I Translated That Thing

Ray, he/it/they, main @rayclubs. I translate things.

[i-translated]

Hello! Thanks for checking out my translations blog! It's very new and I don't have a lot of things on here yet, but I'm very excited to change that!

Who are you? The name's Ray, mostly know around these parts as @rayclubs. I love translating things. Over the years I've made many translations of songs and poems but lost them because I wasn't storing them properly. I've made this blog so I can finally keep my work organized and talk about it with those interested.

What kind of translations do you do? Fully rhymed and rhythmic translations of songs and poetry, meaning you can sing them over the original music or recite them like the original.

What languages do you speak? I speak English, Russian, and Romanian fairly decently. I can read French and have some understanding of several other European languages. I prefer to speak English on this blog. You can send asks in other languages, but I will always translate them for the audience.

What languages do you translate to/from? Russian-to-English and English-to-Russian is what I'm most proficient at. I can try Other-to-English and Other-to-Russian if I think I have a good enough grip on the other language's phonetics and if there is an English or Russian translation that I can use as a basis for mine. If you aren't sure whether or not I can translate something, feel free to ask!

Can you translate this song/poem that I really like? Most likely! I will only translate stuff that I enjoy, but my tastes are weird and my love for a good challenge is weirder, so as long as it's not, like, Taylor Swift, I'll probably do it.

Can I use your translations for personal projects / sing them with friends / record them / etc? You can do anything you want forever. Really though, anything is fine, just please credit me. If you sing and record something I write, please tag me / send it to me / give me a shout so I know about it, I would love it. I can't sing for shit.

Can I ask you about other stuff / your process / request an explanation on how you translated a certain thing? Yes!

Do you take constructive criticism? No <3

What do the tags mean? #translation - a translation I made. #discussion - talking about a translation I made. Making jokey-jokes, detailing stuff I like or don't like, ranting about existing translations that are subjectively horrendous. #not a translation - everything that isn't a translation or a discussion. Answering eventual asks, maybe something else, we'll see. #English to Russian - a translation from English to Russian. #Russian to English - a translation from Russian to English. More TBA as needed. If you feel like one of my posts needs a certain tag added or removed, let me know.

Cheers!

[i-translated]

Hiiii! Idk if you still use this blog you haven’t posted in a while but I was wondering if you’re still doing translation reqs? And if you are then if you’ll ever do a translation with the funny long post afterward talking abt your thoughts and process? I lurrrv seeing your works

Hi, thank you for asking! Yes, I still do translations. I take requests, but they might take a while because I'm a bit busy these days. I'll post some new translations later if I don't forget. I'd also be happy to write a long post if you want to know my process for certain works. I just don't get a lot of language-related questions these days.

[i-translated]

I translated Die Stadt by Georg Heym into Russian and English

And I will post both under the cut.

"The City"

The night is far, and distant yet its fall, The clouds shine before the setting moon, A thousand windows stand and blink in tune, All through the night, their eyes so red and small.

The streets entwine and spread in vine-like streaks, And countless people float in one great shoal. The boring tune of life's eternal toll, Accompanied by silence, dull and bleak.

The birth, the death, monotony awry, The nascent scream, the long life-ending cry, A blinding change that dully passes by.

The lights and fires, torches burning red, They threaten from afar, their hands outstretched, From darkened clouds shining overhead.

---

"Город"

Настанет ночь нескоро. Облака Пронзает предзакатный лунный свет. Ночь напролёт моргают в красный цвет Окошки мириадами зеркал.

Дороги вен раскинулись копной, Бессчётных масс поток туда-сюда, Тоскливый тон, мирская ерунда Обрушится унылой тишиной.

Рождение, смерть, их монотонный тик, Младенца плач, последний в жизни крик, Слепящим вихрем пронесётся вмиг.

Горят огни, как тянется рука, Как факелы грозят издалека, И проливают свет на облака.

[i-translated]

Hiiiii 👋! Sorry if this would fit better on your main blog, ik you asked for more language asks there but I just felt like it would work better here—do you have any tips on actually pronouncing soft consonants/vowels when learning Russian (and also distinguishing them when transcribing?? Spelling is still hard for me :<) Every native I ask only ever seems to explain that “щ is softer than ш” which is. It does not help me very much. Thank you in advance!

Absolutely, I'll try!

