| C'ERA UNA VORTA UN RE ... | ONCE UPON A TIME ... |
| Giuseppe Belli | tr. Leonard Cottrell (from the Roma dialect) |
|
C'era una vorta un Re cche ddar palazzo manno ffora a li popoli st'editto: "Io so io, e vvoi nun zete un cazzo, sori vassalli bbuggiaroni, e zzitto. Io fo ddritto lo storto e storto er dritto; pozzo venneve a ttutti a un tant' er mazzo; Io, si vve fo impicca, nun ve strapazzo, che la vita e la robba Io ve l'affitto. Chi abbitta a sto monno senza er titolo o dde Papa, o dde Re, o dd'Imperatore, quello nun po ave mmai vosce in capitolo." Co st'editto anno er boja pe ccuriero, interroganno tutti in zur tenore; e arisposeno tutti: E vvero, e vvero. |
Once upon a time, a king saw fit to send this proclamation through the land: "I am I, you vassals aren't worth shit - that's how it is, so kiss my royal hand! I'll have you as I want you, straight or bent, or sell you off in lots, so much a pair, and if I have you hanged, it's only fair - you never owned your lives, you only rent. Shut up and bow - there isn't any hope I'd listen to some turkey-brain like you unless he's Emperor, or King, or Pope." And then he had his hangman take a poll to see how folks reacted, on the whole. And all the people said: It's true, it's true. |
For more of this translator's work see: http://planck.com/rhymedtranslations/versetrans.htm
Trans. copyright © Leonard Cottrell 1999