{"id":7531,"date":"2016-05-31T12:40:35","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T16:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/?p=7531"},"modified":"2016-06-01T11:00:34","modified_gmt":"2016-06-01T15:00:34","slug":"say-things-and-plaything-dont-rhyme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2016\/05\/31\/say-things-and-plaything-dont-rhyme\/","title":{"rendered":"“Say things” and “plaything” don’t rhyme!!!!!!!!!!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a verse in the German Labyrinth<\/em> that goes:<\/p>\n

Wenn ich in deine Seele tauche
\nUnd dich f\u00fcr meine Lust gebrauche
\nDann word ich deine Sinne blenden
\nDas Spiel kannst nur du selbst beenden<\/p>\n

Oomph! changed the lyrics for the English version<\/a> to:<\/p>\n

When I possess your soul, I’ll say things
\nAnd use you as my personal plaything
\nThe time will come — I’ll dull your senses
\nIf you don’t stop, this game is endless<\/p>\n

That is one of the most flaccid translations ever. What the hell, Oomph!? How can you translate that verse with a screamingly obvious lack of, well, oomph?<\/p>\n

Here’s a more literal translation, courtesy of yours truly:<\/p>\n

When I plunge into your soul
\nAnd use you for my lust
\nThen I will blind your senses
\nOnly you can end this game<\/p>\n

And my less literal translation, still a work in progress:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll go deep inside your core
\nAnd I\u2019ll use you as I please
\nI will blind you and benight you
\nOnly you can end this game<\/p>\n

See where Oomph!’s stinks? This is a verse that needs short, sharp, declarative words — concussive stuff, assaultive language, precision. But instead Oomph! goes for the multisyllables [“possess,” “personal plaything”], which, while plosive, attenuate the brief force of the German.<\/p>\n

Also…seriously, Oomph!? You’re gonna go all generic in a verse that needs specificity? The original indicates a targeted inward strike, followed by exploitation for lust, and then a complete sensory overpowering. The speaker says exactly what’s going to happen, while, in the English, we have just a vague “possession,” during which the speaker will “say things,” followed by “dull[ing] senses.” In the original, we have complete physical and mental ruination precipitated by rape, after which comes sensory implosion. In the English, it sounds like the speaker is casually planning to set up shop inside the listener’s skull and talk about, you know, some stuff, while fucking around a little bit, which might cause blurred vision. <\/p>\n

They’re so good with other parts of the song too. For example, Klopf klopf, lass mich rein \/ Lass mich dein Geheimnis sein<\/em> is literally Knock knock, let me in \/ Let me be your secret.<\/em> But the English goes, Knock knock, let me in \/ Let me be your secret sin,<\/em> which captures not only the rhyme, but also the shame and humiliation for which the speaker is aiming. Too bad they couldn’t sustain it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s a verse in the German Labyrinth that goes: Wenn ich in deine Seele tauche Und dich f\u00fcr meine Lust gebrauche Dann word ich deine Sinne blenden Das Spiel kannst nur du selbst beenden Oomph! changed the lyrics for the English version to: When I possess your soul, I’ll say things And use you as… Continue reading “Say things” and “plaything” don’t rhyme!!!!!!!!!!!!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[653,666,639],"class_list":["post-7531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-music","tag-reproductive-rights-and-rape-culture","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7531"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7534,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7531\/revisions\/7534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}