Duel of the Fates

"The…piece…is a result of my thinking that something ritualistic and/or pagan and antique might be very effective. I just felt the way that George has staged that, on top of that great stairway, the way it's done is so dramatic and so like a great pagan altar, the whole thing seems like a dance or a ballet, a religious ceremony of some kind, probably ending in the death of one of the combatants&hellip;"

- John Williams

Duel of the Fates is a musical theme recurring in the prequel trilogy and the name for a scene in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It was composed by John Williams. It was also featured in Episode II, Episode III, and Star Wars: Clone Wars, though not in its full form.

This symphonic piece is played with both a full orchestra, as well as a choir that chants an archaic Welsh poem Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees) in Sanskrit. In English, the poem reads: "Under the tongue root a fight most dread, and another raging behind, in the head." Musically, it recalls one of the primary motifs heard in the opening of the third movement of Dvořák's "New World Symphony".

The music is played primarily during a lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul on Naboo. In addition to this scene, it was also played as Anakin Skywalker searched for his kidnapped mother on Tatooine. Variations on the main theme from "Duel of the Fates" are played in Revenge of the Sith during the battle sequence between Yoda and Darth Sidious. George Lucas believed the sense that everything is "in larger hands," as implied in "Duel of the Fates," plays very well into the third movie.

Episode I
"Duel of the Fates" was first played in The Phantom Menace. The "Duel of the Fates" scene (named by the DVD version of the film) is the scene where Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan duel Darth Maul in the Theed Power Plant. In the duel, Maul uses a double-bladed lightsaber. At the beginning, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan have the advantage, but when they are separated by electric shields, Maul kills Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan then duels Maul in a fit of rage and falls into a shaft, but grabs the edge at the last second. Using the Force, he jumps out and cuts Maul in half with his master's lightsaber. The song comes to an end as Maul falls from a very great height.

Episode II
"Duel of the Fates" is played when Anakin travels across the surface of Tatooine to search for his mother, Shmi Skywalker and rescue her from her captors, the Tusken Raiders.

Clone Wars
"Duel of the Fates" is played in Star Wars: Clone Wars during the battle between Anakin and Asajj Ventress, and concludes with Ventress falling from a very great height.

Episode III
"Duel of the Fates" is played for the final time during the middle of Anakin's duel against Obi-Wan on Mustafar, as well as Yoda's fight with and Emperor Palpatine in the Senate Chamber and concludes as Yoda falls from a very great height.

Lyrics (version one–Sanskrit words)
Sanskrit                       Translation Khara Matha Khara Rath Amah    Khara=dreadful Khara Rath Amah Yuddha Khara   Matha=head Khara Syada Rath Amah Dai Ya   Rath=speak Khara Ki La Dan Ya             Amah=give Niha Ki La Khara Rath Amah     Yuddha=battle Syada Ki La Khara Rath Amah    Syada=raging Khara Dan Ya Khara Rath Amah   Dai=purify Khara Dan Ya Khara Rath Amah   Ya=going Niha Ki La Khara Rath Amah     Ki=like Syada Ki La Khara Rath Amah    La=taking Khara                          Dan=separate Khara Matha Khara Rath Amah    Niha=loss Khara Dan Ya Khara Rath Amah Niha Ki La Khara Rath Amah Syada Ki La Khara Rath Amah Khara

Dreadful head dreadful speak give dreadful speak give battle dreadful dreadful raging speak give purify going dreadful like taking separate going loss like taking dreadful speak give raging like taking dreadful speak give dreadful separate going dreadful give dreadful separate going dreadful give loss like taking dreadful speak give raging like taking dreadful speak give dreadful dreadful head dreaful speak give dreadful separate going dreadful speak give loss like taking dreadful speak give raging like taking dreadful speak give dreadful

Lyrics (version two–pronunciation)
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah Korah Keelah Daanyah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah

Lyrics - original fragment of the Cad Goddeu
A chat er dygnawt                      And a battle was contested Dan von y tauawt                       Under the root of the tongue A chat arall yssyd                     And another battle there is Yn y wegilyd                            In his head

Behind the scenes
Duel of the Fates has found a particular following among fans of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., who use the score as a sort of unofficial anthem at the team's matches.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Star Wars: Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars: Starfighter
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game
 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game

Possible canon appearance
Curators of the Coruscant Ice Crypts claim to have heard faint hums of "korah matah" emanating from the halls of the underground tombs. This could indicate that the tune may be of Zhell origin in-universe.

Non-canon appearances
"Duel of the Fates" has been featured in many fan films. It was also featured on an episode of The Simpsons in which Bart Simpson and Principal Skinner battled on top of a bus with sticks that had peanuts and shrimp attached to them. The theme also plays during Soulcalibur IV whenever Starkiller fights within either of the game's two Star Wars-themed stages, as well as during his extended ending.

Common parody lyrics
In the matter of a popular ytmnd fads in which songs in other languages are interpreted as funny English words, the introduction chant is most popularly "translated" to "Corn on the Cob, Corn on the Kebab".

Parody lyrics can be found at these pages:
 * http://cornonthekabob.ytmnd.com
 * http://duelofthecorn.ytmnd.com