So, soft sounds occur due to a phenomenon called "palatilization". Only consonants can be palatalized. Vowels can palatalize consonants, but they can't be soft / palatalized themselves. Here is a list of vowels that do this: Я, Е, И, Ё, Ю.

Palatalization is written in transcriptions like this:

Where the dotted circle represents the consonant that is being palatalized.

The little "j" sound is close to Y in YEAR [jɪə(r)] or U in CUBE [kjuːb]. Note that they're also noted with a "j" in transcription, but a bigger one, denoting a more pronounced sound.

To practice palatalization, try inserting a very short "j"/"й" after the palatalized consonant and before the following vowel. Try the following pairs of words, where the first one has a hard consonant and the second has a soft one:

Был - бил

Нос - нёс

Шест - шесть (Т is palatalized in the second word, Ш is not in either of them; Ш cannot be palatalized, it has a so-called pair, Щ, which is always palatalized)

Дан - дань

Лук - люк

As you practice more and begin to speak faster, the "j" won't be as pronounced in your speech, and will blend into the consonant, making it properly soft.

If you'd like, I could try compiling a full list of rules for when consonants are and are not palatalized, but it would be quite difficult. Most of the time, you can count on the list of vowels I provided in the beginning, and the soft sign "Ь".

Hope this helps at least somewhat, but feel free to ask for clarification if it doesn't! Thanks for asking!

[i-translated]

Idk if anyone’s asked this before- what’s the cartoon in your banner? Its cute :>

Hi! It's from a Soviet cartoon called "Чиполлино" ("Chipollino" or "Little Onion" in Italian), based on a story by Gianni Rodaris. You can watch the whole cartoon on YouTube with English subtitles. I highly recommend it. It radicalized me.

[i-translated]

Hi! I’m sorry if this comes off as rude or anything but I really, REALLY like your blog’s content and your skill in translating is something I really look up to… since I remember on your main you mentioned something about learning French, would you ever consider translating carmen by Stromae into Russian or other languages? I’m curious as to how the syllable count would work out across languages due to how many contractions French has

Hi! I'm glad you've been enjoying my translation work! I learned French back in middle school and definitely am not qualified to translate something that complicated from French to either of my languages, but if a native French speaker is willing to make a rhymeless, rhythmless line-by-line translation, I'd be more than happy to go over it and trim it down to the song's meter and to rewrite it in a way that would preserve the rhymes. It's something I've done before, with a very good German friend and some German songs / poetry. I don't currently have any French-speaking friends though.

[hvoii-art]

This will only be for Russian speakers, because I'm too lazy to translate.

Это немного глупо и я ни разу не видел, что бы кто то поднимал эту тему по этому мне было бы интересно поболтать об этом с кем то.

[rayclubs]

Translation.

[PANEL 1]

Harry: Kim… Kim: Yes, detective? Harry: Say, do you mind if I transfer to your precinct? Kim: What? - Jean: What?!??!!?!!?!!? Judit: Jean… Trant: Oh.

[PANEL 2]

Harry: If that’s my team, I don’t wanna work with them. - Jean: WHAT?! DuBois! You’re out of your fucking mind! - Harry: Why? Do you mean to tell me that we all came here together over a fucking week ago, and you just left me alone, shit-faced, all ‘cause I hurt your feelings? What did I even say? Did I insult your mom, Jean? Seriously!!! I’m really sorry if I messed up that bad, I apologize! But you fucking – you bailed on me? Abandoned me with some booze and a pistol, knowing what state I was in?

[PANEL 3]

Harry: Fine! Fuck me! I get it, you don’t owe me anything and all that, but did you know that seven people died in that shootout?? Where the fuck were you??? Why, instead of solving the murder, did you just fuck off somewhere, and then sit around at a cafeteria making fun of me?! And don’t tell me you didn’t know, the whole city knew that the “war” was coming, and you! You’re cops, after all! How could you not know??? And how could you not believe that I’d forgotten everything if according to your own words, this isn’t the first time I’ve lost my memory?! - Harry: That’s just negligence, Kim! People get punished for it! Kim: I suppose so. - Harry: Why were you sitting around doing fuck all while Kim and I ran around the city with our asses on fire and sniffed out literal crumbs for clues???

[PANEL 4]

Harry: Do you understand that this man became a better partner and a better friend than you in only a week?? This is who I would trust with my life, this is who I could work with and be one hundred percent sure he’d cover my back. Kim: Detective? - Harry: Even when I caught two bullets, did any of you come? The whole city knew about it, practically everyone!!! Kim even called our precinct, but nobody came, he nursed me back to health for two days!!! While you were wherever the fuck you were, you awesome fucking comrades and colleagues, and now you barge in here and play judges on whether or not I’m fit to be a cop?? - Harry: Are you, gentlemen officers???

