Ask Doctor Thicket II

Gentlemen of the Thickets,

I teach an Egyptology course at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. I acquired “Nyarlathotep” through iTunes and am mentioning it to my class tonight. Hopefully a little more publicity for you guys! The URL for my course website, if you’re curious, is:

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/98-030/

Below is what I managed to puzzle out for a translation of the song, from the transliteration you printed in the inlay. I would love to see any corrections you have if you’re willing to divulge your Lyrics Man Was Not Meant To Know!
Cthulhu fhtagn!
–Shawn

A lion cries in the desert;
Trouble in the darkness;
In the evil secrets of blood.

He knew the Summoned Black One;
Servant of the gods, before the Sphinx;
He gave me the book of Chaos.

Nyarlathotep!
Slaughter! Incite abominations!
Nyarlathotep!

Before war, swear this:
Mutilate the mothers of all who flee;
All will creep fearfully below.

Messenger of abominations,
Opener of the path of emptiness before the serpent-demons;
Terrible one in the harem of pestilence.

Shawn, thanks for the interest and thanks a lot for exposing us to your hapless pupils. As a proponent of education in all forms I am tickled pink by the use of our rock song in academia!

Great translation! Not actually knowing Middle Egyptian myself, I had to consult some other experts. Below is what they wrote. It seems your translation is quite close, I highlighted the common bits below. Both versions are dark and nasty – exactly what I asked for when we were creating the song.

“Nyarlathotep” lyrics by Cristina Rizen and Inanna Gruner

Crying out from the Red Land
Came a man of darkness
With evil bloody secrets

He knew the Black Pharaoh
Servant to the Faceless Sphinx God
He gave me the book of the dead

Nyarlathotep
Slaughterer bringing nigh those who are detested
Nyarlathotep

Tumult and time bent
Mutilation and death in every land
Unleashing fear, creeping downward

Messenger to those who are detested
Prepare a way for the Void and the Evil Ones
Terror in the harem of pestilences