There is a disturbingly popular German dance song called "Das rote Pferd" (The Red Horse), based, I have just learned from the almighty Internet, on an old children's song. The lyrics of the song are as follows:
Da hat das rote Pferd
sich einfach umgekehrt
und mit seinem Schwanz
die Fliege abgewehrt
Die Fliege war nicht dumm
Sie machte sum, sum, sum
und flog mit viel Gebrumm
ums rote Pferd herum.
In English:
And then the red horse
simply turned around
and drove the fly away
with its tail
The fly wasn't dumb
It went "zoom zoom zoom"
and flew with much humming
around the red horse
The lyrics are then repeated about three hundred thousand times, backed by the electronic noise and steadily accelerating bass thumps that are the trademarks of German Schlager music.
This song has always bothered me. Mostly because it's so annoying that its author should be brought up on charges at Den Haag, but also because the story just isn't logical.
First off, it starts with "and then." What's that all about? The song consists of two verses, surely you could have found the space for a short introduction.
And then the fly is supposed to be "not dumb" because it figures out that it should fly around the horse? But over the course of the song, this happens about a bazillion times, and every time the fly reacts in precisely the same way. Maybe the first time the fly dodges the tail and buzzes around to the other side of the horse this seems somewhat clever, but after twenty or thirty repetitions I'd expect a fly that "wasn't dumb" to try something dufferent. Maybe the horse can hear the gorgeous buzzing that is described in beautiful poetry taking up no less than 25% of the song's lyrics. Maybe the fly should try it once without the "zoom zoom zoom"?
Es waren einmal ein Pferd und eine Fliege
Die Fliege wollte das Pferd beissen
Da hat das rote Pferd
sich einfach umgekehrt
und mit seinem Schwanz
die Fliege abgewehrt
Die Fliege war nicht dumm
Sie machte sum, sum, sum
und flog mit viel Gebrumm
ums rote Pferd herum.
Da hat das rote Pferd
sich einfach umgekehrt
und mit seinem Schwanz
die Fliege abgewehrt
Die Fliege war nicht dumm
Sie erprobte eine alternative Strategie
und flog ganz leise
ums rote Pferd herum.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
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[spelling nazi] it has to be "flog". [/spelling nazi]
ReplyDeleteOops! Fixed, thanks for the correction, Joe! :)
ReplyDeleteAs you said in your introduction. It's a children's song - come on :D I used to sing "Hottepferd" instead of "rote Pferd", though.
ReplyDeleteIn order to give you more about flies to analyse:
"Mama hol den Hammer denn das Biest ist wieder da!
Die fette Fliege sitzt auf der Glatze von Papa!
Mama hol den Hammer und hau auf die Fliege drauf!
Denn sonst weckt sie Papa auf!"
"Mommy get the hammer 'cause the beast is here again!
The fat fly is sitting on daddy's bald head!
Mommy get the hammer and smash the fly!
Otherwise it'll wake daddy!"
THE hit when I was a kid :)