[AUTHOR'S NOTE]: This is a little silly and I've never seen anyone bring this up, it would be interesting to talk to someone about this.

[i-translated]

haiiiii sorry if this is the wrong blog for this but do u know if there is any functional translation of the russian word “пацан”? i saw some people using it i think as like an insult online but the only thing that comes up when i google translate it is “boy”

Hi, yes this is the perfect blog for this kind of question, thank you!

"Пацан" is not an insult. It's a slang word that denotes a boy or a young man and can be used in neutral, negative, or even positive context. The word itself is considered jargon, so it's not acceptable to use in a formal setting and can come off as rude or insulting if used to address a stranger. The closest English equivalent I can think of would be "pal" or "buddy".

Let me know if you need more examples or if there's a particular use case you'd like me to explain. Cheers!

[i-translated]

I translated "Ies" by E-An-Na into Russian

Listen to the original here. As with all my translations, this one is fully rhymed and rhythmic, meaning you can sing it over the original music.

"Вон"

Я давным давно брожу по трубам,

Испокон веков тянущимся,

Мне страшно оттого что я найду.

Тут впереди и сзади

Время с горьким привкусом моментов,

Час застывшего веселья, страх и ужас в тот же миг.

Выйти вон, вон, черви!

Сплю с бутылкой топлива в груди

И спички стиснув меж зубов,

Моё бессилие в стенах-стёклах замерло.

Меня знобит и пот ручьями,

Знаю, мне не убежать.

Разве что с боем по осколкам.

Мне бы...

Выйти вон, вон, черви!

[i-translated]

I translated "Körperliche Selbstverteidigung" by Liedfett into Russian

Listen to the original here. As with all my translations, this one is fully rhymed and rhythmic, meaning you can sing it over the original music.

"Материальная Самозащита"

Беру с собою штопор И бутылку вина, пешком по склону, Тихо говорю "Я один, и ты одна. Никто не заметит нас с тобой вдвоём, Алая красотка, здесь тебя не ждут, А моё сердце лишь твоё." Она прольётся, я пропал, есть лишь вино. Так оставайся, флаг по ветру, камень в воду, всё одно. Моя самозащита материальная, Избегаю боли, залпом, залпом прячусь от неё. Моя самозащита материальная, Избегаю боли, залпом, залпом прячусь от неё. Что там за осколки? От стекла? Я забыл о чём грустил, я выпил и тоска прошла. Так и дальше, решаю сам себе: Мне терзаться в муках или с монстрами домашними играть в траве. Беспечный бант в волосах и мамин фирменный торт, Я у двери, и я замёрз, и жажда мучает рот. Я справлюсь сам легко, я помощь не ищу твою, Я тут, и ты мне очень рад, плохо жить там где совсем не пьют. Моя самозащита материальная, Избегаю боли, залпом, залпом прячусь от неё. Моя самозащита материальная, Избегаю боли, залпом, залпом прячусь от неё. Обогреватель включим, свежий воздух впустив, Из леса тишина порою может к нам зайти. Я больше не боюсь, вместе дружно я и тишина Самообороняемся стаканами вина. Иду и напеваю, переживания прочь, Так замечательно поётся мне в эту ночь, Приглажу пиджак на выход, только выйду в свет, Ты позвонишь и спросишь: «Хочешь выпить?» - я отвечу «Нет». Если я чуть загрустил, пью рюмку вина, И если я ещё грущу, ещё одна нужна, И если всё ещё грущу, то мне б ещё одна, А если я всегда грущу, то надо допивать до дна. Моя самозащита материальная, Избегаю боли, залпом, залпом прячусь от неё. Моя самозащита материальная, Избегаю боли, залпом, залпом прочь от неё.

[i-translated]

I translated "Musikapi" by Vivienne Mort into English

Listen to the original here. As with all my translations, this one is fully rhymed and rhythmic, meaning you can sing it over the original music.

"Musikapi"

I'm the little ghost that always followed where you'd wander, You knew not where to escape, so funny and familiar. Felt the loyal eyes transfixed upon you fill with water, Watch your every move and poison every breath with fear.

