child, but she is far from being innocent. Samantha has lead to the death of many, causing outbreaks all around space-time, as she takes her path of revenge.
During the Moon EE, Samantha says the following in her demonic voice:

Quote

I will destroy you for what you've done to daddy!
I will destroy all those who help you!
You did this! I will have no mercy on you for your arrogance!

Does Samantha change for the better, or rather serves Monty and/or the Shadowman?


Another theme posed by "Agnus Dei" is sins, and how they are taken away and redeemed. 
This is perhaps a good time to talk about the Shadowman and his relation to sins: 

 

hqdefault.jpg

 

image.png

 

During SoE, the players use the summoning key to perform rituals. Each person and a gateworm is related to a different sin. 
Nero- Envy,  Floyd- Pride, Jackie V- Greed, Jessica - Lust.
Here are some relevant quotes from the Shadowman: 

Quote

You are but fragments of a bigger universe.
Your sins serve only as an invitation to an evil, beyond your imagination. 
I will lead the way, I will show you the path.
Only through me, The shadowman, will you find your redemption.

 

Quote

I can only help you if you confess...

You must confess.

At first, the SoE characters deny their sins. Upon completing each ritual, the characters confess for their sins. For example, here is Jack's confessions:
 

Quote

No one ever says "Good job, Jackie". No one ever says : "Hey, thanks for keeping the streets safe for normal folks.
Here's a raise in pay so you don't have to go on the fuckin' take to pay for your bills".
NO ONE EVER FUCKING SAYS THAT TO JACKIE, FUCKING, VINCENT

Quote

Bumpin' off my snitch, that's one thing. He was a no good lowlife, world's better off without him, but my partner...shit, he didn't deserve that.

In a similar way, one can associate sins with the Mob of the dead crew:
Finn- Greed, Billy- Lust, Sal- Envy, Al- Pride (Not doing a full analysis here, the thread is long enough, if you want me to expand on this comment below). 
It has also been suggested that sins are associated with the Primis crew:
Takeo- Envy, Nikolai- Lust, Richtofen- Pride, Dempsey- Greed (Again, if you want me to expand on this comment below). 

SoE shows us that the Shadowman wants the crews to confess over sins, however the Shadowman had a hand in the reality that caused the people to kill and do the sins. 
One of the very first quotes talking about the shadowman come from Samantha in Moon:

Quote

The blackness will swallow your pride! Something far more terrible than you lies here!

Nikolai also says the following in his memory video, and Treyarch highlights it in the video's description:

Quote

Regret can consume a man so deeply that it will blacken his heart, and swallow his soul.

It seems that the Shadowman is being feed from the sins that people commit, but more specifically, he consumes the regret that comes with the confession. 
This theme is not solely related to the SoE crew: Blood of the dead ciphers show us how Sal, Billy and Finn confess their misdeeds and show regret in order to redeem their eternal souls...
(Billy is a tough guy to crack, he doesn't precisely says he regrets but he does get some feel of relief from talking about all of his murders:)
 

Quote

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. My last confession was a lifetime ago.
Sorry about that Lord, and I ain't just saying that 'cuz I'm stuck in this place.
I've done lots of bad things and squandered your gifts, O Lord.


Forgive me father for I have sinned. This is my second mortal confession...

 I pray you hear the contrition of myself and my associates and have mercy on our immortal souls. Amen. Salvatore DeLuca.

Quote

So yeah, that's the big list. Do I feel better? Kinda. Lots a laughs and memories there, which I guess is all I got in this hellfire juke joint.
But, I dunno about redeemin' my eternal soul, or whatever Sal is yakking about.

I'm relaxin' in a shithole bar mindin' my own business,
when three low lifes decide they didn't like what I had on the radio.
I thought about lettin' it go for a second, honest.

Quote


(MoTD cipher:) The answer is simple. No divorce. No matter what ideas Angela may have about making a new life, she needs to understand it's not going to happen... No divorce. She can leave this marriage, the day she leaves this Earth.

I dunno if you'll ever get this letter, or if it's even real, but if you do, I wanna let you know I agree to the divorce.

