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LT → German, English → Die Dreigroschenoper (OST) → Barbarasong → English
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    Die Dreigroschenoper (OST)

    Barbarasong → English translation→ English

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Barbarasong

Einst glaubte ich, als ich noch unschuldig war
(Und das war ich einst, grad sowie du )
Vielleicht kommt auch zu mir einmal einer,
Und dann muß ich wissen, was ich tu.
Und wenn er Geld hat,
Und wenn er nett ist,
Und sein Kragen ist auch werktags rein,
Und wenn er weiß, was sich bei einer Dame schickt,
Dann sage ich ihm "nein"
 
Da behält man seinen Kopf oben,
Und man bleibt ganz allgemein!
Sicher scheint der Mond die ganze Nacht,
Sicher wird das Boot am Ufer festgemacht,
Aber weiter kann nichts sein.
Ja, da kann man sich doch nicht bloß hinlegen,
Ja, da muß man kalt und herzlos sein.
Ja, da könnte so viel geschehen,
Aber da gibt's überhaupt nur "nein"
 
Der Erste, der kam, war ein Mann aus Kent,
Der war, wie ein Mann sein soll.
Der Zweite, der hatte drei Schiffe im Hafen,
Und der Dritte war nach mir toll.
Und als sie Geld hatten,
Und als sie nett waren,
Und ihr Kragen war auch werktags rein,
Und als sie wußten, was sich bei einer Dame schickt,
Da sagte ich ihnen "nein"
 
Da behielt ich meinen Kopf oben,
Und ich blieb ganz allgemein!
Sicher schien der Mond die ganze Nacht,
Sicher ward das Boot am Ufer festgemacht,
Aber weiter konnte nichts sein.
Ja, da kann man sich doch nicht gleich hinlegen,
Ja, da muß man kalt und herzlos sein.
Ja, da könnte doch viel geschehen,
Ja, da gab's überhaupt nur "nein"
 
Jedoch eines Tags (und der Tag war blau)
Kam einer, der mich nicht bat.
Und er hängte seinen Hut an den Nagel in meiner Kammer,
Und ich wußte nicht mehr, was ich tat.
Und als er kein Geld hatte,
Und als er nicht nett war,
Und sein Kragen war auch am Sonntag nicht rein,
Und als er nicht wußte, was sich bei einer Dame schickt,
Zu ihm sagte ich nicht "nein"
 
Da behielt ich meinen Kopf nicht oben,
Und ich blieb nicht allgemein!
Ach, es schien der Mond die ganze Nacht,
Und es ward das Boot am Ufer losgemacht,
Und es konnte gar nicht anders sein.
Ja, da muß man sich doch einfach hinlegen,
Ja, da kann man doch nicht kalt und herzlos sein!
Ja, da mußte so viel geschehen,
Ja, da gab's überhaupt kein Nein.
 
Translation

Barbara Song

I once believed, when I was still innocent,
(And I was once as innocent as you)
That perhaps someday someone will come to me,
And then I will need to know what I'm doing,
And if he has money,
And if he is nice,
And his collar is clean on workdays too,
And if he knows how to treat a lady,
I will tell him "no"
 
That's when you've got to keep your chin up,
And you keep it casual!
Of course the moon will shine all night,
Of course the boat is moored to the bank,
But that's as far as things could go.
Yes, you can't just lie down there,
Yes, you must be cold and heartless,
Yes, there's so much that could happen,
But all there is is just "no"
 
The first one who came was a man from Kent,
He was just as a man should be.
The second, he had three ships in the harbor,
And the third was crazy for me.
And as they had money,
And as they were nice,
And their collars were clean on workdays too,
And as they knew how to treat a lady,
I told them "no"
 
I kept my chin up,
And I kept it casual!
Of course the moon shone all night,
Of course the boat was tied to the bank,
But that's as far as things could go.
Yes, you can't just lay yourself down there,
Yes, you must be cold and heartless,
Yes, there's so much that could happen,
Yes, but all there is is "no"
 
However one day (and the day was blue)
Someone came who didn't ask me.
And he hung his hat on the nail in my chamber,
And I didn't know what I was doing any more.
And as he didn't have any money,
And as he wasn't nice,
And his collar wasn't clean on Sundays either,
And as he didn't know how to treat a lady,
I didn't say "no" to him.
 
Then I didn't keep my chin up,
And I didn't keep it casual!
Oh, the moon shone the entire night,
And the boat was untied from the bank,
And it couldn't be otherwise.
Yes, you just have to lie yourself down there,
Yes, you can't be cold and heartless,
Yes, so much had to happen
Yes, there was no "no" at all.
 
The author of translation requested proofreading.
It means that he/she will be happy to receive corrections, suggestions etc about the translation.
If you are proficient in both languages of the language pair, you are welcome to leave your comments.
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Die Dreigroschenoper (OST): Top 3
1.Die Moritat von Mackie MesserSubtitles
2.Erstes Dreigroschenfinale (Über die Unsicherheit menschlicher Verhältnisse)
3.Barbarasong
Idioms from "Barbarasong"
1.keep your chin up
Comments
seriöserspinnerseriöserspinner    Sun, 08/01/2023 - 13:07
5

Really good translation. There are just a few suggestions I'd like to make.

You translated "nett" as "kind" in the first verse and "nice" for the rest of the song. I think "nice" is closer to the original and would keep it consistent.

I'd suggest cutting the "then" in "Then I will tell him 'no'" and "Then I told them 'no'" and the "just" in "But all there is is just 'no'".

"Allgemein bleiben" means to keep it casual or superficial. You translated that as "remain available", presumably as in, she doesn't enter a relationship and stays single. Still, that seems a bit misleading to me.

I would suggest "tied to the bank" instead of "moored", so it matched the last verse, where the boat is untied, and to simply go with, "Yes, you can't just lie down there". Maybe, in English, it would even make more sense to say, "No, you can't just lie down there".

"But that's as far as things went" should be "But that's as far as things could go".

By the way, all of this is "meckern auf hohem Niveau" as we say in German. Your translation really is very good already. I just think this would give it the final touch for a five-star translation.

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