Most of these are translations of songs or poems. It seems that I have a small talent for taking an English poem and rendering it in rhyming Klingon to match the meter of the original.
Klingon versions of simple familiar tunes are fun to have around on the rare occasion when Klingonists get together. That's why I translated the cloying theme from the It's a Small World rides at Disneyland and Disney World. I think machqu' qo' is not quite as insidious as the original, but I could be wrong. I wrote DIp bom based on Grammar Rock's The Noun Song. I wanted to bring some "children's" content to the collection of Klingon literature. Later, I translated Sesame Street's The Circle Song as gho 'oH. jebberwa'qay is in response to a collection of translated versions of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky and what I considered a markedly inferior attempt by someone else. Then I looked at The Hunting of the Snark and decided to try it too. I got as far as the end of the first fit, leaving seven more waiting for me before I can complete the agony. I doubt I will ever find motivation to return to the task, so I present Snarq chon in its unfinished state.
The anthem tlhIngan maH is my favorite piece of acrostic poetry, where the first letters of each line spell out a key word or phrase. In Klingon, where no words begin with vowels, I did have to cheat a little and pretend that the ' doesn't count. I wrote a much smaller acrostic poem on the occasion of the Perseid meteor shower some years ago, entitled chunDab. I found myself with entirely too much time on my hands one day at work, while the computer network was not working correctly, and I tackled Don McLean's American Pie. There's absolutely no way I could do justice to its cultural references and deep meaning, but I think Qo'noS chab is a good rendition of the superficial features of the song. Because I was not the author, DaHjaj po, by 'altaQ, doesn't strictly belong in this collection. However, it definitely deserves to be placed somewhere, and since I had a hand in its debut, I feel justified in including it here. The HuDHom Dap bom nonsense song means nothing particularly important in Klingon. What gives the poem its power is not the meaning, but the sound. Speak it out loud and you'll understand. If you don't get it, recite it for someone else and let them explain. The history—indeed, the very existence—of bangDaj ja' SepwI' nong is rather amusing. Christoph Marlowe's A Passionate Shepherd to his Love is an ancient pastoral poem, and would not normally be expected in a collection of Klingon works. There is a very interesting story behind my deciding to translate it—ask me about it sometime. Some years ago, I was challenged to translate the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song. The song, titled Love is All Around, is by Sonny Curtis. I used the original lyrics from the TV show when crafting DuDechchu' parmaq. It looks like the first season's words were invented for the show, but they used the first verse of the real song for subsequent seasons. The second verse of the original was wisely not used for the show, as it does not fit the idea of an independent career woman at all, and I have chosen not to translate it here.
mIl'oD vIghom is a fun camp song, with one person calling the lines and the rest of the group repeating them.
I don't know what prompted someone to request a Klingon translation of The March of Cambreadth, but that request got forwarded to the tlhIngan-Hol email discussion group in August of 2010. I took on the challenge and navigated the triple contraints of meter, rhyme, and imagery. After accepting a couple of editorial critiques from my peers, qemretlh may' bom is the result. Each year a fundraising group in my city holds a benefit concert for the disadvantaged and less fortunate in the community. It's part of a larger effort timed to catch people at the peak of their generosity as the Christmas season gets into full swing. For several years, the organizer of the concert suggested to my wife that I should do something in Klingon. I have always declined, until December 2013 when I decided to stretch out of my comfort zone. I performed QISmaS bom, a translation of The Chrismas Song by Mel Tormé (made famous by Nat King Cole), wearing my costume uniform and rubber forehead. In preparation for a possible repeat, I translated Silver Bells as bach 'In boch. |