I'm not sure if Sal is right and this letter makes a damn bit of difference, but I really hope someway, somehow, I finally did something right. Love you forever, baby. Finn

 

Back to "Agnus Dei". The song talks about taking away the sins of the world. Such messages are common in religions, but it highlights something interesting.
In many religions, and especially Christianity, confession, regret and redemption over sins is something that is considered good.
But here we see a god-like figure who takes it to a very dark place, who has a hand in the sins in order to achieve further goals. 
The summoning key was first called the redemption key, a unique device which has caused more harm than good in the hands of the Shadowman and Monty.
In the song asks for mercy, which leads us to the next song. 

But before that, "Agnus Dei" doesn't only appears in Moon. It is also played in the end of the of the Der Eisendrache EE (not sure if that has ever been noticed before): 

Quote

You are a fool Richtofen! Even the destruction of this facility, and my own death, will not prevent the advancement of our cause. You have stopped nothing!

Primis Richtofen says that he takes the path to redemption and salvation. Can he prevent what is coming? Is he really on the right path? Or he is just a fool? 

Quote

Cipher from Comic 5: "The man fool, seeks redemption. He will not find it."


(btw I'm quite certain that "Moon's destruction" is not the official name for this track. In the DE days I've heard the name "Groph's Demise" but I'm not certain about this. If anyone knows the official name of this track, please let me know)

Dies Irae 


Dies Irae is an Easter Egg song in Der Eisendrache, more known as the gramophone EE song: 
 

 

Noted by @RadZakpak , Dies Irae first appears in World at War, as well the BO3 campaign mission "Demon Within" (more on that later).
It is worth saying however, that the DE version is not the same as from the campaigns and seemingly it was specially recorded in the development of BO3, possibly even just for DE. 
"Dies Irae" stands for "Day of Warth" in English.

Here are the lyrics of DE version:

Quote

Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.

Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando Judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!

Quando Judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!

The full piece of Dies Irae is very long, but very interesting as well: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_irae

I quote here the interesting sections (in my eyes), focusing on the "Formal equivalence" column (ends up being almost everything lol): 

Quote

The day of wrath, that day
will dissolve the world in ashes,
David being witness along with the Sibyl.

How great will be the quaking,
when the Judge is about to come,
strictly investigating all things.

The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound
through the sepulchres of the regions,
will summon all before the throne.

Death and nature will marvel,
when the creature will rise again,
to respond to the Judge.

The written book will be brought forth,
in which all is contained,
from which the world shall be judged.

When therefore the Judge will sit,
whatever lies hidden will appear:
nothing will remain unpunished.

Remember, merciful Jesus,
that I am the cause of Your journey:
lest you lose me in that day.

Just Judge of vengeance,
make a gift of remission
before the day of reckoning.

Once the cursed have been silenced,
sentenced to acrid flames:
Call me, with the blessed.

Tearful will be that day,
on which from the glowing embers will arise
the guilty man who is to be judged.
Then spare him, O God.

First, I want to talk about the day of the wrath, i.e , judgement day. 
There are quite a few hints towards that concept:

Quote

Richtofen upon picking the fire bow: "For so long, I didn't understand the judgement awaiting us all." 

Quote

(Hard) cipher from Comic 4: "On the final day, the soulless ones will be erased"

Quote

Richtofen upon being damaged in DE: "You will pay the price for your insolence... We all will."

Quote

Richtofen when taking a fire-sale drop: "Energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. What price will we pay for this good fortune?"

Summarizing the song, it tells the following story: 
During doomsday, the world, the guilty and the cursed ones are judged to death by fire. 
The world is judged through a book "in which all is contained". 
The judge takes a path of vengeance, reveals lies and enacts the punishment. 

Does it tie to the zombies storyline? Definitely so. 

Back again to moon's EE, Samantha says the following:

Quote

Edward! You will tremble in fear! I'll slice you apart and expose your rotten innards so you will be judged for what you have become!

Concepts of judgement and fate are no stranger to the zombies storyline. 
The Buried endgame itself takes a place in a courtroom, and upon entering it, the track "Deja-Vu" plays. 


