Song Lyrics: Vale Decem (Farewell, Ten)

This song was composed and conducted by Murray Gold, one of my favorite composers. He does the music for the Doctor Who series. This particular song accompanied the regeneration scene in "The End of Time, part II" when the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) turns into the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith). The words are in Latin.

Vale Decem                                                                         Farewell, Ten

Honore res quara                                                  Because of (your) honor
Emerio                                                                         (It is) well deserved
Alter altera                                                                      This other (one)...

Vale Decem                                                                         Farewell, Ten
Emerio                                                                        (It is) well deserved
Alter...                                                                               This other (one)
Alteri ti                                                                          Other one of you...

Vale Decem                                                                         Farewell, Ten
Vale Stragem                                       Farewell (to) Carnage (destruction)
Valde Tempetua                                                               (to) intense trials
De glorio...                                                              (of) concerning pride...

Vale Decem                                                                         Farewell, Ten
Vale Decet                                                         (farewell) in a proper way
Honore res quara                                                  because of (your) honor
Alter cerna                                                     The next separation (change)
Armis                                                                             (by) force of arms
Grata tunc, usquera, emani                            flow out, all the way, with joy.
Vale (x12)                                                                                  (Farewell)

("I don't want to go...")

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Doctor Who Christmas Special

Yes, I'm a Doctor Who fan. I started watching the New Series with David Tennant (Tenth Doctor) on BBC America, then with Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor). I was hooked...it was the "traveling anywhere in Time and Space" in a blue Police Call Box. It also helped that I thought David Tennant was a brilliant actor (and a bit cute, in a goofy kind of way. Ditto Matt Smith.)

Midway through the most recent series, I went back and watched the first year of the New Series (with Chris Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor) and a lot of things made sense. I thought it was amazing that with three different men playing three different versions of the Doctor, they still managed to convince me that this was actually the same guy, just wearing three different faces.

I hadn't been too much of a fan of the Classic Who serials, although I'd mostly watched the episodes with Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor). I remembered him because of his long, multicolored scarf and the big googly eyes. When I was a kid, I wondered how he never got that scarf caught in a door somewhere. Or a conveyor belt. Or on an escalator. If I had that thing, I would have been constantly tripping over it. "Ah, let's save the universe...oops!" *trips on scarf and falls on face* Yeah, pretty heroic, Doc.

So I've got a whole line of classic Who episodes in my NetFlix Queue, including "Logolopolis", "Tomb of the Cybermen" and a few others. It'll have to do until the Doctor Who 2010 Christmas Special, 9 PM on BBC America on Christmas Day (Boxing Day, the 26th in Canada). I'll be out of town, but I've got the DVR set to record it.

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010