Thread: a poem----proofread or correct

Gracias. Siempre me gusta recibir los aplausos – pero tengo una pregunta. Usualmente, en los EEUU, decimos “geez” (que en realidad es una forma de Jesús – pero nadie piensa en la conexión religiosa, no es exactamente cortes, pero no es verde). Oí “¡hijole!”. Creo que es la misma cosa en México, ¿no? ¿Como se dice “geez” en España? O cualquier forma de maldición muy suave. A nivel de "caramba" pero no tan trillada.

The poem is a tongue-in-cheek celebration of drinking. So the spirit of the translation has to preserve its ironic spirit. Making a poem rhyme in two languages is difficult, but if the new rhyme takes a little liberty with the text while preserving the banter, it's all for the good.

.............................

Well may inflamed Leandro at midnight

Cross the sea his lady love to see!

Yet I do better to stay and imbibe

From the bay of my wine cellar

The pale or crimson tide;--

And let mockers chide and bed her!

.............................

mariaklec, I was listening to a Spanish language station near Chattanooga, and the DJ was saying "hijoles" (I guess there's more than one) every few minutes. So it can't be too bad.

And ed, when you look up translations of that particular poem, you find some that take such liberties, they don't seem to be the same poem. But there is an obvious diversity of ways to translate it. Now you want to try something hard, I would love to hear a translation of Rodriguez's "Locuras" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbsjQ...driguez&um=1&i such that it could be sung. There is apparently not one on the internet. It is just about my favorite song. Unfortunately, I have no musical ability.

Gernt,

Translation of Silvio Rodriguez's "Locuras":

Here is a start:

There are deliria that let hope foster,
And dementias that evoke pain,
Madnesses never plumbed by the sober,
Deliria of another strain.

There are deliria that are poetry,
Madnesses from a strange land....

Eduardo.

Well, yes. I noted that "There is madness" and "And madnesses" have the same rhythm of "Hay locuras", and I worked out a few lines, but when I get to a part that cannot be translated literally, soy el cuerdo de

Y hay locuras de allá,
donde el cuerdo no alcanza

porque pienso literalmente. Los matemáticos no somos buenos poetas.

Gernt,

I heard, "Donde el CUERVO no alcanza." But now that I read your version, "Donde el CUERDO no alcanza," I stand corrected.

I rush to edit my entry.

By the way, Silvio's lyrics with their ceaseless repetition of the word "Locuras" sound a bit monotonous to me. I chose to liven up the translation by employing synonyms.

A very different type of melody:--Here is a song that was very popular in Spain in the late 1950's--radios played it all the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqNt8...eature=related

“A mi nada me espanta”, ni siquiera palabras como “barrenero”. Es mi palabra nueva para hoy. Esa y deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

¿No estamos muy lejos del asunto original? "You never know where you’re going ‘till you get there". Now that’s an old song, too.

Lo que es la verdad, la repetición me ayuda mucho entenderla Locuras la primera vez. Es cierto me encantó un poco para esa razón.