Engels vertaling

Do, 25/01/2018 - 14:56

"Ich mach für dich den Hampelmann" literally I do jumping jacks for you. A more American/ English expression could be "I bend over backwards for you" and in the next sentence "you throw me under the bus" (a perfect American expression for this song.

Do, 11/10/2018 - 15:17

Ok, that makes sense

Woe, 10/10/2018 - 15:31

Flachlegen - get laid

Do, 11/10/2018 - 15:13

Is that really the meaning in this context? Wouldnt really make much sense.

Do, 11/10/2018 - 16:08

Yeah, I know what you mean.
They were friends - she wanted sex - now he's in love. Sounds strange having sex with a friend while it was just sex to her.
I'm native and I wouldn't really know any other meaning.

Freigeist

Do, 11/10/2018 - 17:18

Translation suggestions:
>"Jetzt ist Schluss mit lustig" =
Now it's getting serious

>"Up til yesterday we were together" =
Up til yesterday we were just friends

>"Die letzte Nacht hat alles verdreht" =
(What happened) Last night has turned it all upside down

>"Du hast mich einfach flachgelegt" =
I got laid by you in no time at all

Do, 04/06/2020 - 13:49

I missed this comment somehow.

I also realize now that this is another case where I misinterpreted the sense of certain words and therefore missed the specific gist of the song.

It did not occur to me that this is about two friends who had an intimate encounter, I thought it was about a break-up.

Alright then.

Do, 04/06/2020 - 14:07

"I got laid by you" sounds very unnatural in English. I would say while "to get laid" is a verb for "to sleep with someone," "to lay (someone)" does not, conversely, work as an idiom for "to sleep with someone."

I did my best with it.

Do, 11/10/2018 - 17:23

Always my knight in shining armour or should I say the cat with the rapid sword?
Danke für deine Rückendeckung.

domuro

Vrij, 01/02/2019 - 11:13

Just remarking this little "n" missing in "I bed over backwards for you"

Michael Chambers

Do, 04/06/2020 - 13:43

"Weiss der Geier, oder weiss er nicht" seems related to the expression, "devil may care", which in modern English is used mainly as an adjective, to mean "reckless", "carefree", "cavalier". So, if I'm right, the sense here is: "I'm devil-may-care about loving you", which does not sound very artistic. So, how about: "The devil may care that I love you, but I certainly don't." Any thoughts? Michael (native in English, A2/B1 in German)

Do, 04/06/2020 - 13:59

Well, the definition I've seen of Weiss der Geier is "the devil knows/who knows?" Which, in all the contexts I've ever heard it, means "no one knows" or "very few people know" or "only specific people know" or "I don't know who would know" or "It is impossible to know."

That's actually very different from the meaning of "Devil may care," which has all the meanings you indicated.

That said, "The devil knows, or he doesn't know" at least in English, sounds very odd in this context. Especially since it's unclear what exactly the devil supposedly knows. Is it about whether or not he loves her?

If that's the case, he's contradicting himself, saying "It's impossible to know if I love you/Doesn't matter, I love you." I like that even less than what I have now.

It's times like these that I just shake my head and say "It's just a song, I shouldn't think that hard on it."

Freigeist

Do, 04/06/2020 - 16:18

"Weiß der Geier oder weiß er nich'" ist keine geläufige Redensart,
sondern eine Spontanerfindung des Songtexters um einen Reim hinzukriegen,
würde ich sagen.
;)

Vrij, 05/06/2020 - 05:40

This is a wonderful translation. And I really think that Geier was solved well with that devil.

There's just one line I'm not so sure about:
Steh' völlig auf dem Schlauch / I'm completely in a rut
How about "I'm completely lost" or maybe "I just don't know what's going on"?

andy5421

Vrij, 22/08/2025 - 00:56

"Die letzte Nacht hat alles verdreht" "Last night everything got turned upside down" could also be translated: "Last night you got it twisted" (using modern slang "you took things the wrong way"/"you got the worong idea") since in this context it was just a one-night stand and he's "caught feelings" (fell in love)