Whalesong capture CGNB82 - the "hanging waters" recording
Excerpt:
hanging waters
skies inverted, shores below
the paths of the mother
forgotten
Recorded by Cara of Silverfin
Translated by Vurdok, apprentice cetalinguist
Recital and translation overseen by Cara, lead archivist
Sung by gray male (individual C-116) Recorder's notes: Standard recording procedures unavailable in the wake of the events in the northern Balacen. In the absence of our usual sphere keepers, I handled the recording of this song myself. A group of archivists, guards, and translators were working to clear the debris of the destroyed library when we were approached by one of the local grays. He is known to us, and has been recorded before, but he has never volunteered himself like he did this time. But he approached us nonetheless, and I hurriedly conjured a songsphere. The song began right after I was done, so there was no loss at the beginning of the recording. Translator's notes: This is an unusual composition, incomparable to almost everything else we've analyzed previously. The very tone of the piece - set by the phrase "hanging waters" - does not fit in with any other whalesongs. Even harder to interpret are the following phrases: "skies inverted" could mean just about anything, and "shores below" hardly seems worth noting, as they are rarely anywhere other than under a sky. The only anchor I can find is the phrase "paths of the mother" - this has been used elsewhere as an oblique reference to migratory routes to and from breeding grounds. It's not clear how these could possibly be "forgotten," as grays follow the trail every year. Supervisor's notes: We've known for some time that the whales were aware of our activities, but they have never demonstrated an understanding of them - or if they did understand, they rarely showed any interest. Whatever event leveled the library must have had far-reaching consequences elsewhere in the Balacen for the great whales to approach us as equals.
skies inverted, shores below
the paths of the mother
forgotten
Recorded by Cara of Silverfin
Translated by Vurdok, apprentice cetalinguist
Recital and translation overseen by Cara, lead archivist
Sung by gray male (individual C-116) Recorder's notes: Standard recording procedures unavailable in the wake of the events in the northern Balacen. In the absence of our usual sphere keepers, I handled the recording of this song myself. A group of archivists, guards, and translators were working to clear the debris of the destroyed library when we were approached by one of the local grays. He is known to us, and has been recorded before, but he has never volunteered himself like he did this time. But he approached us nonetheless, and I hurriedly conjured a songsphere. The song began right after I was done, so there was no loss at the beginning of the recording. Translator's notes: This is an unusual composition, incomparable to almost everything else we've analyzed previously. The very tone of the piece - set by the phrase "hanging waters" - does not fit in with any other whalesongs. Even harder to interpret are the following phrases: "skies inverted" could mean just about anything, and "shores below" hardly seems worth noting, as they are rarely anywhere other than under a sky. The only anchor I can find is the phrase "paths of the mother" - this has been used elsewhere as an oblique reference to migratory routes to and from breeding grounds. It's not clear how these could possibly be "forgotten," as grays follow the trail every year. Supervisor's notes: We've known for some time that the whales were aware of our activities, but they have never demonstrated an understanding of them - or if they did understand, they rarely showed any interest. Whatever event leveled the library must have had far-reaching consequences elsewhere in the Balacen for the great whales to approach us as equals.
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