Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: One (Filk of the song from “A Chorus Line”) (1/1) 2022 Bizarro Kerth Challenge #4

If you've never seen the song and dance from "A Chorus Line," you're in for a treat. One place you can do so is here.

Once I thought of this song to filk, the lyrics practically wrote themselves. The song actually didn't need many tweaks for it to be the perfect song for Lois to sing.

As always, all feedback appreciated.

This is indeed a good song for Lois. In my mind, I'm back in school, singing this song in our choir. So thank you for making me something between twenty and twenty-five years younger, if only for a brief moment.

Now, you only gotta tell me how to get rid of the earworm.

Hi Barbara,

Happy to assist in your trip down memory lane. Out of curiosity, did your choir sing the song in English or in German? I am guessing that it might be a tricky song to translate.

Sorry about the earworm. If it's any consolation, I've been finding myself singing parts of the song repeatedly since I wrote the filk.

Thanks for being so wonderful leaving feedback. It definitely helps keep me going as a writer.

Joy,
Lynn

We sang the song in English. Though songs are usually translated if a Musical is played over here, it's not always a good idea.

Especially some singers of schlager music (that's a form of pop music that usually is so simple that your brain cells die -okay, that's my opinion), like to translate English songs into German. Yuck!

Though David Hasselhoff recently did an English version of a very popular German schlager song. I'm still trying to get those pictures out of my mind.

I remember in my college music appreciation class the professor talked about the difficulty in translating songs, and mentioned something as simple as syllabification mismatches. The example given was translating a piece from a German composer (Bach, if memory serves) in which the word "Hölle" was translated as "Hell." The problem was that the two German syllables were sung at different pitches, and so when the singers tried to sing the monosyllabic English word over two distinct pitches, it sounded horrendous. I could only imagine the sorts of problems that would arise if one tried to translate the lyrics to "One."

So tell me how you really feel about schlager music.

Joy,
Lynn

Yes, translating songs or poems is difficult. The Disney songs are usually translated quite well.
When you mentioned Bach, I had to remember Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"' I was curious about the English text, but that's not a translation, it's just a completely different text.

Too bad, you're cheated out of something wonderful. I love these lyrics.
But that's the exception to the rule that German is not a language well suited for singing.

Hi Barbara,

Oh, now you have me curious. Could you provide an actual translation of "Ode to Joy"?

Why do you think that German wouldn't be a language well suited for singing?

Joy,
Lynn

You can find a translation here

The sheer length of some words make singing them difficult, sometimes. And compared to English, German sounds harder. If you listen to the radio, not many German singers sing German songs.

Wow. I see why you like the original version so much. That was beautiful.

I find it fascinating that you would think that German sounds harder. The German fricatives certainly make it seem so to me as a native speaker of English, but I wouldn't have ventured to guess whether it would seem that way to a native speaker of German, as well. After all, the fricatives and affricates used in English, such as "sh" and "ch" don't sound particular harsh to me, but I am sure that that is just because I grew up with those sounds.

Thank you for, once again, satisfying my curiosity.

Joy,
Lynn

I'm getting the strange feeling that I'm highjacking this thread. But since you asked - no I don't think that German sounds hard - and before I learned English, I thought it sounded like someone was trying to speak with a hot potato in their mouth.

But now, English and French sound softer. But I'm talking about "z" and one form of "ch" -there are two forms of pronounciation for that last one, depending on the vowel in front of these two letters.

Lachen


weich


Zoo

There should be a voice example on these pages.

Hi Barbara,

If you are hijacking the thread, then I am your co-hijacker. Either way, I am delighted to be having this conversation, and since no one else seems to be wanting to provide feedback, there is plenty of real estate to hijack.

It is precisely the two "ch" sounds that you mentioned that I was thinking of when I mentioned the German fricatives. Sorry if my term was confusing -- my linguistics background is showing. Fricatives are speech sounds that are sort of "staticky." They are made by partially obstructing the flow of air in one's mouth. (If the flow is entirely obstructed, you get a stop, such as [b] or [t].) Examples in English are the sounds represented by the letters "s," "z," and the two sounds represented by "th." (The voiced version in "either" and its unvoiced counterpart in "ether.")

Joy,
Lynn

I wasn't aware you knew about the two "ch" sounds, since the one in "lachen" is not so easy for the English tongue. I learned that when an english exchange student visited with me, and she was trying to say "Mittwoch" - (Wednesday) It came out sounding like "Mitwok" - That is funny, because written a bit differently it could translate to "with wok" ( the chinese cooking pot) It's definitely a homophone.

Anyway, you just posted the story, so I'm guessing that others will comment as well. The times when several comments arrived just after you posted your story are definitely over. And it's still the middle of the day in your part of the world. So "keep your ears stiff" (the direct translation of a german term meaning that you shouldn't lose hope)

Hi Barbara,

I am able to hear the two German "ch" sounds, and I might be able to do a better-than-the-average-American approximation of the sounds, but only because my grandmother was a native speaker of German and still retained her accent even while speaking English. I therefore heard the sounds when I was a child. But I have no illusions: What very little German I can speak is heavily accented.

It is interesting that we have similar idioms. A slightly old-fashioned equivalent of the German phrase "keep your ears stiff" is "keep your chin up." British English has a counterpart that is innocent in some parts of the world but is risqué in the US: Keep your pecker up. (In U.S. English, "pecker" refers to a male-only part of the anatomy the discussion of which should be left to the nfic boards; in British English, it refers to one's nose.) I suspect that the British phrase is quite old-fashioned, but I honestly don't know. If anyone from Great Britain reads this, would you enlighten me? Also, any Aussies or other people living in different English-speaking regions: What do you say?

In any event, thanks for the encouragement.

Joy,
Lynn

Hi Lynn,

I felt this would stick out if I skipped it, however song fics aren't my cup-a-tea. I did get caught up reading the FDK though, the linguistic discussion was great fun, in particular when you know both languages And I do the effort of producing rhyme and verse, in particular to an existing tune.

Also, British vs US turns of phrases sure are fun indeed. I still remember our 7th or 8th grade English teacher telling us why you need to be careful when you ask for a "rubber". It's completely okay to use one in a British class room

Michael

Hi Michael,

Song fics aren't usually my cuppa, either. Filks, on the other hand, I do enjoy. But please don't feel obligated to read anything I write; fanfic reading should be fun.

I'm glad you enjoyed Bakasi's and my digressions.

I've always delighted in the differences between British English and U.S. English. When I first encountered the phrase, "pocket torch," I thought it sounded like a fire hazard. And I won't even mention the different uses of the terms "pants" or "knocked up" on different sides of the pond. Plenty of room for comedic/embarrassing misunderstandings.

Joy,
Lynn

Hi Lynn!

yeah There's so many offensively harmless differences between the Englishes. In German, it's mostly people not understanding each other I can't think of a German word that is problematic in it's use between Germany and Austria.

And honestly just wanted to stop by for a quick "I skim/skipped it because of me, not you" note and then got stuck in the FDK thread. These boards are dangerous

Michael