The words of the Magnificat have been set to music by many composers. These musical settings were mostly written for church services. In the Anglican Church it is always sung as part of the traditional evening service (Evensong).
Like all other New Testament texts the "Magnificat" was originally written in Koine Greek, but in the Western Church it is most often to be found in Latin or the language of the country.
The Latin text from the Vulgate is as follows:
The English words of the Magnificat in the traditional translation found in the "Book of Common Prayer":
The Magnificat (The soul rejoices in the Lord) found in the Roman Breviary
Nunc dimittis
The Nunc dimittis is a hymn from the Bible. It was sung by Simeon when he saw the baby Jesus.
The story told in the book of Luke was that Simeon, who was a Jew, had been promised by the Holy Ghost that he would not die until he had seen Jesus. When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem for the ceremony of consecration of the firstborn son, Simeon was there, and he took Jesus into his arms and said the words which are now known as the Nunc dimittis. He was saying to God that he could now die happily because he had seen the Saviour.
The words of the Nunc dimittis have been set to music by many composers. In the Anglican Church they are traditionally sung at Evensong.
The English words as found in the "Book of Common Prayer", 1662:
Zangalewa
"Zangaléwa" or "Tsaminamina" is a 1986 hit song, originally sung by a makossa group from Cameroon called Golden Sounds who were popular throughout Africa for their silly dances and costumes. The song was such a hit for Golden Sounds that they eventually changed their name to Zangaléwa, too. The song pays tribute to African skirmishers (a.k.a tirailleurs) during WW2. Most of the band members were in the Cameroonian Army themselves and used make up, fake belly and fake butt for comic relief.
The song is still used today almost everywhere in Africa by soldiers, policemen, boy scouts, sportsmen and their supporters, usually during training or for rallying. It is also widely used in schools throughout the continent especially in Cameroon as a marching song and the lyrics are well-known among Cameroonians. The song was also popular in Colombia where it was known as “The Military” and brought to the country by West African DJs.
The men in the group often dressed in military uniforms, wearing pith helmets and stuffing their clothes with pillows to appear like they had a swollen buttocks from riding the train and overweight stomachs from eating too much. Music historians say the song, or at least part of it, is a criticism of Black military officers who were in league with Whites to oppress their own people. The rest is Cameroonian slang and jargon from the soldiers during the war.
Meaning of the words in Fang language:
Polythene Pam
"Polythene Pam" is a song written by John Lennon, credited to Lennon/McCartney, and performed by The Beatles on their album "Abbey Road".
The name 'Polythene Pam' came from the nickname of an early Beatles' fan from the Cavern Club days, named Pat Hodgett (now Dawson), who would often eat polythene. She became known as 'Polythene Pat'. She said in an interview, "I used to eat polythene all the time. I'd tie it in knots and then eat it. Sometimes I even used to burn it and then eat it when it got cold."
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
"She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" is a song written by Paul McCartney (although credited to Lennon/McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on their album "Abbey Road" as part of the "Abbey Road" medley.
McCartney said the song was inspired by Apple scruffs (dedicated fans who would stay outside the Abbey Road studio and the homes of the Beatles), who broke into McCartney's St John's Wood home. Diane Ashley, one of the group, says: "We were bored, he was out and so we decided to pay him a visit. We found a ladder in his garden and stuck it up at the bathroom window which he'd left slightly open. I was the one who climbed up and got in." She then opened the front door to let the others in, and they stole a number of photographs. Another Apple scruff, Margo Bird, remembers being good friends with McCartney - she would often take his dog for walks - and later got a job at Apple Corps. She says that she was asked to get back a certain photograph, which she did.
In the 2006 DVD documentary "The Classic Artists Series: The Moody Blues" (DVD UK, released October 2006), Mike Pinder, the former keyboard player of Birmingham R&B band The Moody Blues, states that the inspiration for the song actually rests with an incident that happened to them—a groupie climbing into an open bathroom window in the band's home and spending the night with band member Ray Thomas. The next day, Pinder and Thomas told the story to McCartney, who—guitar in hand—strummed and sang "She came in through the bathroom window...".
The Beatles recorded the rhythm track for this and Polythene Pam as one piece on 25 July 1969. It took them 39 attempts, after which they added lead vocals and re-recorded the drums and bass guitar parts.
On July 28, they added more vocals, guitar, percussion and piano. The song was completed two days later with additional guitar and percussion.
This song was performed directly after "Polythene Pam", the song on the preceding track, without pause.
At the very beginning of the song, in anticipation to the change of meter, John Lennon says "we'll listen to that now... heh-heh" and then shouts "Oh, look out!" A slower, ethereal version of this song, recorded during the "Let It Be" sessions, appears on "Anthology 3".
The End (Beatles song)
"The End" is a song by The Beatles written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) for the album "Abbey Road". It was the last song recorded by all four of the Beatles, and is the final song of the medley that dominates side two of the LP version of the album.
McCartney said, "I wanted [the medley] to end with a little meaningful couplet, so I followed the Bard [ Shakespeare ] and wrote a couplet." In his 1980 interview with "Playboy", John Lennon said, "That's Paul again ... He had a line in it, 'And in the end, the love you get is equal to the love you give,' which is a very cosmic, philosophical line. Which again proves that if he wants to, he can think." Lennon misquoted the line slightly; the actual words are, "And, in the end, the love you take/ Is equal to the love you make."
Recording began on July 23, 1969, when the Beatles recorded a one-minute, 20-second master recording that was extended via overdubs to two minutes and five seconds. At this point, the song was called "Ending." The first vocals for the song were added on August 5, more vocals and guitar overdubs were added on August 7, and bass and drums on August 8, the day the "Abbey Road" cover picture was taken. Orchestral overdubs were added August 15, and the closing piano and accompanying vocal on August 18.