Babelfish

Folk songs are often very localised - often in dialect - and may not be thought to travel very far outside their local boundaries. However, there are many folk songs which have been so popularised that they are known all over the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some of these are even well known in America and Canada - although differing version of the same tale often emerge.

In an idle moment I wondered how some of our English-language songs might translate to foreign ears. Is there a global market for our folk songs?

To find out I used a web translation service, called Babelfish, first to convert to a foreign tongue and then back to English. Here's a well known Irish song translated into French:

Elle est belle, elle est jolie. Elle est la belle de la ville de Belfast. Elle va au devant, un, deux, trois. Svp won't vous me dites qui est lui ?

Instantly recognisable, I am sure you'll agree. You can almost sing it !

However, translating the French back into English we get :

It is beautiful, it is pretty. It is beautiful town of Belfast. It goes to the front, one, two, three. Please won't you say to me who is him?

Doesn't quite scan does it?

Here are some more examples for you to sing along with:

The boy of Oh Danny, the pipes, the pipes call. Throat with the throat and swallow the mountain. Gone summer's and all to fall from pinks. Tis you of the tis you must go and I must wait.

And if you think the French might struggle with our boyo, Danny, what about the Germans?

Oh Danny boy, the pipes, which designate pipes. From Glen to Glen and you thrash the mountain slope. Summer's gone and all rose traps. Tis must go you tis you and I must be waiting.

Here's a song adopted by the French rugby fans as their own:

Low lies fields of Athenry, where once that we observed the small free birds fly. Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to be sung. Round so isolated from its the fields of Athenry.

From the Italian - you could base an opera on these lyrics:

She eyes that have polished like the diamonds. You'd thinks that she has been Queen of the earth. With its hats it throws to you over its shoulder, tied in on with one you wrap black of the velvet.

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