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A discussion of all things Thursday !
Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Sarah B (---.cableinet.co.uk)
Date: January 24, 2003 09:44PM
<HTML>Here you go, I found it.
In German:
Blumen im Garten, so zwanzig Arten,
von Rosen Tulpen und Narzissen,
leisten sich heute die feinen Leute.
Das will ich alles gar nicht wissen.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Was brauch' ich rote Rosen, was brauch' ich roten Mohn,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Und wenn ein Bösewicht was ungezog'nes spricht,
dann hol' ich meinen Kaktus und der sticht, sticht, sticht.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Man find't gewöhnlich die Frauen ähnlich
den Blumen die sie gerne haben.
Doch ich sag täglich: Das ist nicht möglich,
was soll'n die Leut' sonst von mir sagen.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Was brauch' ich rote Rosen, was brauch' ich roten Mohn,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Und wenn ein Bösewicht was ungezog'nes spricht,
dann hol' ich meinen Kaktus und der sticht, sticht, sticht.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Heute um viere klopft's an die Türe,
nanu, Besuch so früh am Tage?
Es war Herr Krause vom Nachbarhause,
er sagt: "Verzeih'n Sie wenn ich frage:
Sie hab'n doch 'nen Kaktus da draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Der fiel soeben runter, was halten Sie davon?
Hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Er fiel mir aufs Gesicht obs' glauben oder nicht
jetzt weiß ich, daß Ihr kleiner grüner Kaktus sticht.
Bewahr'n Sie Ihren Kaktus gefälligst anderswo,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!"
And for the English speaker, courtesy of the Altavista Babel Fish:
Flowers in the garden,
Twenty kinds of them,
There are roses, tulips and narcissuses,
The rich people can afford them.
But I don't want them, I've got everything I want.
My small green Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Better than red roses, better than red poppies,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
And if a rogue speaks badly of it and prods it,
Then I get my mean Kaktus and it stings, stings, stings.
My small green Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
One finds usually the women prefer flowers.
But I say daily: That is not possible, which are the Lord says otherwise of me.
My small greener Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Better than red roses, better than red poppies,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
And if a rogue speaks badly of it and prods it,
Then I get my mean Kaktus and it stings, stings, stings.
My small green Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
The last verse translated very badly, so here it is in a nutshell:
The next day my nieghbour cam round and the cactus feel on him, nad now he believes my cactus stings. So don't doubt the cactus!
Right, so I am a nutter after all.
But only for a given value of 'nutter'.</HTML>
In German:
Blumen im Garten, so zwanzig Arten,
von Rosen Tulpen und Narzissen,
leisten sich heute die feinen Leute.
Das will ich alles gar nicht wissen.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Was brauch' ich rote Rosen, was brauch' ich roten Mohn,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Und wenn ein Bösewicht was ungezog'nes spricht,
dann hol' ich meinen Kaktus und der sticht, sticht, sticht.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Man find't gewöhnlich die Frauen ähnlich
den Blumen die sie gerne haben.
Doch ich sag täglich: Das ist nicht möglich,
was soll'n die Leut' sonst von mir sagen.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Was brauch' ich rote Rosen, was brauch' ich roten Mohn,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Und wenn ein Bösewicht was ungezog'nes spricht,
dann hol' ich meinen Kaktus und der sticht, sticht, sticht.
Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus steht draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Heute um viere klopft's an die Türe,
nanu, Besuch so früh am Tage?
Es war Herr Krause vom Nachbarhause,
er sagt: "Verzeih'n Sie wenn ich frage:
Sie hab'n doch 'nen Kaktus da draußen am Balkon,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Der fiel soeben runter, was halten Sie davon?
Hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Er fiel mir aufs Gesicht obs' glauben oder nicht
jetzt weiß ich, daß Ihr kleiner grüner Kaktus sticht.
Bewahr'n Sie Ihren Kaktus gefälligst anderswo,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!"
