I've read this whole thread about the lyrics and I can come to the conclusion that they either mean something or nothing.

I've seen ancient languages (Farsi, Egyptian, Greek, Gaelic, Hebrew) in all the responses. Whether Simon comes up with his interpretation in Egyptian, remains to be seen.

It may be true, also, that Lisa Gerrard makes up the lyrics. One also has to remember, though, that Gerrard was a part of Dead Can Dance that brought to life again some older songs of medieval times, including medieval music's Moorish influences.

But favorite interpretation is this: that if you can Farsi, Egyptian, Greek, Gaelic and Hebrew out of this song, then it could be a simple evoking of racial memories, especially if you were a centurion conquering Persia, Egypt, Greece, the British Isles (and let's remember that the Celts were from the mainland of Europe) and Judea (Jerusalem et al).

It seems that Gerrard is channeling all these languages into a pattern that melds into one stream of gibberish. But look at this from the perspective of a centurion in Roman times - he could have regarded it the same way (gibberish) and had constructed the song out of found words from any of these languages BECAUSE he may have come into contact with any and all of these peoples!

Rome touched all of these cultures, and to think of Rome as a melting pot of many early cultures could be accurate. Think of the presence of Djimon Hunsu in the movie. And think of the ancient legend of the Tower of Babel.

Think of the song as a fusion of cultural memory. (No one's ever thought of Gothic as a possible language for the lyrics, but remember - who knows what THAT would have sounded like! The language of the Ostrogoths and Visigoths is a dead language... Manx is headed or has gone that way....)

Look at the English language now. It has French words, Saracen words, German root words, Norse words.... take a course in the geography and history of language in you'll see what I might be talking about.

Chris