I've always found that translating song lyrics is a great way to advance in learning a language. Since I'm a big fan of the Twilight series of books, I decided to attempt to translate Ewa Farna's Nebojím se. I think (hope) that I did a pretty good job, especially for someone who is new to Czech, but I ran into some problems. Could some kind souls critique my translation? There's one passage I couldn't wrap my head around, so it's untranslated. Thanks in advance! Original text: http://www.ewafarna.cz/album-10.php My translation: The day has shut its gates and the good girls are sleeping. He who would fight back will wait until dawn breaks. In the mean time, they'll invite you to leave your room and go to paradise ... on a snowy pilgrimage, upon the path of all those who came before me. I feel a cold glare from behind me ... looking for its target. From the bowels of the city, he's waiting for me to surrender to all his powers out of fear. Well, I'm not afraid of the one who will give me the world. I don't always wait for the answer to my questions. I know that you can hear what I'm saying. [?] I know that you're prowling around where you can. [?] I don't count either my wins or losses. I'm a surface slanting skywards. [???] I know that the twilight must live. I shall let him drink of my flesh. ????[Ode zdi ke zdi jdou kroky, co hlídaj mý neslyší na soucit, jsou oporou pro sny matoucí. Křičí STOP! Jsem poznání ! STOP! Co tě ochrání ! STOP! Ty bojíš se rán, když nesměle cítí se pekelní andělé.]???? I'm not afraid of the one who will give me the world. I don't always wait for the answer to my questions. I know that you can hear what I'm saying. [?] I know that you're prowling around where you can. [?] I don't count either my wins or losses. I'm a surface slanting skywards. [???] I know that the twilight must live. I shall let him drink of my flesh. I know what the moth knows when he goes astray. He gets caught up in the curtains of his raw desires -- he does magic tricks. I know they aren't evil. I'm not afraid of the one who will give me the world. I don't always wait for the answer to my questions. I know that you can hear what I'm saying. [?] I know that you're prowling around where you can. [?] I don't count either my wins or losses. I'm a surface slanting skywards. [???] I know that the twilight must live. I shall let him drink of my flesh.
I couldn't have done that after living in Prague and learning Czech for three years so I'm not sure how you managed it after a month! I don't even understand a lot of in English! :shock:
You wouldn't be as impressed, if you knew how long it took me to do it :lol: I also had a lot of help from http://slovnik.seznam.cz/
Ode zdi ke zdi jdou kroky, co hlídaj mý... neslyší na soucit, jsou oporou pro sny matoucí. Křičí STOP! Jsem poznání ! STOP! Co tě ochrání ! STOP! Ty bojíš se rán, když nesměle cítí se pekelní andělé. Interesting song...it's a hard one...can only make a guess From wall to wall they are walking maybe from here, towards here they go step by step, what are they looking for.... You are afraid of the mornings, when undaringly-weakly you sense-feel hells angels Maybe....I am not afraid of what the world is giving me. and in the bowels of the cities he lurks.waits until out of fear I surrender all my powers. open to interpretation I guess
scrimshaw: this is a tough one, the kind of song you like to translate Too difficult for me. I don't know how Malá Mila translated it after learning Czech for only one month.
“Jít ode zdi ke zdi” (= go from one wall to the another wall) is idiomatic expression for “go from one extreme to another”.
Here are some possibilities...It may be totally wrong and not word for word, paraphrasing Nepočítám výhry ani zklamání. Jsem hladina, co se k nebi naklání. Vím, že soumrak musí žít, já z kůže dám mu pít. I am not counting up wins and disappointents, I'm a woman that bows to heaven, I know that nightfall must come, I will nurture it. Ode zdi ke zdi jdou kroky, co hlídaj mý... neslyší na soucit, jsou oporou pro sny matoucí. Křičí STOP! Jsem poznání ! STOP! Co tě ochrání ! STOP! Ty bojíš se rán, když nesměle cítí se pekelní andělé. From extreme to extreme they go, so guard!.... they do not hear compassion, they are the foundations of illusory dreams, They are shouting--Stop! I am (your) intuition. Stop!, What will protect you? Stop! You fear the mornings, when hell's angels appear.
