So I decided to tranlate a fun Nohavica song into English. There were some things I could not get. Let me know how I did. Když mě brali za vojáka stříhali mě dohola já vypadal jsem jako blbec jak i všichni dokola-la-la-la jak i všichni dokola When I became a soldier They cut me down bare (cut me to nothing) I looked like I was stupid and all around-la-la-la and all round (meaning I looked stupid in every way?) Zavřeli mě do kasáren začali mě učiti jak mám správný voják býti a svou zemi chrániti-ti-ti-ti a svou zemi chrániti They shut in the barracks began to teach me How to be a proper soldier and defend our country-ti-ti-ti and defend our country Na pokoji po večerce ke zdi jsem se přitulil já vzpomněl jsem si na svou milou krásně jsem si zabulil-lil-lil-lil krásně jsem si zabulil In the room after bedtime to the wall I snuggled I remembered my beloved beautiful (could not translate) beautiful (could not translate) Když přijela po půl roce měl jsem zrovna zápal plic po chodbě furt někdo chodil tak nebylo z toho nic nic nic nic tak nebylo z toho nic When she arrived after a half year I had then pneumonia after someone walked in the corridor (don't know the word furt) Of it was nothing - nothing nothing nothing So it of it was nothing. (I think this means because someone walked in the room, they couldn't make love or do anything of that sort) Neplačte vy oči moje ona za to nemohla protože mladá holka lásku potřebuje a tak si k lásce pomohla-la-la-la a tak si k lásce pomohla Weep not my eyes she on it could not (not sure what that means) as a young girl needs love and so to love she helped -la-la-la and so to love she helped (don't know what that means) Major nosí velkou hvězdu před branou ho potkala řek jí že má zrovna volný kvartýr a tak se sbalit nechala-la-la-la a tak se sbalit nechala The Major wears a big star She met him before the gate He said to her that he just now has free time to hang out and so she gave up packing -la-la-la and so she gave up packing Co je komu do vojáka když ho holka zradila nashledanou pane Fráňo Šrámku písnička už skončila-la-la-la jakpak se vám líbila-la-la-la no nic moc extra nebyla What is a soldier to whom when a girl betrayed him. Goodbye sir Fráni Šrámka The song is already over-la-la-la How you like it -la-la-la Well, there was nothing much extra (I think that means there wasn't anything else interesting to sing about)
Good job, it is not easy to translate songs . Try some other Nohavica's songs, I like them very much.
Well, but how to translate “krásně”? Perhaps something like: I took the pleasure of crying/weeping. She’s not to blame for it. moci za něco = to be responsible for something, to be to blame for something That’s correct literal translation. But I’m not sure it is the English way to describe the rank insignia. Is it correct to say “McArthur wore five stars” meaning “McArthur was a five-star general”? Because this Major was an one-star Major: “Pick up”, “chat up” according to my dictionary. Yes, it’s difficult. But maybe you could choose a song which was not translated already. The translation of “Když mě brali za vojáka” is not literal, but still you can use it to check your work.
Ok, next I'll pick a song that's not translated already. I didn't look though, I swear. 8) I chose that song because I want to remember it. Usually, at one of our parties with all the Czech people here, a discussion gets going where one drunk man gets angry at another. The other guests try to get them to change the subject but they don't (usually politics). Well last weekend, when we couldn't get my friend Mita to stop arguing the death penalty with someone, I just started singing "Kdyz mi brali..." He loves to sing when he's drunk so I knew it would work. However, since I only knew the first verse, everyone else got to keep singing except me. So I want to learn the whole song and I thought one way to commit it to memory is to try to translate it.
Since I don't understand them very well, perhaps they started arguing about the army afterwards. :wink: Just kidding. Most of them there had defected Czechoslovakia and prior to defecting had served in the Czechoslovakian Army so perhaps they were in agreement about that song. Perhaps it happened to them, who knows. I do know they all knew the song because they all started singing immediately.
Ok, next Nohavica translation. This one was much more difficult than the last one: Divoké Koně Já viděl divoké koně běželi soumrakem vzduch těžký byl a divně voněl tabákem I saw wild horses running in the twilight The air was heavy with a strange tobacco scent Běželi běželi bez uzdy a sedla krajinou řek a hor sper to čert jaká touha je to vedla za obzor They ran and ran without bridle and saddle through a region of rivers and mountains. (ok, now the next sentence must mean something different than how its translated. It must be an idiom or something. ) Sperm it devil how craving(yearning, desire) is it beside the horizon Snad vesmír nad vesmírem snad lístek na věčnost naše touho ještě neumírej sil máme dost Perhaps the universe beyond the universe, perhaps a ticket to eternity our desire still "don't die", we have enough energy (or force as in "the force be with you) V nozdrách slábne zápach klisen na břehu jezera milování je divoká píseň večera In the nostrils the scent fades klisen (can't translate) on the lake shore. Love is a wild song this evening. Stébla trávy sklání hlavu staví se do šiku král s dvořany přijíždí na popravu zbojníků A blade of grass bows its head building into siku (can't translate) Kings with courting arrive on execution zbojniku (can’t translate) Chtěl bych jak divoký kůň běžet běžet nemyslet na návrat s koňskými handlíři vyrazit dveře to bych rád I would like how wild horses run and run without thinking about returning with knoskymi (can't translate) horse trading to drive out the door. I would like it. (I'm sure that's all wrong) Já viděl divoké koně I saw wild horses
It is for me. Je to hnus Zelené mozky Čajík s bromem do termosky Je nápojem božským Těžká puška úzká torna Pěšákova uniforma Boty menší o dva palce Blechy lezou zpod kavalce Plat a stravu erár ti dává Co chceš víc ? Armádě sláva
* sper to čert = word-for-word translation: "let the devil beat it" here: "nobody knows" in another context: let anything happen, I don't mind, etc. ** klisna = mare *** šik - line, file of soldiers, organised (military) group, array (as in battle array) **** zbojník = outlaw, forest robber ***** vyrazit dveře s někým (idiom) - word-for-word: push by force somebody through the (shut) door bowl out, eject
that is a really beautiful song thanks dzurisova for starting it and everyone who helped with the translation! hee hee hee that sounds exactly like a certain friend of ours! I must remember the trick! I only know bits and pieces of songs though... it's scandalous
