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Can someone help me translate a short verse for a project?
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The text is as this:

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I am the singing lamb

I bite

In the house of the elected

The green dog.

Catch me or

I will escape

I don't need you but

Don't leave me.

As good as a turkey

At singing

Like a rat

Always hidden.

All my accomplishments are

The work of others

I speak six languages

All half-assed.

I am the prince of the west

With many servants,

I bring a thousand gifts

I don't know why!

Deaf to good reasons

I'm going to perish,

At least I'm the fastest

Among the fools.

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Interpretative translation is encouraged instead of literal, for example there is this line in the English version "as good as a turkey at singing" which compares bad singing to the noise made by a turkey bird, if your language for example compares bad singing to something other than a turkey I encourage you to use that translation instead (in Dutch a crow is used e.g.) or when it says "deaf to good reasons" most languages have a specific way to express deliberately ignoring good advice.

Some context to the lyrics:

The first verse is a character introducing himself as the singing lamb, this is a literal singing lamb because it is a surrealist song text, he bites another character - the green dog (also literal) - in the house of an elected official (presumably a mayor).

In the second paragraph a new unnamed character is speaking, each paragraph then has a new speaker.

The next time a character introduces himself is in the 5th paragraph with the prince of the west. It is doubtful this character is an actual prince but it is open to interpretation by the listener. In the final paragraph another unnamed character is saying he is deliberately ignoring advice he knows to be good which will lead to his demise, he then proclaims that at the very least he will be the fastest among the fools (people who deliberately ignore good advice).

I had help from the Basque discord in getting the English version so feel free to use that (if you don’t speak Basque), it was the first obstacle I had to take care off before this project could start. Also it is less about producing a singable translation as it is about producing a comparative translation, the goal of the project is to get a comparative index of many languages so you don't need to worry about rhyme or singablity or anything!

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2 years ago