lily_handmaiden

made by me :)

Guess what? I finally took my German proficiency exam today. Hopefully I passed? Well, either way, to celebrate my having attempted it at least, let's get into Act II of English-German-English Wicked. Up first, "Wie herrlich," the German version of "Thank Goodness."

This is another translation I’m super excited about. I’m completely impressed with the mechanics of it—the translation preserves both the internal and the external rhyme, and the little syllabic repetitions between lines that characterize the song! (“Thrill,” “doesn’t thrill,” “will,” “still” here becomes “weh,” “doppelt weh,” “versteh,” and “steh,” for example. And even though a word doesn’t repeat where “cross” does in English, there is strong assonance in all the right places.) And on top of that, the meaning is preserved to an impressive degree.

This was the song other than “I’m Not That Girl” which, as I was translating, struck me with how sad it was. I think a couple of Glinda’s lines make this one sadder in German, too. Though you potentially can—and the Ozians apparently do—still brush off everything she says as general abstraction, she seems to edge closer to an open declaration of pain than she does in the English version. What do you think?

Wie herrlich
(How Wonderful)

(In addition to the translation, I am super excited to share this clip with you. If you wanted to trace the beginning of my girl crush on Lucy Scherer, you can probably date it to the first time I saw this video. I love this performance. Some time ago I discovered that "Thank Goodness" is one of my favorite songs to watch if the Glinda is doing it well, because there are so many subtle variations as to how it could be played. Lucy Scherer nails it. And Mark Siebert is a pretty amusing Fiyero. ["Uberascht?!" "Jaaa...."] The video is good quality, too, if a little shaky, and it's in HD on the youtube. Watch it!)

OZIANS:
Jeden Tag mehr Bosheit!
Every day more wickedness!
Jeden Tag mehr Grausamkeit!
Every day more cruelty!
Tag und Nacht zur Wachsamkeit verflucht.
Day and night cursed with vigilance.
So regiert die Bosheit –
Thus wickedness rules—
Sie schürt Angst zu jeder Zeit,
She stirs up fear at all times,
Während sie nach neuen Opfern sucht
While she searches for new victims.

OZIAN WOMAN:
Wie ein grünes Sturmgewitter
Like a green thunderstorm
Fällt sie ins Oz-land ein,
She invades the land of Oz,

OZIAN MAN:
Verleumdet, das ist bitter, ...
Slanders, it is bitter,…

OZIANS:
Unsern Zaub'rer obendrein.
Our Wizard, on top of everything.
Gemein!
Mean!
Schütz uns vor der Bosheit!
Protect us from the wickedness!
Warne uns vor ihr demnächst,
Warn us about her soon,
Dass wir wissen,
So that we know
Wo sie wieder hext.
Where she’ll practice witchcraft again.
Wo sie wieder hext,
Where she’ll practice witchcraft again,
Wo sie wieder hext!
Where she’ll practice witchcraft again!

GLINDA:
Meine lieben ozianischen Mitbürger - mag der Terror auch noch so viel Schrecken verbreiten, heute wollen wir Panik Panik sein lassen ... und feiern!
My dear fellow Ozian citizens—However much terror likes to spead terror, today let’s forget about panic (1)… and celebrate!
Dies ist ein Tag zum feiern.
This is a day to celebrate.
Ein Feiertag.
A celebration day! (2)

(1) Literally, “let panic be panic.”

(2) This could be more smoothly translated as “a holiday,” but then you lose the fun repetition that is so Glindaesque.

OZIANS:
Wie herrlich! (3)
How wonderful!

(3) This is the song where the fact that German doesn’t have as many plays on “goodness” as English does is really unfortunate. In lieu of “thank goodness,” however, they do go with a variation of “wonderful,” which is at least an epithet for someone in the play. Although in this case it’s the Wizard (“unser herrlicher Magier) and not Glinda. More subtle demonizing of the Wizard (not that he really needs it, but still.) from this translation—a sort of constant reminder that he’s behind it all. It still doesn’t have the pointedness in this song than “goodness” would have, but the adjective can at least rub off on Glinda as she is now well and truly part of the “Wizard’s Regime.”

