Thursday, May 26, 2011

Happy music

Graeme is away taking the Sandy Bay and Blue Hill Bible studies tonight. Arthur is working a shift at The Consulate, and I am alone at home. Seeing that I have no-one around who could be offended at what I do, I put on my Neil Diamond CD (LOUD) and shuffled to the music and "sang" while I cooked and worked in the kitchen. Total unwind after a hectic few days.

4 comments:

  1. Hi to the Arthur for me please and tell Dani that she has an uncle in Africa, Uncle George and I want to welcome her to the family and trust that she is also in the family of God. Download and play Dani "My oom het n plaas in afrika"

    I'll have one more go at translating Afrikaans song lyrics here. I finally found a complete version of one of my favorite songs on YouTube Laurika Rauch - Stuur Groete Aan Mannetjies Roux. I think I'll do this one by paragraph; that seems to work better than translating each line separately.

    Stuur Groete Aan Mannetjies Roux
    Send regards to Mannetjies Roux

    My oom se motor is 'n ou masjien
    hy maak dit vol met dieselien
    en hy sing in die strate as hy ons kom sien
    my oom is oud en ek is skaars dertien

    My uncle's car is an old machine
    hr fills it up with diesel fuel
    and he sings in the street when he comes to see us
    my uncle is old and I am barely thirteen

    My oom drink koffie en my tannie tee
    ek vra oor die reën en hy sê ja-nee
    en hy drink soet koffie met sy een oog toe
    en hy praat weer oor die drie van Mannetjies Roux

    My uncle drinks coffee and my auntie tea
    I ask about the rain and he says "yeah"
    and he drinks sweet coffee with one eye closed
    and he talks about the three from Mannetjies Roux

    I'm unsure about the second and third lines here; I know "ja-nee" is a slang expression that is usually translated as yes but maybe in this context it means "whatever". I am also not clear about "toe", I think it supposed to mean he's going blind, but I'll have to look into this further. I chose not to translate the name Mannetjies Roux, I think it still makes sense though.

    Koor:(Chorus)
    O Stuur ons net so 'n bietjie reën
    my oom het 'n tenk vol dieselien
    en seën my pa en seën my ma
    en my oom op sy plaas in Afrika

    O send us just a little rain
    my uncle has a tank of diesel fuel
    and bless my pa and bless my ma
    and my uncle on his farm in Africa

    Maar my oom het gesukkel op die plaas
    want die son was te warm en die reën te skaars
    en die man van die bank het net sy kop geskud
    want my oom, ja my oom was te diep in die skuld

    But my uncle had struggles on the farm
    'cause the sun was too hot and the rain too scarce
    and the man from the bank just shook his head
    'cause my uncle, yeah my uncle was too deeply in debt

    My oom se motor is 'n ou masjien
    hy maak dit vol met dieselien
    en hy ry na lande in die oggenddou
    die lande vaal en sy oë grou

    My uncle's car is an old machine
    he fills it up with diesel fuel
    and he rides over the land in the morning dew
    the land is pale(?) and his eyes are old

    I don't know for sure what "vaal" means

    Koor:(Chorus)
    O Stuur ons net so 'n bietjie reën
    my oom het 'n tenk vol dieselien
    en seën my pa en seën my ma
    en my oom op sy plaas in Afrika

    O send us just a little rain
    my uncle has a tank of diesel fuel
    and bless my pa and bless my ma
    and my uncle on his farm in Africa

    En as jy in die oggend in die lande stap
    hoor jy nog sy motor met sy klak-klak-klak
    maar my oom, ja my oom se oë nou albei toe
    In sy brief stuur hy groete aan Mannetjies Roux

    And if you in the morning walk across the land
    you'll just hear his motor with it's click-click-click
    but my uncle, yeah my uncle's eyes are both closed now
    In his letter he sends regards to Mannetjies Roux

    I think the third line implies that the uncle is now blind

    Koor:(Chorus)
    O Stuur ons net so 'n bietjie reën
    my oom het 'n tenk vol dieselien
    en seën my pa en seën my ma
    en my oom op sy plaas in Afrika

    O send us just a little rain
    my uncle has a tank of diesel fuel
    and bless my pa and bless my ma
    and my uncle on his farm in Africa

    Lekker bly
    Mick

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  2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoJfwf0xdNg Dani can listen to the song here

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  3. The uncle committed suicide in his car and left a note sending his regards to Mannetjies Roux.


    The verse is:

    And if you walked in the field that day,
    You could still hear the car's motor clack-clacking away
    But my uncle's eyes were already closed
    In his note he sends regards to Mannetjies Roux

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  4. Eish... the song is told from the view point of the 13 year old niece. Her uncle is a farmer, a jovial man (he sings in the street when he visits his niece), he is married (the aunt likes to drink tea), the uncle likes to drink coffee (with one eye closed because he enjoys it so much) and the best moment in his life was when Mannetjies Roux (a RSA Springbok Rugby player) scored a brilliant try against the British Lions, thus when things get tough he recalls this moment as it brings him joy and sustains him. He is deep in debt (this tractor is old and the man from the bank refused another loan to the uncle, shaking his head) because it's not raining and the uncle is unable to plant any crops. He has all the resources to reap crops (tank full of fuel and the tractor on standby). When the niece asks him about the rain (as South Africans farmers always discuss this topic) he changes the subject (saying ja nee, south african slang to express a sense of hopelessness) to rather speak about the try of Mannetjies Roux (he is depressed about the drought, no money etc). When he goes to the fields in the morning, he sees it is still dry (where the crops are to be planted) he can only stare at it and is helpless, stressed and sad (his eyes are "grou" and the land is "vaal"). The last stanza is about the niece reminisce about still hearing her uncle in the fields even though he passed on (oë is albei toe, both eyes are closed) should you take a walk to the fields. It is open to interpretation if the uncle committed suicide or passed on from natural causes, (most likely suicide) but one thing we do know is that before he passed away he left a letter sending his regards to Mannetjies Roux (think of it as a thank you to Mannetjies for supporting him through tough times).

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