Beginning a translation

Copy of a message sent to "Use your Conlang" at yahoogroups (of which I was
unaware, but am apparently a member); it seems appropriate here. Maybe it
will divert us from Esperanto orthography.
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(Tony Harris wrote:)
>Anyway, I decided perhaps a good topic for discussion would be lyrics in
conlangs.  I'm not all that experienced at music writing, but I have made up
some Aluric language lyrics for a few of my more favorite songs where the
melody works for it.  Has anyone else done so?
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I've often thought of it but never really got round to it.  However by
merest coincidence, I recently began a Kash translation of a Brecht/Weill
song, "Matrosen Tango" ('Sailors' Tango' from "Happy End"). So far, only 2
lines....

(I forgot to mention in the original post, the title "Matrosen Tango,
Bertolt Brecht" translates to "Kotan kaposi" by an oddball Kash poet who
used only a single name, Prek.)

Hallo, jetzt fahren wir nach Birma hinüber,
haya, mifosipo puluman riyundi
hey, we-sail-just (name)/acc. way-over-there

Whisky haben wir, ja noch genügend dabei
yale porembim, ti-ti-timbani nakayi
there-is wine-our, e-e-enough yes-indeed

So far, it fits the music (hence the repeated syllable of timbani, which is
cheating, I know). More to come. "Puluma" is new, the name of a distant
country.... The next line is already a problem-- Und
Zigarren rauchen wir, "Henry Clay"-- since the Kash don't have anything
resembling tobacco.

You can hear the original (and many other wonderful songs) on a Sony CD MHK
63222 (a remastering of a ca. 1955 LP, "Lotte Lenya sings Berlin Theatre
Songs", which, unlike the CD, includes all the lyrics)

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