Thread: советские военные песни

Originally Posted by Lampada

Мы здесь не занимаемся переводами. Можем исправить ошибки или пояснить трудные места в тексте.

То давайте-ка *Я* попытаюсь перевести одну песенку ("на практику"), и носители русского исправят мои ошибки.

I'll tackle "Фронтовая Катюша", since the original version is a favorite of mine. (However, the original does not have a standard English translation -- so I won't try to do an English "parody," or worry about rhymes.)

Katiusha: The Front-Line Parody

Heads and carcasses(1) got scattered everywhere.
The Krauts across the river tremble and shiver.
This is our Russian "Katiusha" rocket (rocket-launcher??),
Singing a requiem for the Huns.

The German, in terror, is gonna jump into a hole.
Bury his head under a snowdrift.
But the "aforementioned Katiusha"(2) will reach him even there,
And the German will be "stationed" right into the grave.

Fly, Mr. German(3), fly -- as they say --
Right to damnation(4), as lunch for the Devil!
And to those Krauts rotting(5) in Hell,
Say "Hi" from Katiusha!

Tell them how Katiusha-the-rocket sang her song,
Tell them about what "Kate" did.
About the guy she skinned alive(6),
About the one whose bones she scattered.

We all love our darling gal "Katiusha."
It's delightful to hear her sing.
It shakes the heart and soul from our enemies,
And brings boldness to our friends!

(1) "Carcass" is the literal translation of туша -- but I was tempted to make a joke about "Head and Shoulders" (марка шампуни от перхоти -- "Q. How do they know that the Palestinian suicide bomber had dandruff? A. They found his head and shoulders in the road.")
(2) I assumed that мотив, in this context, refers back to the rocket?
(3) Am I right that the imperative лети is addressed to the German, and not to the "Katiusha"?
(4) I'm sure that somewhere in English folklore, there's a better translation of "на кулички" than "to damnation," but I'm drawing a blank.
(5) I know that "дохлый" does not literally mean "rotting", but "May you rot in Hell!" is a standard curse in English.
(6) I wasn't sure about "лупить", but I took a guess that here it means "сдирать с кого-н. кору заживо"?

Спасибо!!!
А насчет "Мы летим ковыляя во мгле"! очень интересно, благодарю!)

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(2) I assumed that мотив, in this context, refers back to the rocket?

I'd translate simply:
"But the tune will get him even there
And he'll dance his way into the grave"

Here is a continuation of an allegory «"Katyusha" (launcher) firing rockets - Katyusha (girl) singing song».
Not sure if phrase "dance one's way into the grave" makes sense in english.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(3) Am I right that the imperative лети is addressed to the German, and not to the "Katiusha"?

Probably you're right.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(4) I'm sure that somewhere in English folklore, there's a better translation of "на кулички" than "to damnation," but I'm drawing a blank.

In old times one would say "К чёрту на кулички" if he's not willing to tell where exactly he's going and did't want any more questions about it. "Кулички" (или "кулижки") here means small pieces of dry land on a bog or meadows in a forest - some very distant and deserted places. So literal traslation would be "go to meet imp deep into the forest", but you need something from folklore, you're right.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(5) I know that "дохлый" does not literally mean "rotting", but "May you rot in Hell!" is a standard curse in English.

You say "дохлый" instead of "мёртвый" when you feel disparagingly for one you are talking about.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(6) I wasn't sure about "лупить", but I took a guess that here it means "сдирать с кого-н. кору заживо"?

Analog for "Лупить" would be "pommel". There's no special word for "сдирать кожу заживо" in russian, because such kind of execution was never used.

Originally Posted by Suobig

I'd translate simply:
"But the tune will get him even there
And he'll dance his way into the grave"

Here is a continuation of an allegory «"Katyusha" (launcher) firing rockets - Katyusha (girl) singing song».
Not sure if phrase "dance one's way into the grave" makes sense in english.

Yes, this makes perfect sense. I didn't realize that мотив was used here in the musical sense of "leitmotif" -- and I should've guessed that станцевать is a perfective form of танцевать!

"Кулички" (или "кулижки") here means small pieces of dry land on a bog or meadows in a forest - some very distant and deserted places. So literal traslation would be "go to meet imp deep into the forest", but you need something from folklore, you're right.

At first I thought that "кулички" had something to do with "small Easter cakes"! But then I checked Викисловарь and found this definition: удалённое, заболоченное место в лесу, где, по суеверным представлениям, обитала нечистая сила -- which immediately made me think of Stephen King's Pet Semetary! (In the book, there's a haunted "куличик", originally an индейское кладбище, that lies beyond the cemetery where children bury their pets.) However, a Stephen King reference would be an anachronism in a WW2 song, so I just decided to say "damnation." (Another euphemism for "Hell" is "perdition," but that word sounds much too книжный for soldiers to say.)

Analog for "Лупить" would be "pommel".

The verb you're thinking of is "pummel." The noun "pommel" is the raised front part of a седло:

P.S. Honestly, unless you ride horses, the only English word worth knowing on the photo of the saddle is "stirrup"! (I know that the Russian word is стремя -- but only because I saw it on a list of "neuter nouns with the -мя ending"!! Otherwise, I'm totally ignorant of horse-riding, in both English and Russian.)