A more accurate translation of the lyrics in Latin: Gloria, in te Dómine means Glory in you, Lord, which is saying not "glory to God" but rather that "glory is in God". Exsultáte is really not that hard to translate: it means "rejoice", "exalt". In this particular case it is an exhortative conjugation. The verses, however, are not from the Te Deum, they seem to be a rather basic use of Latin phrases which are common in Catholic Liturgy. For further illustration of the meaning, refer to the Te Deum which includes the verse In te, Dómine, sperávi = In you, Lord, I trusted, and Psalm #2, which includes the verse Servíte Dómino in timóre et exsultáte ei cum tremóre = Serve the Lord with (in) fear, and exalt Him with (holy) tremor. (Taken from the Daily Roman Missal). Thus the meaning of the entire Latin text of the song is literally "Glory in you Lord; exalt Him". The first verse is spoken to God and the second one to man. It is most likely that Bono didn't know his Latin grammar when he wrote this song, and therefore we can only speculate on what he actually tried to say on this song. My personal theory is that he only used Latin to give the song more style and impact, seeing as how Latin being the official language of the Catholic Church gives people a feeling of more "universality" ("catholicity"), inasmuch as through Latin liturgy we relate to God in "One" ;) tongue common to the entire Church rather than being separated by barriers of language; therefore, the song by using Latin conveys, at least to me and many other Catholic fans of U2, a feeling of universal brotherhood, thus serving a double purpose: praising God and uniting His people at the same time, which I think mirrors the verses perfectly, since first he sings God's praises and then invites us to join in exalting Him.
Juan Pablo G. jpablogc
hotmail.com ( 7:th of July 2003)