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Pase a media noche el mar
The tide comes in at midnight
y arda en amorosa llama
and Leander glows like a loving flame
Leandro por ver su dama;
for seeing his lady love
que yo más quiero pasar
I would rather spend some time
del golfo de mi lagar
the receptacle of my wine press
la blanca o roja corriente,
where red and white wine flows
y riase la gente.
and let the people laugh
Does anybody have a poetic mind here?:)
The English sounds weird...difficult.:o
The receptacle of my wine press is horribleQuote:
Originally Posted by exxcéntrica
In the peace of my wine cellar is not literal but it keeps the sense (as I see)
Any suggestions for improving this?
que yo más quiero pasar
del golfo de mi lagar
la blanca o roja corriente
I would rather cross (maybe "swim" or "soak in")
the [B]gulf[B] of my wine press
where red and white wine flow
Doesn't "pasar de" also sometimes mean "renounce?"
Is there context to the poem, or does it stand alone? I think I like "soak in" the best, but that's my interpretation without any context.
From Wikipedia: Hero and Leander is a Greek myth, relating the story of Hero (Greek: Ἡρώ), a priestess of Aphrodite who dwelt in a tower in Sestos, at the edge of the Hellespont, and Leander (Greek: Λέανδρος, Leandros), a young man from Abydos on the other side of the strait. Leander fell in love with Hero and would swim every night across the Hellespont to be with her. Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide his way (y arda en amorosa llama).
Succumbing to Leander's soft words, and to his argument that Aphrodite, as goddess of love, would scorn the worship of a virgin, Hero allowed him to make love to her. This routine lasted through the warm summer. But one stormy winter night, the waves tossed Leander in the sea and the breezes blew out Hero's light, and Leander lost his way, and was drowned. Hero threw herself from the tower in grief and died as well.
So maybe the poem refers to swimming the gulf even though it means risking doom. Or is it mocking the whole idea of love, saying that being a drunken fool is better?
Hi Exx,
I too went back to the original story and read the poem a bit differently. the gulf of his wine press may refer to his nightly swim first to plesures and then to his death.
The midnight tide rolls in
and the flame of love burns
for Leander to see his lady love;
would that I rather pass by
the great gulf of my wine press
which flow red and white
and let the people laugh.
Joel
yes, maybe the author prefers skipping the tragic swim and tears of sorrow, to laugh instead? Is the author saying that love's not worth it? But why a wine press? If you're skipping love, wouldn't you at least want a glass of wine?
We need at least one rhyming couplet
With midnight comes the tide
And upon the vision of his woman,
Leander burns with the flame of love
I would rather cross the harbor of my wine vat
Where the red and white wine flow
And let the people merry grow
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariaklec
I'd tell the bartender to leave the bottle and go fetch another.
Joel
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariaklec
jejej, nice posts, María;)
Jesus, we have a poet amongst us! Incredible, gernt:) Very nice. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by gernt
Thanks to everybody:)
Gracias. Siempre me gusta recibir los aplausos – pero tengo una pregunta. Usualmente, en los EEUU, decimos “geez” (que en realidad es una forma de Jesús – pero nadie piensa en la conexión religiosa, no es exactamente cortes, pero no es verde). Oí “¡hijole!”. Creo que es la misma cosa en México, ¿no? ¿Como se dice “geez” en España? O cualquier forma de maldición muy suave. A nivel de "caramba" pero no tan trillada.
Hola gert: Pues no se me ocurre otra más que lo de "Jesús!!"Quote:
Originally Posted by gernt
Caramba lo decimos también...y otra vulgar que es "joder!!" :p
I stayed with a lovely woman in her sixties in Morelia, Mexico for a while and she would say "híjole" quite often. When I returned to California my students, many also from the state of Michoacán, quickly told me that it was inappropriate for me to say that. A teacher in Oaxaca taught us to say something like "Tchisss" which I haven't heard anywhere else, but is quite expressive even if you haven't heard it before, and I don't think there is any hidden meaning that could be offensive (but I've never heard anyone else say it and I think it expresses a slightly different emotion). Given the multiple versions of Spanish and the differing opinions regarding what is or isn't offensive, I think that as a non-native speaker it's challenging to get a feel for what's ok, and when.
But the other thing is that the different options express slightly different emotions. There might not be one all-purpose safe expression.
Honestly, having just gotten back into the green boxes, I'm afraid to even explore this topic---don't want to offend anyone.
The poem is a tongue-in-cheek celebration of drinking. So the spirit of the translation has to preserve its ironic spirit. Making a poem rhyme in two languages is difficult, but if the new rhyme takes a little liberty with the text while preserving the banter, it's all for the good.
.............................
Well may inflamed Leandro at midnight
Cross the sea his lady love to see!
Yet I do better to stay and imbibe
From the bay of my wine cellar
The pale or crimson tide;--
And let mockers chide and bed her!
.............................
mariaklec, I was listening to a Spanish language station near Chattanooga, and the DJ was saying "hijoles" (I guess there's more than one) every few minutes. So it can't be too bad.
And ed, when you look up translations of that particular poem, you find some that take such liberties, they don't seem to be the same poem. But there is an obvious diversity of ways to translate it. Now you want to try something hard, I would love to hear a translation of Rodriguez's "Locuras" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbsjQ...driguez&um=1&i such that it could be sung. There is apparently not one on the internet. It is just about my favorite song. Unfortunately, I have no musical ability.
Gernt,
Translation of Silvio Rodriguez's "Locuras":
Here is a start:
There are deliria that let hope foster,
And dementias that evoke pain,
Madnesses never plumbed by the sober,
Deliria of another strain.
There are deliria that are poetry,
Madnesses from a strange land....
Eduardo.
Well, yes. I noted that "There is madness" and "And madnesses" have the same rhythm of "Hay locuras", and I worked out a few lines, but when I get to a part that cannot be translated literally, soy el cuerdo de
Y hay locuras de allá,
donde el cuerdo no alcanza
porque pienso literalmente. Los matemáticos no somos buenos poetas.
Gernt,
I heard, "Donde el CUERVO no alcanza." But now that I read your version, "Donde el CUERDO no alcanza," I stand corrected.
I rush to edit my entry.
By the way, Silvio's lyrics with their ceaseless repetition of the word "Locuras" sound a bit monotonous to me. I chose to liven up the translation by employing synonyms.
A very different type of melody:--Here is a song that was very popular in Spain in the late 1950's--radios played it all the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqNt8...eature=related
“A mi nada me espanta”, ni siquiera palabras como “barrenero”. Es mi palabra nueva para hoy. Esa y deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
¿No estamos muy lejos del asunto original? "You never know where you’re going ‘till you get there". Now that’s an old song, too.
Lo que es la verdad, la repetición me ayuda mucho entenderla Locuras la primera vez. Es cierto me encantó un poco para esa razón.
Not a flamenco devotee, eh?
I must confess that "Locuras" is not my type of music; my musical tastes run to 1963--. Nevertheless Silvio Rodriguez's song reminded me of another popular Spanish songwriter from the 1990's whom you may have heard of, Joaquín Sabina. Here is a Youtube video of him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C7SxYzDNZk
Excuse me, I'll go back to Antonio Molina noooooooooow.