The Ides of March

[This posting is by Roger Mills; I am posting it because his attempt to
do so sent out plain text, HTML, and some mysterious encoded JScript.
I regret that the Ides of March, having come, are now gone.]

A song by Kurt Weill, text by Georg Kaiser, sung by Lotte Lenya
(slightly abridged here; translator uncredited. Columbia LP, KL5056,
released in the 50s.  The Sony CD MHK63222 omits the
lyrics/translations).  I regret I'm not competent to include the music.
Perhaps some or all of it might inspire a conlanger---

"Cäsars Tod"  ("Caesar's Death")

Rom war eine Stadt und alle Römer
hatten in den Adern heisses Blut,
als sie Cäsar einst tyrannisch reizte,
kochte es sofort in Siedeglut.

Rome was the name of the city
and hot blood ran in the Roman veins.
When Caesar once provoked them tyrannically,
Their blood came to an instant boil.

Nicht die Warnung konnte Cäsar hindern:
"Hüte vor des Märzes Iden dich."
Er verfolgte seine frechen Ziele
und sah schon als Herrn der Römer sich.

Not even the warning could stop Caesar
"Beware the Ides of March"
He pursued his insolent aims
And saw himself already master of the Romans.

Immer schliimmer schlug ihn de Verblendung,
nur sein Wort galt noch im Capitol,
und die weisen Rat der Senatoren
schmähte er gemein und höhnisch Kohl.

Worse and worse grew his delusion
Only his word had any weight in the Capitol
and the wise advise of the Senators
He sneeringly called garbage.

(snip a couple verses)

.....und genau am Tag der Märzes Iden
stach ihm Brutus den verdienten Stich.

...And exactly on the day of the Ides of March
Brutus gave the well-deserved stab.

Cäsar sank von seinem Sitz und stierte
seinen Mörder an, als ob's nicht wahr.
"Et tu Brute!" rief er auf lateinisch
wie es dort de Landessprache war.

Caesar sank from his throne
and stared disbelieving at his murderer.
"Et tu Brute!" he screamed in Latin,
which was the language of the country.

Lasse keiner sich vom Wahn verführen
dass er mehr als jeder and're gelt':
Cäsar wollte mit dem Schwert regieren
und ein Messer hat ihn selbst gefällt!
Und ein Messer hat ihn selbst gefällt!

Let no one be misled by the deslusion
that he is worth more than someone else.
Caesar wished to reign by the sword
And was himself felled by a knife.

--
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all.  There
are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language
that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
        --_The Hobbit_

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