And for the English speaker, courtesy of the Altavista Babel Fish:
Flowers in the garden,
Twenty kinds of them,
There are roses, tulips and narcissuses,
The rich people can afford them.
But I don't want them, I've got everything I want.
My small green Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Better than red roses, better than red poppies,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
And if a rogue speaks badly of it and prods it,
Then I get my mean Kaktus and it stings, stings, stings.
My small green Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
One finds usually the women prefer flowers.
But I say daily: That is not possible, which are the Lord says otherwise of me.
My small greener Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
Better than red roses, better than red poppies,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
And if a rogue speaks badly of it and prods it,
Then I get my mean Kaktus and it stings, stings, stings.
My small green Kaktus stands outside at the balcony,
hollari, hollari, hollaro!
The last verse translated very badly, so here it is in a nutshell:
The next day my nieghbour cam round and the cactus feel on him, nad now he believes my cactus stings. So don't doubt the cactus!
Right, so I am a nutter after all.
But only for a given value of 'nutter'.</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Jon (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: January 24, 2003 11:27PM
<HTML>Those crazy Germans and their mad sense of humour, nicht war?</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Ooktavia (---.in-addr.btopenworld.com)
Date: January 24, 2003 11:41PM
<HTML>"My cactus stings", hmm? Possibly this is all deep, meaningful existensial (damn can't spell it) of metaphorical post-modern comment on life.
Yeah.</HTML>
Yeah.</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: poetscientistdrinker (---.cache.pol.co.uk)
Date: January 24, 2003 11:47PM
<HTML>I daren't ask about the Freudian images in that song...
And the Germans do have a sense of humour - just have a look at their music - Nena, the Scorpions, David Bloody Hasselhoff</HTML>
And the Germans do have a sense of humour - just have a look at their music - Nena, the Scorpions, David Bloody Hasselhoff</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: The Mysterious Bob (---.cableinet.co.uk)
Date: January 25, 2003 01:25PM
<HTML>Or perhaps the translator is, quite simply, crap.
This wouldn't surprise me. The 'cactus' also appears to have gone from green to greener in the course of a few lines...</HTML>
This wouldn't surprise me. The 'cactus' also appears to have gone from green to greener in the course of a few lines...</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Sarah (---.vip.uk.com)
Date: January 25, 2003 03:19PM
<HTML>On the subject of poetry translation, has anyone else here read <i>Le Ton Beau de Marot</i> by Douglas R Hofstadter? (For those who don't know... don't worry, it is in English!)</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Sarah B (---.cableinet.co.uk)
Date: January 27, 2003 10:14PM
<HTML>Nope. I'm not that well read... <blushes></HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: poetscientistdrinker (---.cache.pol.co.uk)
Date: January 27, 2003 10:19PM
<HTML>Er, does that translate as ' The one tonne lover of marrows'? I'm sure it wouldn't be wise to put that into a search engine. Unless your tastes run that way....</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Sarah B (---.cableinet.co.uk)
Date: January 27, 2003 10:22PM
<HTML>lol</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Sarah (---.vip.uk.com)
Date: January 29, 2003 09:54PM
<HTML>Er, no, Ben... Marot was a French chap, as a matter of fact... lol</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Sarah B (---.cableinet.co.uk)
Date: January 31, 2003 04:25PM
<HTML>double lol</HTML>
Re: Small Green Cacti
Posted by: Sarah (---.vip.uk.com)
Date: January 31, 2003 08:59PM
<HTML>I think most people here would enjoy <i>Le Ton Beau de Marot.</i> It's about poetry translation and many other things besides; it is very clever; and in places it is a downright hoot. Hofstadter is a cognitive scientist by profession; he is also trilingual, very well-read, and a splendid comic poet. The other thing LTBdM has to recommend it is that it is <i>large.</i> In other words, you aren't going to finish it in an evening and then find yourself at a loose end!</HTML>
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