I'll do just like you said, I will bring you my own head, I will cater to your every want and need. Oh, do you want me dead? Say the word and I'll be dead, If you want, I'll keep on dying on repeat.

I was by the window when you fancied another, Winter, fierce and freezing, splashed its features with my beauty. Cold and bitter wind my lungs with ice and frost did cover. You, I cursed you and with you I cursed myself unduly.

I'll do just like you said, I will bring you my own head, I will cater to your every want and need. Oh, do you want me dead? Say the word and I'll be dead, If you want, I'll keep on dying on repeat.

[i-translated]

I translated "Vagrant Song" by Darren Korb into Russian

Listen to the original here. As with all my translations, this one is fully rhymed and rhythmic, meaning you can sing it over the original music.

"Песня Бродяги"

В кипящий шквал солёных глубин Расплакалась луна, Как по щекам прибрежных равнин Горячих слёз волна. Свинцовым льдом над тёмной водой Лёг утренний туман. Попрятались звезда за звездой, Предсумеречный обман.

Там где титан сразила врага И свет её померк, Один лишь затонувший фрегат Всё помнит её смерть. Но смерть её оставила след, А буря не умрёт, Земля дрожит, страдая в ответ, На сотни лет вперёд.

[i-translated]

My good friend @girl-named-cock and I translated "Vincent van Gogh" by ok.danke.tschüss into English

Listen to the original here. As with all my translations, this one is fully rhymed and rhythmic, meaning you can sing it over the original music.

"Vincent van Gogh"

You are so high-class and I’m so middle-class, You won’t sit like a brute, so you cross your legs When you let your show commence I’m gonna be the only disgrace.

Won’t you, won’t you, won’t you, won’t you come down from your high horse I’ll take you on my bike to McDonald’s. Won’t you, won’t you, won’t you, won’t you come down from your ego-trip, You’ll see what it tastes like down onwards.

I have one ear more than Vincent van Gogh And you say my taste is vulgar. I have one ear more than Vincent van Gogh And I could not have heard you louder.

You said: “Baby, come with me to the art exhibit, It would be fun,” you told me, Are you done-a-telling me lies yet?

Wine and appetizers, Look how slim and tight your tie is, But I can’t touch whatever I see. Caught in your appeal, And I am here to drink my fill, Baby, why don’t you interpret me?

I have one ear more than Vincent van Gogh And you say my taste is vulgar. I have one ear more than Vincent van Gogh And I could not have heard you louder. (X2)

"The Scream" escapes me, “The Kiss” you fancy, “Sunflowers”, “Summer Evenings”, Even “The Creation of Adam”, Dali, DaVinci, and every time you see this Your cold shoulder hurts my feelings ‘Cause you prefer “The Birth of Venus”.

Mona, Mona, Mona, Mona, Mona Lisa, Fuck that, I live next door. Mona, Mona, Mona, Mona, Mona Lisa, She’s not even in A4.

I have one ear more than Vincent van Gogh And you say my taste is vulgar. I have one ear more than Vincent van Gogh And I could not have heard you louder. I have one ear, I have one ear, I have one ear more, I have one ear more than Vincent van Gogh And I sure as hell don’t need another.

[i-translated]

Can you please translate "The Way Things Are" or "They're only human" from the Russian Death Note Musical to English? I love the songs in the Russian musical, but I sadly don't understand the lyrics :(

Hi! Death Note: The Musical was originally written in English. A complete playlist is available on YouTube. Was there a different production / version you wanted me to translate? Feel free to send another ask and clarify. If you can include a link that'd be helpful.

[i-translated]

I translated "Sleeping Beauty" by The Mechanisms into Russian

Listen to the original here. Lyrics from here. As with all my translations, this one is fully rhymed and rhythmic, meaning you can sing it over the original music.

"Спящая Красавица"

