A Norwegian Song Lyric. (Skandinavisk & Nordisk) Language Learning Forum

A Norwegian Song Lyric.
Tags: Song Texts \| Norwegian \| Translation \| English
Language Learning Forum : Skandinavisk & Nordisk

Ryder Diglot Groupie Norway Joined 6404 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: Norwegian, Russian* Studies: English, French	Message 1 of 5 20 November 2007 at 1:23pm \| IP Logged
	Hello all. I just wanted to post the lyrics to a beautiful, but very sad Norwegian song. It was written by Benny Borg and recorded by Inger Lise Rypdal in 1974. The song is about a little black girl named Josefine who's looking forward with exitement to her first day at school. But on that very first day, all the other children are cruel to her (because she's black), and she learns that her future will be hard. I would want someone to translate these lyrics into English (or other languages too if you want to), because I think it's such an important lyric. Well, here's the song in Norwegian: --- "EN SPENNENDE DAG FOR JOSEFINE" Det var en spennende dag for Josefine, En dag hun ventet på med glede mang en gang. Og hun så frem mot en masse nye venner, Å være sammen med hele dagen lang. I hånden bar hun sin fine nye veske, Som skulle romme den første lesebok. Hun kunne se seg selv sittende med lekser, For å lære seg å lese, og bli klok. Med store øyne gikk hun inn gjennom porten, Så stort et hus hadde hun nok aldri sett. Og der var barna, som kastet ball og lekte, Mens noen stilte opp i rekke og sto rett. Det var en spennende dag for Josefine, Men fra sin drøm skulle hun snart vekkes opp. Hun skulle oppleve at noe slikt som glede, Er noenting som kanskje plutselig sier stopp. På gården kretset det en ring av barn rundt henne Og hun så snart at dette ikke var no'n lek. Men skulle hun nå så tidlig kunne kjenne, Det kalde pust, fra alle drømmene som svek. Hun kunne høre de hviske til hverandre, Og se dem peke på hennes svarte hår. Da følte hun at hun ikke var som andre - En vond erfaring i hennes unge år. Ja, det var en spennende dag for Josefine, En liten pike - født i et annet land. Men hennes hud var tilfeldigvis en annen. Er det en trussel mot alt det som går an? Hvem er det vel som har ønsket dette skille, Og hvorfor skapes det usynlige sår? Det var en spennende dag for Josefine Den dag hun lærte seg fremtiden blir hard. --- Any English-speaker with good knowledge of Norwegian language who can translate this into English? 1 person has voted this message useful
Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6250 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written)	Message 2 of 5 20 November 2007 at 2:19pm \| IP Logged
	I've tried to translate it, considering it an exercise. I left the order in the verses mostly how it was in Norwegian, so it reads odd in English... AN EXCITING DAY FOR JOSEFINE It was an exciting day for Josefine, A day for that she had waited with joy many times. And she looked forward to many new friends, To be together with the whole day. In her hands she carried her nice, new bag, That should hold the first reading book. She could see herself sitting over her exercises, To learn reading, and become smart. With big eyes she went in through the gate, Such a big house she had surely never seen. And there were children that threw a ball and played, While some lined up and stood straight. It was an exciting day for Josefine, But from her dream should she be woken up soon. She should experience that something like joy, Is something that possibly says suddenly stop. On the yard a circle of children formed around her And she saw soon that this was no game. But now she should get to know very soon, The cold breeze of all dreams that desert. She could hear them whispering to each other, And see them pointing at her black hair. There she felt that she was not like others - A painful experience in her young years. Yes, it was an exciting day for Josefine, A small girl - born in a different country. But her skin was coincidentally different. Is that a danger for everything that is acceptable? Who is it who has wished this differentiation, And why are invisible wounds caused? It was an exciting day for Josefine, The day she learned that the future would be hard. I don't know "som går an", but it sounds to me like "what is acceptable" Edited by Kegel on 20 November 2007 at 2:24pm 1 person has voted this message useful
Ryder Diglot Groupie Norway Joined 6404 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: Norwegian, Russian* Studies: English, French	Message 3 of 5 20 November 2007 at 2:53pm \| IP Logged
	Thank you very much! You did it very good. Much better than I would. Perhaps it should've been "would" in some of the places you wrote "should"... About "som går an". Yes it is "what's acceptable", or "what is possible". The song is a ballad. A typical song Olivia Newton-John would've done in the mid-70's. 1 person has voted this message useful
doubledouble Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5083 days ago 8 posts - 9 votes Studies: English	Message 4 of 5 11 December 2010 at 4:00pm \| IP Logged
	I really like this song, although the lyrics are somewhat dark. 1 person has voted this message useful
hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 4941 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish^C2, Italian^C2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe	Message 5 of 5 11 December 2010 at 5:22pm \| IP Logged
	That's the thing about translating songs, and poetry/verse for that matter, from one language to another. You need to worry about meter, rhyme, meaning. So many pop songs have been translated from one language to another and end up being different. Even closely related languages, such as Italian and Spanish, have trouble matching the feel of a song translated from one language to the other. "Maledetta Primavera", translated from Italian to Spanish, is a good example. It gets it close, but misses something. R. == 1 person has voted this message useful

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