Carmina Americana is a contemporary adaptation of the original "O Fortuna" that is part of the original Carmina Burana collection of medieval songs.
Carmina Burana, Latin for “Lieder von Benediktbeuern", a town in southern Germany, is a manuscript of about 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. Found in an abby in the 20th century the pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent, and satirical. They were written principally in Medieval Latin, a few in Middle High German and old Arpitan. Some are macaronic, a mixture of Latin and German or French vernacular.
“O Fortuna” is the most widely known and comments of life on the wheel of fortune, about the arrogance of power, and that what is up will come down. Carmina Burana was set to choral music by composer Carl Orff.