В пробуждённый мир не вернуться, и вокруг кромешная тьма, Я брожу без снов в полудрёме, измождённость сводит с ума. Наготове ружья, лезвия ножей, Лес тернистый - вот моя тюрьма. Я была когда-то счастливой, смутно помню солнечный свет, Реющей под куполом неба в красоте, в бою равных нет... Помню вспышку боли - сталь пронзила плоть, И резвости моей пришёл конец. Провода по жилам и венам - ненавистный лорд, старый чёрт, Теперь для королевской охраны кровь моя по капле течёт. Верила когда-то в поцелуй любви, Только пусть мой принц придёт с мечом. Поднажми вперёд, легче, Настя - посмотрим, чего ждать от их Роз! Я, признаться, жажду насилия, и тебя я вижу насквозь. Устроим вечеринку, как только нам подстать - Выстрелы и взрывы - началось! Привет, дамы! Пали пока остались патроны и слышен артиллерии гром. Раз вы наигрались в солдатиков, вы знаете, что мы не умрём! Предлагаю вам тактично отступить к хуям, Иначе псы войны устроят тут погром. [- Это она? Как её разбудить? - Попробуй поцеловать её! - Я не собираюсь целовать спящую незнакомку, Настя – это пиздец как жутко! - А. Ну, попробуй свой обычный план. Стреляй по машинам, пока не взорвутся. - Так и сделаю! Я так и сделаю! *звуки выстрелов* - Кто бы мог подумать! Сработало!] В глубине центрального зала, мёртвыми усеян гранит. Приближаясь плавно к свободе, за стеклом красавица спит. Посмотрим, что за тайны бессонный мир несёт, И что в себе сознание таит...

***

Please keep in mind that I do not accept constructive criticism. I'm sure someone might have better ideas for certain lines or rhymes, however, self-improvement is not the purpose of this blog. With all due respect, be kind or be quiet. Thank you.

[i-translated]

Could you translate this song into english? I've made a translation myself but you seem more experienced with that and I was curious how you would do it. The creator is also on tumblr as @/nopanamaman and they interact with fans fairly often so I'm sure they'd enjoy reading a translation of their work

Done! Thank you for the request, going to ramble a bit under the cut.

Wow, this song was so out there for me, I didn't even know how to approach it. No wonder it took like. Over a week. Good god.

It was fun though. I did a lot of things differently from how I normally do. I didn't translate the title because it was already in two languages which felt purposeful enough to not touch. I didn't prioritize "close" translations as much as I normally do - the song is written in simple words, in some places I could have made more literal translations and tried to do just that initially, but then decided to play around a bit, try to keep the tone more than the individual line integrity. Like, okay, here:

"Ты шутишь, еле глотая дым - не смешно." - lit. "You're joking, barely swallowing smoke - it's not funny."

I very well could have kept "it's not funny" because it fits rhythmically and would have rhymed if I put enough thought into it, but it just... didn't have the same punch in English? Like, I dunno, I feel like if someone said "it's not funny" in response to my joke it would feel solemnly sad, but the same line in the song rings more accusatory to me. I mean, it is called "anger management". So I went with "it's poor taste" and gave myself a pat on the back for how smartly it rhymed.

The hardest part was the middle. The lyrics are easier than in the verses because they don't rhyme, but I have a very specific type of sound autism that makes it so I can only listen to a limited amount of sound per sound. I couldn't compare my text to the original quite as often as I would like. It might have some mismatched syllables but I hope it doesn't.

Also, even though the middle lines don't "rhyme", they still feel like there's assonance there, and I wanted to keep it, and so I did, to an extent. It sucks because I had to go with "words, words, words" in there, there's no other English word that would be quite as right, but the weird "-ur" assonance just doesn't sound as good as a clear "A" like in the original.

Overall I like how it came out but it's not, like, the best translation in the world or anything, I just tried to make something I personally would enjoy. Curious to know your thoughts though. Cheers!

[i-translated]

I translated "anger management - слова" by Ferry (@nopanamaman) into English

Requested by @whyrubuyingclothesatthesoupstore. Thank you!

Listen to the original here. As with all my translations, this one is fully rhymed and rhythmic, meaning you can sing it over the original music.

"anger management - слова"

Could that be vomit you wear so well? It's pretty dismal.

The night is over before it fell - you're shit-faced.

You miss your father, despite yourself. I don't miss him.

You're being funny through gulps of smoke. It's poor taste.

But it's so easy - wishing you ruin,

It's so easy - wishing you hurt.

It's easy, yes, but these are all just

Some words, some words, some words...

And maybe we will grow a bit wiser,

Maybe then this fear will back off.

And maybe then I'll finally find

The words, the words, the words...

Could that be tears that suit your face? I'm not certain.

I can't tell sadness and joy apart. They're the same.

Forget everything for the best and good riddance.

To you, there won't be a single thing I could say.

***

Please keep in mind that I do not accept constructive criticism. I'm sure someone might have better ideas for certain lines or rhymes, however, self-improvement is not the purpose of this blog. With all due respect, be kind or be quiet. Thank you.