Text
The original text, derived from the Dies irae sequence, is as follows:
| Pie Iesu Domine, Dona eis requiem. (×2) |
Pious Lord Jesu, Give them rest. |
| Pie Iesu Domine, Dona eis requiem sempiternam. |
Pious Lord Jesu, Give them everlasting rest. |
Pie is the vocative of the word pius ("pious", "dutiful to one's parent or God"). Requiem is the accusative of requies ("rest"), sometimes mistranslated as "peace", although that would be pacem, as in Dona nobis pacem ("Give us peace").
The Andrew Lloyd Webber version combines the text of the Pie Iesu with that of the version of the Agnus Dei formerly appointed to be used at Requiem Masses:
| Pie Iesu, (×4) Qui tollis peccata mundi, Dona eis requiem... (×2) |
Pious Jesu, Who takes on the sins of the world, Give them rest... |
| Agnus Dei, (×4) Qui tollis peccata mundi, Dona eis requiem, (×2) Sempiternam (×2) Requiem... |
Lamb of God, Who takes on the sins of the world, Give them rest, Everlasting Rest... |
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