The Kronorium itself is a book which contains the future, the paths that each one takes and will take, and the final fate. 
In memories video of Nikolai, he says:

Quote

Our path is chosen, our fate is sealed. But the innocent ... they can have a better tomorrow.

Nikolai is convinced here that he cannot change his own fate or the path that he takes.
This idea is a strong counter to what Ultimis Richtofen says in Die Rise, which from then has become a reoccurring phrase: 

Quote

Accept your fate, begin a new. 

The song suggests a final death of fire to the cursed ones, and from the cipher, more specifically, the soulless ones. 
We have already brought up a quote of Richtofen when picking the fire bow, saying "For so long, I didn't understand the judgement awaiting us all."... but there is another:

Quote

Their fate was sealed as soon as I arrived.

Primis Nikolai believes "our fate is sealed", seemingly talking about Primis, but Richtofen says "they fate was sealed" and so he doesn't see himself upon those who will die. 
What about the death by fire? There are many points of evidence towards this being Primis' true fate in the cycle. 
One of the more obvious ones is the song Archangel: 


Allow me to highlight a few relevant parts from the song:

Quote

Lashing out, giving in,
then letting go to begin again.
Letting go, Letting go now...

Burning down, Caving in,
Die by fire and begin again..
What breaks my pride will break your skull.
I bring the end, just like an archangel.

Why do we end up here?
Live in fire, and feel so cold.

We burn together forever
waiting for the one.

This topic is very relevant to the analysis of The Giant, Origins, Primis Richtofen's journey and the cycle itself. 
All of these topics are very important and interconnected and are worthy of their own thread. They are also busy with information within the zombies mode, and the thread is long enough as it is right now. 

I do however want to attack the end of the cycle from another angle of Dies Irae which is surprisingly the BO3 campaign mission "Demon's within".
"Demon's within" is the only Campaign mission that contains zombies. There is also an MP map based on this mission, named Infection, that contains many zombies references.
 

 

In this mission the player interacts with Sarah Hall's DNI and enters her mind, in a way. 
During the mission, the player takes part in the war in Bastagone, surrounding by the frozen forest, standing on floating rocky grounds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge

The song "Dies Irac" (WaW version) starts playing during a conversation with Sarah Hall (16:10 in the video)
 

Quote

Sarah: "I can't imagine how they (WWII soliders) did it - how they held on"
Player: "Sometimes you have to hold on"
Sarah: "Sometimes you have to let go"

Recalling that in the "Where are we going" video, there is a simple cipher that says:

Quote

Let go and the beginning will become the end

This lines up with Archangel as well. Also, recall that during the mission "Lotus towers", the player and Taylor have the following conversation, a reference to "where are we going":

Quote

Taylor: "You have to know where we are going."
Player: "Where? Where are we going?"
Taylor: "Imagine yourself in a frozen forest."

Fast forwarding to the zombies sequence in "Demon's within" (27:50 in the video).
The mission takes a place in a burning house within a city.
A big tree with blue veins appears in front of the house, a bit similar to the trees you burn during the last mission. 

Quote

Player: "Hall, if we stay here we will burn"
Corvus: "Let. Her. Go"
...
Hall: "How do I make this nightmare end? Please help me!. "
Hall: "I can't let go, I want this to be over, but I can't make it stop. You have to end it. "
Hall: "Please, kill me, let me go."

The following is better seen in this video (3:40):


The player shoots Hall that wants to let go. As it is done, Hall disappears, the tree goes backwards fast.
Then, a nuclear (shall you say, radioactive) explosion occurs, leading to the destruction of the site. 

Samantha, as reflected through Origins, has a fair share of a role in the the cycle. 
Similarly to Sarah hall,  Samantha wants to be set free and end the nightmare. 

Quote

Finish what has begun, free me from Agartha
Your bravery will soon end my nightmare
Nikolai! Nikolai! I'm trapped here. Set me free! I beg of you. 
At last! I am to be freed from Agartha! Your reward awaits you my heroes! You only have to step into the light!

Being released from Agartha would be the end in the perspective of Samantha. This is also tied to "the one". Is she also there in the end of Primis' cycle? 

Quote

We were there at the beginning and at the end.


This is the end of the beginning, the beginning of the end. 

