ryan (03/24/83)
Recently the book "Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames" was mentioned. For those of us who do not speak French (but speak German), there is an alternative: "Mo:rder Guss Reims" written by John Hulme as if by the fictitious Gustav Leberwurst. It is really hysterical. Try having an unsuspecting German who doesn't know Mother Goose read them out loud to you. Those that know the rhymes will die laughing. Here is a selection. Da Wassernot, wo Menu: lief[1], Dinar Schuh.[2] Schade, so Ma:nner schildern Sie, Dieter, nu Watte Du![3] Sie geh bums um Brot, wie dauerte nie Brett![4] Schwipp D-moll Sauna ... liehen 'putt A:mterbett.[5] (I use colons for umlauts.) 1. "As water was scarce, it ran on the menu." One encounters the iniquitous 'minimum charge' in some hostelries, but charging for water in a restaurant seems particularly ill natured--shortage or no shortage. 2. "A shoe cost a dinar." Irrespective of whether this was an Iraqi dinar or a Yugoslav dinar, it was definitely a bargain. 3. "It is a pity how people describe you, Dieter, you lump of cottonwool!" 4. He does not take her criticism lying down but snaps back: "You bang the bread down--no wonder the bread-board never lasted long!" 5. They nimbly go into the sauna, singing in D-minor, and then borrow a broken bed from an official source. (Did you recognize "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe ..."?) P.D.Q. Bach is also a source of humorous German-English punning as has been pointed out. Peter Schickele's definitive biography is the source of much humorous information. An album which has appeared since then by P.D.Q. Bach, "Black Forest Bluegrass", has some more examples. The Cantata "Blaues Gras" is sung in German and is intrinsically funny. In it is this example of German-English word play: Razier' und Haarschneiden, zwei Bitte! This is translated on the album cover as "Shave and a haircut, two please". And I could have sworn it was "shave and a haircut, two bits"! Ryan Stansifer
death (03/25/83)
The best part of the PDQ Bach cantata "Blaues Gras" was, as far as I am concerned, the last line: "Das is ein grosse Zehn-vier, gute Kamarade!" -=- death -=-