Shanties. Sort of...
I keep hesitating if this post can be interesting for you, yet on the other hand it keeps following me, so… *shrug* I guess I just have to see.
Have you ever tried to compare different versions of shanties? And the term ‘shanties’ is in this case broad as a whale jaw… The recipe is simple: you take an English or French shanty, or Irish folk, or actually anything coming from old blessed times without ©, you write the lyrics in your language of choice, and if the song struggles and cries for help, pointing that it was never a shanty in the first place, you pour into the lyrics some rum or throw a captain here and there. And voila, you’ve got a shanty. Polish shanty, in this particular case. And since a.) listening to them is fun, and b.) translating is fun… OK, OK, at least for me. Anyway, you had it coming. Oh, come on! could be worse! I could sing them for you! Fortunately, there are some limits of my sadism, so the worst what is waiting for you is recycled music and very bad translations. Consider yourself warned. But if you’re brave enough, I promise a lot of fun. :)
I didn’t try to keep the rhythm and rhymes, you’ll get enough of it from the clips, and I focused on the meaning. It’s as exact as I managed. Still, feel free to correct the grammar and such. Yes, I mean it and I’ll be immensely grateful. *cough*And readers who’ll come after you will be even more.*cough*
Possibly you remember the song Temeraire I posted once, and then once more, the translation rewritten by moth2fic? I love the Ryczące Dwudziestki band, they have strong voices and great arrangements. Temeraire is their own, but they also recycle quite a lot. The clip below is Few Days. No translation, cause Dwudziestki’s lyrics is more or less similar to the original one. Where’s shanty, you’re asking? Oh, he wants to go back to the sea, not home, as in the English version. See? Shanty. *g*
I don’t know why they left ‘few days’ in English, but it most probably just sounded well. The words aren’t thrown carelessly though, they correspond with the rest of lines in Polish (mogę kopać tu dalej few days’ - ‘I can keep digging here [for] few days’).
And if you want to know why I think it’s interesting to compare versions, here’s Few Days by Bob Zentz.
The same band’s Moje morze (My Sea) was born as the Russian song Конь (Horse), having nothing to do with the sea. It’s one of those you need to listen to as a whole, unlike the stanza-after-stanza ones. (The file runs immediately after clicking, no need to hit ‘Play’. I hope there’s no troubles with the player on the site? If there are any, shout for help, please.)
You sailed hundreds of miles.
The same twilight every day, the same dawn.
A bird’s flying on the sky, you’re sailing against the wind,
asking ‘is it my place or not?’
Nights are so full of stars.
Which one’s yours? Does it let you know?
There’s only you here, alone, thousand waves around.
You keep asking ‘is it my place or not?’
I sailed hundreds of miles.
There’s only the sea’s shine in my eyes.
For the sea’s my home today,
for the sea’s everything I have.
Wherever I look, there’s only immensity of waters,
an unknown shore somewhere ahead.
When it looms, I’ll feel the fear again,
is it my place or not?
Fields by villages are full of corn,
beasts are in forests, and people crowd in towns.
Only in my heart I feel the same call,
saying the sea’s mine, not the shore.
It’ll be better when I’ll sail off again
and feel your waters’ immensity.
The sea, I know it, you shall soothe the fear,
until I’ll see some new shore.
Another’s band name is Mechanicy Szanty, and I’m absolutely awed by the cooperative teamwork of them in their Pacyfik. But I’m afraid you need the lyrics to really appreciate it. Pacyfik is a cumulative song made on The Rattlin’ Bog. At the each turn another singer adds the next line, but the song has an end, oh yes. *g*
You can choose of two clips, the one below with rather impressive photos, and the one here, with a better sound.
When we’re crossing the Pacific,
(Way-hey, furl it up!)
it blew crates overboard.
(Such a bloody storm it was!) (this line ends/interrupts each turn of ‘reckoning’)
(the refrain, sung by all, between the ‘reckonings’)
Something’s washed off again,
some guy got lost in the sea.
Reckon up, you there,
what a stuff now went away.
(another singer repeats what was told so far, adds one line more, and is immediately interrupted by ‘Such a bloody storm it was!’)
When we’re crossing the Pacific,
it blew crates overboard
full of herring and sardine,
baskets of crabs, a barrel of cheese,
the officer’s long johns,
a net of sea urchins, one frog,
the captain’s woman went away,
the rum barrel did not.
(all together)
Half of crew held it fast!
Something’s washed off again,
some guy got lost in the sea.
Treat us a jug of wine,
we’ll keep up the tale.
Here’s the original lyrics.
Another recycled one is Santiano by Mechanicy Szanty again. In their lyrics there’s no General Santa Anna nor Mexican history though, just sailing back and forth between Liverpool and Mexico. The clip below is Mechanicy Szanty’s, but the shanty is so popular that you can compare many versions: English, German, and two French ones: 1, 2
…and Weldon by Ryczące Dwudziestki again, and this time you need no translation. :) Or maybe you do, depending how you find their pronunciation…
(Link in case the player is not displayed.)
Here you have the official sites of Ryczące Dwudziestki and Mechanicy Szanty.