 

Conclusion

We explored 3 Latin songs in zombies, as well as in the campaign.
The thread provided new lyrics to Ego Vivo, and explored ideas related to all 3 Latin songs.
Reoccurring themes of all 3 songs included the Moon EE, the shadowman,  gods , sins, the forest /memories, and judgement. 
Reoccurring themes in the storyline specific to each song were explored as well, including the role of fire in the storyline, fate, and redemption.
A few non-trivial parallels between the BO3 campaign and the zombies storyline were explored as well.
Even though the thread is relatively long, its ideas expand far beyond the the written word here.
The analysis here is only partial. If you wish me to expand on certain concepts or have your own ideas, feel free to comment below. 
Hopefully you enjoyed the thread, thank you for reading.

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1 hour ago, anonymous said:

These songs are beautiful, the nostalgic feeling it brings. Thank you for this awesome analysis! That Agnus Dei/Lamb of God really fits with the idea of Samantha being a 'child of the gods', the Elder Gods pulling the strings of her.

Yes 😃

image.png

 

 

Since you brought up the elders, in the Lovecraft book "The dreams in the witch house" (which has many concepts related to the zombies storyline as discussed before),
there is also mention of a throne:

Quote

Gilman is later taken to Azathoth's throne at the "Center of Chaos" by this group and is forced to be an accomplice in the kidnapping of an infant.

This could connect with:

Quote

The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound
through the sepulchres of the regions,
will summon all before the throne.

Characters can even be summoned with the summoning key, so this can make sense here. 
However I am not familar with any reference to a throne in zombies itself (up to DE) so it may be a coincidence (Trying to stick to in-game evidence). 
Perhaps you are aware of such one? 

 

Also, speaking about this section , in a discussion of @caljitsu, trugamer732 and I in the discord serve about the staffs has lead to discussion on the Norse war Ragnarok (DG-4 P=):
Apparently a sound of a horn (blown by Heimdall) and the burning of Yggdrasil are signals to Ragnarok itself, similarly to the trumpet mentioned here (also similarly to the last mission in which you burn the hollow trees). 

Quote

Mim's sons dance,
but the central tree takes fire,
at the resounding Giallar-horn.
Loud blows Heimdall,
his horn is raised; Odin speaks with Mim's head

Quote

As a part of the onset of Ragnarök, that Heimdallr blows Gjallarhorn, that Odin speaks with Mímir's head, and then:
Yggdrasill shivers,
the ash, as it stands.
The old tree groans,
and the giant slips free.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yggdrasil
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimdallr

Which ties to the following cipher (Cal's favorite haha) from the GK files:

Quote

Ex Ungue Leonem. Mkultra. Blurbird. Artischocke. The past. The truth. Blome brought the evil. Someone hide it.
God vs gov. Believe in the Welteis and the deads start walking. Power. German knowledge. Beware of the black sun. Search the truth. It is still there.
Son of the Hud. Four letters. building 87. Tabular rasa ex yggdrasil ad rem cui honorem.

And here you have Latin yet again. 

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Das interesting, Azatoth also has a trumpet or flute, doesn't he?

 

There are a lot of parallels between Ragnarok and the ending of Zombies which I am not gonna spoil, but they are exciting.

2 hours ago, RichKiller said:

However I am not familar with any reference to a throne in zombies itself (up to DE) so it may be a coincidence (Trying to stick to in-game evidence). 
Perhaps you are aware of such one? 

Only thing I can come up with is the fact the Crazy Place zombies wear crowns. Maybe we are thinking 'throne' in a too physical way?

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4 hours ago, anonymous said:

Das interesting, Azatoth also has a trumpet or flute, doesn't he?

 

There are a lot of parallels between Ragnarok and the ending of Zombies which I am not gonna spoil, but they are exciting.

Only thing I can come up with is the fact the Crazy Place zombies wear crowns. Maybe we are thinking 'throne' in a too physical way?

Not familiar with Azathoth's trumpet.
I think the crowns come from the medieval knights. 
But now that you say that, you do have the wolf king fighting in the great war though... perhaps there is something to it.
I wish for more evidence though. 

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