GLINDA:
Heut woll'n wir alle feiern,
Today we all want to celebrate
Wie's Glinda mag.
As Glinda likes!

OZIANS:
Wie herrlich!
How wonderful!

MORRIBLE:
Frieden und Freude!
Peace and joy!
Und keine Hexe hier.
And no witch here!

ALL:
Wir war'n niemals glücklicher.
We were never happier.
Wie herrlich!
How wonderful!

GLINDA:
Wir war'n niemals glücklicher.
We were never happier.
Stimmt doch?
Isn’t that true?
Nie war'n wir glücklicher.
Never were we happier.
Heut noch
Even today
Winkt uns ein Stück
We get a bit
"Es war einmal ..." – Glück
Of “Once upon a time…” -happiness
Und märchenhaft wird es enden.
And it will end like a fairytale.
Denn wir war'n niemals glücklicher.
Because we were never happier.
Nicht wahr?
True, no?
Nie war'n wir glücklicher.
Never were we happier.
Und vor allem auch, weil
And in front of everyone, too, because
Die Freude zu teil—
To share the joy
-en mit euch, ist wunderbar.
With you, is wonderful.
Er war niemals stattlicher.
He was never handsomer.
Ich war niemals dankbarer.
I was never thankfuller.
Wir war'n niemals glücklicher.
We were never happier.
Denn so glücklich sein heißt fühlen:
Because to be so happy means to feel:
Die Träume werden wahr.
Your dreams are coming true.

MORRIBLE:
Und wir freuen uns mit dir, Glinda, mein Kind! Als Pressereferentin habe ich nachhaltig dafür gesorgt, dass auch der letzte Ozianer von deiner Heldenmütlichkeit erfährt!
And we share your happiness, Glinda, my child! As Press Consultant, I have made sure for a long time that even the last Ozian will come to know about your heroicability!
Am Tag, als seine Ozness
On the day that his Ozness
Dich empfing zur Audienz,
Received you in audience,
Eine Ehre, äußerst selten und begehrenswert,
An honor, extremely rare and desirable,
Nannte er dich offiziell
He officially named you
"Gute Glinda", was formell
“Good Glinda,” which formally
Bedeutet, du bist verehrenswert.
Means, you are worthy of honor.
Da kam mit schrillem Schrei
At that, with a shrill scream, came
Die Hexe und fing an zu geifern.
The witch, and began to foam at the mouth.
Was sie fluchend plärrte,
What she wailed, cursing,
War empörenswert.
Was outrageous.

OZIANS:
Sie hat drei Augen, wird erzählt,
She has three eyes, it is told,
Von denen je eines wacht.
Of which one ever wakes.

Sie häutet sich öfter, wird erzählt,
She sheds her skin quite often, it is told,
So wie es die Schlange macht.
Just like the snake does.

Und ihre Diener, wird erzählt,
And her servants, it is told,
Sind Monster mit schwarzen Pelzen.
Are monsters with black fur. (4)

(4) I don’t entirely like this line—it’s not as clear as I’d like that Elphaba’s “servants” are the Animals.

Und weil sie nur Schmutz ist und Dreck,
And because she is only dirt and muck,
Lässt Wasser sie schmelzen.
Water melts her!

FIYERO:
Was?!
What?!

OZIANS:
Schmelzen!
Melts!
Los - Wasser her, lasst die schmelzen!
Come on—Water here, melt her!

FIYERO:
Hast du das gehört?! “Wasser lässt sie schmelzen!?" Die Leute sind derart verblödet, dass sie jeden Mist glauben!
Did you hear that? “Water melts her?!” These people have turned into such morons, that they believe any bullshit! (5)

(5) Okay, so, this could be translated as something more like “rubbish.” The Germans don’t seem to have as many straight-up curse words as we do. Anyway, I think that if it wasn’t a family show, Fiyero would really like to say “bullshit” there.

