Fortune plango vulnera

Tuesday 3 November 2026 20:26 CST  
 
 David Braverman
Election 2026Music

While writing the election night live blog, I keep thinking of the second movement of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, "Fortune plango vulnera:"

Fortunae rota volvitur;
descendo minoratus;
alter in altum tollitur;
nimis exaltatus
rex sedet in vertice
caveat ruinam!
nam sub axe legimus
Hecubam reginam.

The wheel of Fortune turns;
I sink, debased;
Another is raised up;
Lifted too high,
A king sits on the throne
Beware of ruin!
Under the axle we read,
Queen Hecuba.

tl;dr: What goes around, comes around.

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