I love this song. So raw, open, heartfelt... Really gritty lyrics, so many conflicting feelings, the description of the process of a body's decay...
I have an elementary understanding of German grammar and basic vocabulary, so armed with that and online dictionaries, I've conjured the following translation. Know that its accuracy is unreliable at best!
All the clocks stop
and the dog there stops
barking at its bicycle
Whenever I open up, I find you
You fall into the shadow of day
as silence and stitches
I toast dozens of wine bottles to you
and would much rather be a maggot
The coffin collapses,
the flowers fall into the cheeks
First white, then blue, then grey, then green
then foam, then brown and leaves and dust
Please blow out of my head, out of my house
How else can I think of the horror?
With what heart, with what body out?
Out
Whenever I open up, I find you
You fall into the shadows of day
as silence and stitches
I’m waiting for you, when are you coming
back home?
I would never wish to be a maggot
to be a maggot
Let me in, in, to be bone-hard as you are
let me into your eyes
I want to see it, to pass the test
without agony, without agony
let me in, you stone
Of all the things in the world that you hold in love
I smash [them] and [even] my own sky
so that it may collapse under you
and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right)
and you endlessly reappear.
I'm from Germany and would like to "correct" parts of your translation to make things more understandable. But my english may not be the best.
I'm from Germany and would like to "correct" parts of your translation to make things more understandable. But my english may not be the best.
I read that her father passed away before she wrote it, so it was written in that kind of context.
I read that her father passed away before she wrote it, so it was written in that kind of context.
>
Bring all the clocks to a stop [or: Pause all the clocks]
Bar the dog from
barking at the wheel ["Rad" can also be a short form of a bicycle, but maybe it's the wheel of a wagon]
>
Bring all the clocks to a stop [or: Pause all the clocks]
Bar the dog from
barking at the wheel ["Rad" can also be a short form of a bicycle, but maybe it's the wheel of a wagon]
Wherever I open up, I find you [maybe in a family photo album]
|...
Wherever I open up, I find you [maybe in a family photo album]
| You fall into the shadow of the day [it's very strange in german, don't know how to translate it]
| as silence and stitches
| I toast dozens of wine bottles to you
| and would much rather be a maggot
| The coffin collapses,
| the flowers fall into the cheeks
| First white, then blue, then grey, then green
| then foam, then brown and leaves and dust
| Please blow out of my head, out of my house
How else can I bear/withstand the horror?
| With what heart, with what body
how? ["out" relates to prefix "aus" of "aushalten", it's kind of a repeat, so maybe "how" is more fitting]
How?
[repeat first verse]
| I’m waiting for you, when are you coming back home?
I never had an more urgent wish to be a maggot [that's the meaning, my translation isn't poetic though]
| to be a maggot
| Let me in, in, to be bone-hard as you are
| let me into your eyes
| I want to see it, to pass the test
| without agony, without agony
| let me in, you stone
| Of all the things in the world that you hold in love
I would smash [even] my own sky/firmament
| so that it may collapse under you
and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right) [i don't know either, maybe "bow" - like the corpse should move again -, but i'm not sure what it really is refering to]
and you finally reappear [maybe in a sense of "resurrect"].
I want to change some lines in the last verse again:
I want to change some lines in the last verse again:
>
Of all the things in the world that (would) keep you alive
I would smash [even] my own sky/firmament
so that it may collapse under you(r presence)
and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right) [i don't know either, maybe "bow" - like the corpse should move again -, but i'm not sure what it really is refering to]
and you finally reappear [maybe in a sense of "resurrect"].
>
Of all the things in the world that (would) keep you alive
I would smash [even] my own sky/firmament
so that it may collapse under you(r presence)
and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right) [i don't know either, maybe "bow" - like the corpse should move again -, but i'm not sure what it really is refering to]
and you finally reappear [maybe in a sense of "resurrect"].
With the last verse - I think she's saying that, even though he's died and she has times when she doesn't think of him, he reappears in her thoughts along with all the suffering and insecurities he placed on her. So, yeah, I think "You fall over" or "You bend over and finally reappear" ... sort of that sense of never being able to escape him, or the memory of him.
With the last verse - I think she's saying that, even though he's died and she has times when she doesn't think of him, he reappears in her thoughts along with all the suffering and insecurities he placed on her. So, yeah, I think "You fall over" or "You bend over and finally reappear" ... sort of that sense of never being able to escape him, or the memory of him.