GLINDA:
Fiyero! Oh danke! Du bist ein Schatz-Spatz— Er holt mir nur schnell ein Schlückchen zu trinken. Er ist ja immer so was von aufmerksam ...
Fiyero! Oh, thank you! You are a darling pet (6) —He’s just quickly fetching me a little drop to drink. He is always so incredibly thoughtful…

(6) Literally, “treasure sparrow.” I am not even making that up.

Darum –
That's why—
War ich niemals glücklicher.
I was never happier.
Nein, noch nie war ich glücklicher
No, never yet was I happier
Wenn's auch oft überhaupt
Even if it often
Nicht kommt, wie man glaubt.
Doesn’t come to happen, at all as one believes it will, (7)
Weshalb man dann leicht frustriert ist.
For which reason one is then slightly frustrated.

(7) German word order made me mess with the translation of these lines a little. If I’d done it straight, it would have been, “Even if it often at all/ Doesn’t come to happen as one believes.”

Doch ich war niemals glücklicher.
But I was never happier.
Ich war einfach nie glücklicher,
I was simply never happier,
Naja, nicht einfach ...
Well, not simply…
Ich seh manchmal ein,
I realize sometimes,
Dass glücklich zu sein
That to be happy
Ein bisschen - tja - kompliziert ist.
Is a little—well—complicated.
Man bezahlt eine Art von – Preis
One pays a kind of—price.
Man stößt auf eine Art von – Eis
One impinges on a kind of—ice.
Man will weiter, doch meist
One wants to go further, but mostly
Bewegt man sich im Kreis
One moves in a circle
Bevor man's weiß.
Before one knows it.
Tut, was ich fühl, auch weh,
Even if what I feel hurts,
Doppelt weh, weil ich's nicht versteh,
Hurts twice as much, because I don’t understand it, (8)
Steh ich doch lachend im Trubel
Still I stand laughing in the hustle and bustle
Und nehme den Jubel wahr.
And observe the jubilation.
War je ein Mensch glücklicher?
Was a person ever happier?
Nein, ich war niemals glücklicher,
No, I was never happier,
Denn so glücklich sein heißt fühlen:
Because to be so happy means to feel:
Die Träume werden wahr.
Your dreams are coming true.
Tja, ist doch so?!
Well, isn’t it so?
Glücklich sein heißt fühlen
To be happy means to feel
Die Träume werden wahr.
Your dreams are coming true!

(8) D: Aw! This is the line that got me the most. In the English version, I don’t think Glinda openly acknowledges her feelings to this degree—or at least not with anything nearly as specific as, “It hurts twice as much because I don’t understand it”—and so it’s easier to dismiss those feelings in Act II, when it may be more comfortable to forget that she has them.

OZIANS:
Eins steht fest, Glinda,
One thing is certain, Glinda,
Niemand liebt dich wie wir.
No one loves you like us!

GLINDA:
Wie herrlich!
How wonderful!

OZIANS:
Du schenkst uns Glück und Freude.
You give us happiness and joy.
Wir danken dir.
We thank you.
Wie herrlich!
How wonderful!
Hoch lebe Glinda!
Long live Glinda!
Frisch verlobt
Newly engaged

GLINDA:
... und betreut! (9)
…and looked-after!

(9) It took me forever to figure this line out. Finally, it hit me that Glinda is referring back to Fiyero “getting her a refreshment.” Like, she wants to make extra sure that everyone caught that and remind them that it happened. “You see, everyone? How wonderful he is? You all saw that happen, right, and so you know that we are so, so happy and have no problems at all. Right?” Which is just… extra sad, I think.

OZIANS:
Sie war niemals gütiger.
She was never more gracious.
Sie war niemals freundlicher.
She was never friendlier.
Sie war niemals fröhlicher.
She was never merrier. (10)

(10) This is the part where I start to wonder, in the German version even more than the English, how oblivious the Ozians can actually be. Guys! Are you not paying attention? Emotional breakdown going on right in front of your faces! No? You think she’s just… extra moved at your devotion? Being extra confidential with you because that’s how Her Goodness rolls? Okay, then…

GLINDA:
Ich war niemals glücklicher ...
I was never happier…

ALL:
... als heut!
Than today!

OZIANS:
Wie herrlich ist das heut!
How wonderful is today!