Solstice song: Here Lies the Dragon

post by jchan · 2022-12-26T16:08:34.740Z · LW · GW · 1 comments

Contents

1 comment

This is a translation of Kommt herbei und feiert mit by Corvus Corax. It came up on my YouTube recommendations a while ago, and I found it really fun and catchy even before I had any idea what it was about, but when I ran it through Google Translate I realized it was accidentally on-topic for the solstice. Suggestions for improving the translation are welcome (especially from German speakers)!

The song is musically very simple and easy to play; the only tricky part is making sure everyone comes in at the right time. We shortened it up a bit by reducing some of the repetitive instrumental phrases and deleting the whole penultimate verse. I thought it would make a good singalong, but others said I was biased towards thinking it's easy because I was already familiar with it. Listen as you follow along and see what you think.

German original	English
Kommt herbei und feiert mit Die Not hat jetzt ein Ende Kommt herbei und feiert mit Der Schmied brachte die Wende Da liegt der Drache, kalt und tot Und kann uns nichts mehr tun Da liegt der Drache, kalt und tot Und muss für immer ruh'n (x2)	Come along and celebrate Our suffering has ended Come along and celebrate The world[1] the smith[2] has mended Here lies the dragon cold and dead To trouble us no more Here lies the dragon cold and dead To rest forevermore (x2)
[Chorus] So vielen er den Tod gebracht Wenn er sein Feuer hat entfacht Da liegt der Drache ohne Herz[3] Vorbei ist endlich unser Schmerz (x2)	[Chorus][4] So many friends have met their death Beneath the fiery monster's breath But heartless worm there lies at last And now our pain is past (x2)
Hey heraus und vor die Tür[5] Wir können wieder lachen Hey heraus und vor die Tür Vorbei der Fluch des Drachen Hoch die Krüge mit dem Wein Wir haben was zu feiern Hoch die Krüge mit dem Bier Wir werden lange feiern (x2)	Hear ye! Hear all high and low Our joy has reawoken Hear ye! Hear all high and low The dragon's curse is broken Pour some wine and raise your glass This calls for celebration Pour some beer and raise your glass Forever jubilation (x2)
[Chorus] (x2)	[Chorus] (x2)
Feiern lachen fröhlich sein Vergnügen ohne Ende Uns geht's gut, so soll es sein Klatscht alle in die Hände Wir ham mit Sorgen nichts am Hut Für uns scheint immer Sonne Das laute singen steht uns gut Und bringt uns große Wonne	Give a hearty cheerful swell And welcome endless pleasure As it should be, all is well So clap your hands together There's nothing now to make us sad The sun is ever glowing We sing aloud so bold and glad With mirth aplenty flowing
Tag und Nacht so tanzen wir Genießen unser Leben Sind gleich alle Flaschen leer Was wird es Morgen geben?[6] Bevor der Trott kommt gehen wir Wir woll'n heut nicht verzagen Ich geb' den Besten Wein uns aus Wir woll'n uns tüchtig laben	Day and night come dance with us And savor life with singing Every flask runs dry at once What gift's tomorrow bringing? Old sorrow let us leave behind[7] No more be heavy-hearted I bring for us the best of wines The feast has hardly started
Wir ham mit Sorgen nichts am Hut Für uns scheint immer Sonne Ich geb' den Besten Wein uns aus Der Trunk bringt große Wonne Sind gleich alle Flaschen leer Was wird es Morgen geben? Tag und Nacht so tanzen wir Genießen unser Leben	[skipped][8]
Kommt herbei und feiert mit Die Not hat jetzt ein Ende Kommt herbei und feiert mit Der Schmied brachte die Wende Da liegt der Drache, kalt und tot Und kann uns nichts mehr tun Da liegt der Drache, kalt und tot Und muss für immer ruh'n	Come along and celebrate Our suffering has ended Come along and celebrate The world the smith has mended Here lies the dragon cold and dead To trouble us no more Here lies the dragon cold and dead To rest forevermore

1. ^{^}

   "World" isn't in the original and is inserted only to fit the meter; it distorts the meaning somewhat so maybe there's a better phrasing.

2. ^{^}

   This song is the last in an album telling the story of a blacksmith who slays a dragon. This reference is a bit confusing without that context, but it probably doesn't matter much.

3. ^{^}

   I can't tell whether "ohne Herz" is meant to be figurative ("unfeeling") or literal (that the dragon's heart has been cut out). I went with the figurative translation "heartless" mainly because it fits the meter better.

4. ^{^}

   The translation of the chorus went through several iterations as we realized that the original German version is actually quite irregular and hard to sing. This version (which is slightly different from what was actually sung last week) regularizes the rhythm by keeping one syllable per beat throughout the whole chorus.

5. ^{^}

   I don't really understand what this line means literally but it seems to have the general meaning of "Hey everyone!"

6. ^{^}

   I suspect this line has a subtext of "How hung-over are we going to be tomorrow?"

7. ^{^}

   This translation is maybe pushing it a little bit in order to fit the solstice theme. The original is more like "Before the daily grind resumes, let's go [party]", whereas the translation implies that the celebration is perpetual.

8. ^{^}

   We omitted this verse because it's mostly just repetition of earlier lines, it disrupts the meter, and the song is already on the long side even without it.

1 comments

Comments sorted by top scores.