I love this song. So raw, open, heartfelt... Really gritty lyrics, so many conflicting feelings, the description of the process of a body's decay... I have an elementary understanding of German grammar and basic vocabulary, so armed with that and online dictionaries, I've conjured the following translation. Know that its accuracy is unreliable at best!
All the clocks stop and the dog there stops barking at its bicycle
Whenever I open up, I find you You fall into the shadow of day as silence and stitches
I toast dozens of wine bottles to you and would much rather be a maggot The coffin collapses, the flowers fall into the cheeks
First white, then blue, then grey, then green then foam, then brown and leaves and dust Please blow out of my head, out of my house How else can I think of the horror? With what heart, with what body out?
Out
Whenever I open up, I find you You fall into the shadows of day as silence and stitches I’m waiting for you, when are you coming back home? I would never wish to be a maggot to be a maggot
Let me in, in, to be bone-hard as you are let me into your eyes I want to see it, to pass the test without agony, without agony let me in, you stone
Of all the things in the world that you hold in love I smash [them] and [even] my own sky so that it may collapse under you and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right) and you endlessly reappear.
I'm from Germany and would like to "correct" parts of your translation to make things more understandable. But my english may not be the best.
I'm from Germany and would like to "correct" parts of your translation to make things more understandable. But my english may not be the best.
I read that her father passed away before she wrote it, so it was written in that kind of context.
I read that her father passed away before she wrote it, so it was written in that kind of context.
>
Bring all the clocks to a stop [or: Pause all the clocks] Bar the dog from barking at the wheel ["Rad" can also be a short form of a bicycle, but maybe it's the wheel of a wagon]
>
Bring all the clocks to a stop [or: Pause all the clocks] Bar the dog from barking at the wheel ["Rad" can also be a short form of a bicycle, but maybe it's the wheel of a wagon]
Wherever I open up, I find you [maybe in a family photo album] |...
Wherever I open up, I find you [maybe in a family photo album] | You fall into the shadow of the day [it's very strange in german, don't know how to translate it] | as silence and stitches | I toast dozens of wine bottles to you | and would much rather be a maggot
| The coffin collapses, | the flowers fall into the cheeks | First white, then blue, then grey, then green | then foam, then brown and leaves and dust
| Please blow out of my head, out of my house How else can I bear/withstand the horror? | With what heart, with what body how? ["out" relates to prefix "aus" of "aushalten", it's kind of a repeat, so maybe "how" is more fitting]
How?
[repeat first verse] | I’m waiting for you, when are you coming back home? I never had an more urgent wish to be a maggot [that's the meaning, my translation isn't poetic though] | to be a maggot
| Let me in, in, to be bone-hard as you are | let me into your eyes | I want to see it, to pass the test | without agony, without agony | let me in, you stone
| Of all the things in the world that you hold in love I would smash [even] my own sky/firmament | so that it may collapse under you and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right) [i don't know either, maybe "bow" - like the corpse should move again -, but i'm not sure what it really is refering to] and you finally reappear [maybe in a sense of "resurrect"].
I want to change some lines in the last verse again:
I want to change some lines in the last verse again:
>
Of all the things in the world that (would) keep you alive I would smash [even] my own sky/firmament so that it may collapse under you(r presence) and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right) [i don't know either, maybe "bow" - like the corpse should move again -, but i'm not sure what it really is refering to] and you finally reappear [maybe in a sense of "resurrect"].
>
Of all the things in the world that (would) keep you alive I would smash [even] my own sky/firmament so that it may collapse under you(r presence) and you fall over (really not sure if I got this right) [i don't know either, maybe "bow" - like the corpse should move again -, but i'm not sure what it really is refering to] and you finally reappear [maybe in a sense of "resurrect"].
Vielen Dank for your help!
Vielen Dank for your help!
With the last verse - I think she's saying that, even though he's died and she has times when she doesn't think of him, he reappears in her thoughts along with all the suffering and insecurities he placed on her. So, yeah, I think "You fall over" or "You bend over and finally reappear" ... sort of that sense of never being able to escape him, or the memory of him.
With the last verse - I think she's saying that, even though he's died and she has times when she doesn't think of him, he reappears in her thoughts along with all the suffering and insecurities he placed on her. So, yeah, I think "You fall over" or "You bend over and finally reappear" ... sort of that sense of never being able to escape him, or the memory of him.