Sooo… how much horrible it was? Should I shut up, or is it possible you’d like more? :}
Have you ever tried to compare different versions of shanties? And the term ‘shanties’ is in this case broad as a whale jaw… The recipe is simple: you take an English or French shanty, or Irish folk, or actually anything coming from old blessed times without ©, you write the lyrics in your language of choice, and if the song struggles and cries for help, pointing that it was never a shanty in the first place, you pour into the lyrics some rum or throw a captain here and there. And voila, you’ve got a shanty. Polish shanty, in this particular case. And since a.) listening to them is fun, and b.) translating is fun… OK, OK, at least for me. Anyway, you had it coming. Oh, come on! could be worse! I could sing them for you! Fortunately, there are some limits of my sadism, so the worst what is waiting for you is recycled music and very bad translations. Consider yourself warned. But if you’re brave enough, I promise a lot of fun. :)
I didn’t try to keep the rhythm and rhymes, you’ll get enough of it from the clips, and I focused on the meaning. It’s as exact as I managed. Still, feel free to correct the grammar and such. Yes, I mean it and I’ll be immensely grateful. *cough*And readers who’ll come after you will be even more.*cough*
Possibly you remember the song Temeraire I posted once, and then once more, the translation rewritten by moth2fic? I love the Ryczące Dwudziestki band, they have strong voices and great arrangements. Temeraire is their own, but they also recycle quite a lot. The clip below is Few Days. No translation, cause Dwudziestki’s lyrics is more or less similar to the original one. Where’s shanty, you’re asking? Oh, he wants to go back to the sea, not home, as in the English version. See? Shanty. *g*
Click to viewI don’t know why they left ‘few days’ in English, but it most probably just sounded well. The words aren’t thrown carelessly though, they correspond with the rest of lines in Polish (mogę kopać tu dalej few days’ - ‘I can keep digging here [for] few days’).
And if you want to know why I think it’s interesting to compare versions, here’s Few Days by Bob Zentz.
The same band’s Moje morze (My Sea) was born as the Russian song Конь (Horse), having nothing to do with the sea. It’s one of those you need to listen to as a whole, unlike the stanza-after-stanza ones. (The file runs immediately after clicking, no need to hit ‘Play’. I hope there’s no troubles with the player on the site? If there are any, shout for help, please.)
You sailed hundreds of miles.
The same twilight every day, the same dawn.
A bird’s flying on the sky, you’re sailing against the wind,
asking ‘is it my place or not?’
Nights are so full of stars.
Which one’s yours? Does it let you know?
There’s only you here, alone, thousand waves around.
You keep asking ‘is it my place or not?’
I sailed hundreds of miles.
There’s only the sea’s shine in my eyes.
For the sea’s my home today,
for the sea’s everything I have.
Wherever I look, there’s only immensity of waters,
an unknown shore somewhere ahead.
When it looms, I’ll feel the fear again,
is it my place or not?
Fields by villages are full of corn,
beasts are in forests, and people crowd in towns.
Only in my heart I feel the same call,
saying the sea’s mine, not the shore.
It’ll be better when I’ll sail off again
and feel your waters’ immensity.
The sea, I know it, you shall soothe the fear,
until I’ll see some new shore.
Another’s band name is Mechanicy Szanty, and I’m absolutely awed by the cooperative teamwork of them in their Pacyfik. But I’m afraid you need the lyrics to really appreciate it. Pacyfik is a cumulative song made on The Rattlin’ Bog. At the each turn another singer adds the next line, but the song has an end, oh yes. *g*
You can choose of two clips, the one below with rather impressive photos, and the one here, with a better sound.
When we’re crossing the Pacific,
(Way-hey, furl it up!)
it blew crates overboard.
(Such a bloody storm it was!) (this line ends/interrupts each turn of ‘reckoning’)
(the refrain, sung by all, between the ‘reckonings’)
Something’s washed off again,
some guy got lost in the sea.
Reckon up, you there,
what a stuff now went away.
(another singer repeats what was told so far, adds one line more, and is immediately interrupted by ‘Such a bloody storm it was!’)
When we’re crossing the Pacific,
it blew crates overboard
full of herring and sardine,
baskets of crabs, a barrel of cheese,
the officer’s long johns,
a net of sea urchins, one frog,
the captain’s woman went away,
the rum barrel did not.
(all together)
Half of crew held it fast!
Something’s washed off again,
some guy got lost in the sea.
Treat us a jug of wine,
we’ll keep up the tale.
Here’s the original lyrics.
Another recycled one is Santiano by Mechanicy Szanty again. In their lyrics there’s no General Santa Anna nor Mexican history though, just sailing back and forth between Liverpool and Mexico. The clip below is Mechanicy Szanty’s, but the shanty is so popular that you can compare many versions: English, German, and two French ones: 1, 2
…and Weldon by Ryczące Dwudziestki again, and this time you need no translation. :) Or maybe you do, depending how you find their pronunciation…
(Link in case the player is not displayed.)
Here you have the official sites of Ryczące Dwudziestki and Mechanicy Szanty.
Sooo… how much horrible it was? Should I shut up, or is it possible you’d like more? :}