The Lament of the Highborne

The song, Lament of the Highborne,
was sung by Vangie Gunn.

Lament of the Highborne

The Lament of the Highborne is a Thalassian song. The lament was composed by Derek Duke and Russell Brower and sung by artist Vangie Gunn. It appears on the Burning Crusade soundtrack. It is also the name of an in-game book which contains the lyrics of the song of the same name. The book serves no game play purpose, other than to offer the player a chance to reread the lyrics as many times as he/she wishes. The composers have revealed that "the quest design team enhanced a new quest line to incorporate the song as a payoff moment".

History

Originally thought to be a lament to the Fall of Quel'Thalas, or possibly the Troll Wars, Lament of the Highborne is a tribute to both these events and more. The original song may have actually been in Darnassian, but given the similarities between it and Thalassian, this is probably a moot point. The original version is a kaldorei song, lamenting the losses of the War of the Ancients, a tribute to the members of the Kaldorei Resistance who fought against, and died by the claws of, the Burning Legion. Some 2,800 years ago, the words were altered (though the melody remained the same) to reflect the similar losses and courage found in the Troll Wars. The song (possibly modified slightly) rose to popularity in recent years, after the Fall of Quel'Thalas, again to honor the fallen of Quel'Thalas and those who persevered. Hence, the song is a dirge, not for just the high elves, but for all elves; kaldorei, quel'dorei, and sin'dorei alike.

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Original Thalassian lyrics

Anar'alah, Anar'alah belore
Sin'dorei
Shindu fallah na
Sin'dorei
Anar'alah
Shindu Sin'dorei
Shindu fallah na
Sin'dorei
Anar'alah belore
Shindu Sin'dorei
Shindu fallah na
Sin'dorei
Anar'alah belore
Belore

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Loose English Translation

By the light, by the light of the sun
Children of the blood
Our enemies are breaking through
Children of the blood
By the light
Failing children of the blood
They are breaking through
O' children of the blood
By the light of the sun
Failing children of the blood
They are breaking through
O' children of the blood
By the light of the sun
The sun

Roytavan