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29 April 2006 @ 07:10 pm
To piss off the prez  
O zog! konstu zen in likht fun sof nakht,
Vos mir hobn bagrist in demer-shayn mit freyd?
Di shtrayfn, di shtern -- in flaker fun shlakht
Fun di shuts-vent mir hobn mit bang in blik bagleyt.

Un der blits fun raket, un der knal fun kanon
Durkh der nakht gerufn hobn zey: es lebt di fon.
O zog! di fon mit di shtern iz zi nokh tsehelt
Iber land fun fraye un iber heym fun held?

Afn breg, durkh neplen fun yam fartunklt,
Vu dem soynes makhne iz fartayet in shrek,
Vos iz es, in bloz fun laykhtn vintl fartunken,
Ot halb-farborgn, ot af a helft antplekt?
Es iz di fon mit di shtern, o, af lang zey tsehelt
Iber land fun fraye un der heym fun held.

O, azoy vet es tomed zayn, ven frayer mentsh mit gever in hant
Bashitsn vet zayn libe heym kegn farlend fun krig un zayn shnit!
Gebentsht mit zig un frid, zol dos land
Loybn di kraft, vos hot undz als folk farhit!

Undzer kamf iz a gerekhter -- undzer iz der nitsokhn,
Zol zayn undzer gebot: "In got iz undzer bitokhn!"
Un di fon mit di shtern, in zig vet zi zayn tsehelt
Iber land fun fraye un der heym fun held!

"The "Star-Spangled Banner" in Yiddish. from In dinst fun folk; almanakh fun yidishn folks-ordn, New York: Book League of the Jewish People's Fraternal Order I.W.O., 1947, p. 112.

Thanx to [info]
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( 11 comments — Leave a comment )
Feòrag NicBhrìde[info]feorag on April 29th, 2006 11:13 pm (UTC)
I was trying to work out if it scanned, then realised the tune I had in my head was The Red Flag. Oopsie.
A Wandering Hobbit[info]redbird on April 29th, 2006 11:35 pm (UTC)
That's beautiful.
Steve[info]akicif on April 29th, 2006 11:44 pm (UTC)
I have an mp3 somewhere of the Star-spangled Banner being sung to the tune of the old Soviet anthem - the idea being, I believe, to indicate that Washington types may as well be Godless Commies.

Ah, found it: http://www.hymn.ru/index-en.html
tx_cronopio: mafalda[info]tx_cronopio on April 29th, 2006 11:15 pm (UTC)
Oh, that's classic!
A Wandering Hobbit: french[info]redbird on April 29th, 2006 11:39 pm (UTC)
This might piss him off more:

Staras Kuraĝe (Esperanto Translation of Verses 1 & 4)

Ho, diru, ĉu vi, per matena la lum'
La standardon ekvidas fiere flirtantan?
Ni salutis ĝin ĝoje tagfine tra fum',
Sur remparoj amikaj sentime starantan.
Bombardado senĉese certigis al ni
Ke en nokto ne venis venkiĝo al ĝi.
Ĉu nun staras kuraĝe bravuloj en gard'?
Ĉu ankoraŭ flirtadas stelplena standard'?

Kio ruĝa kaj blanka kaj blua en vent',
Super maro de la malamik' okupata,
Tra nebulo sur tero dum unu moment'
Sur altaĵo mallume nun estas vidata?
Nun per hela ekbrilo de frua maten'
En beleco vidiĝas sur akva eben'
La stelplena standardo, eterne en glor'
Ĝi flirtadu, amata de ĉiu la kor'.

(That's from http://www.nationalanthems.us/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1087952160, which also has Spanish (with sheet music), Yiddish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Samoan, and Finnish.)
Theophrastes[info]pameladean on April 30th, 2006 12:43 am (UTC)
I just have to say, "flirtantan" is a fabulous word.

P.
necturus[info]necturus on April 30th, 2006 02:20 am (UTC)
john_m_burt[info]john_m_burt on May 4th, 2006 09:47 pm (UTC)
Verse three? My favorite!

I fear, alas, that they'll be singing it in Baghdad before long.
kip_w[info]kip_w on April 30th, 2006 02:34 am (UTC)
Life magazine (I think) had a transcription of a piece of paper Enrico Caruso had where he jotted down a phonetic version of The Star-Spangled Banner so he could sing it. "O seikin iu si bai di donser li lait..." or something like that. Not to be confused with "The Donzerly Light," which I seem to recall was one of Beverly Cleary's characters' misapprensions.
handworn[info]handworn on April 30th, 2006 01:52 pm (UTC)
"Shrek" means either "monster" or "fear, terror" in Yiddish...I wonder what they're using it as a translation of, here. Either "havoc" or "confusion," I suppose, by the corresponding line in English, but neither of those words really looks like a good match.

"The terror of flight," maybe, late in that verse.
Ricardo non-Montalban[info]armoire_man on April 30th, 2006 03:38 pm (UTC)
Way cool, dude.
( 11 comments — Leave a comment )