Dead Kennedys - Kill the poor Translating is always betraying
I’m presenting again (lucky me!) my little free and unfaithful translation column (more interpretations than translations), language – even when it’s the one you happen to have been born with – is a barrier and communication is just a utopian wish; so take this stuff, which we only call translation out of convenience, with a grain of salt.
The good
@[imasoulman], speaking about Hüsker Dü, reminded us that punk (and its various derivatives & offshoots) wasn’t just about shouting, speed, and horrible haircuts but that beyond the breakneck pace there were often lyrics as well. People like Rollins Band, Clash, Fugazi, Crass, Minor Threat, Flux of Pink Indians and many others had a lot to say, like Jello Biafra who has always had a sharp tongue (and also a background of good reading, apparently. Here, for example, he quotes the as witty as little-known "A Modest Proposal" written by Swift in 1729)
Dead Kennedys - Kill the Poor
Once again we are messengers of Efficiency & Progress, right now that we have the neutron bomb. Which is nice, fast, clean and solves problems, frees you of too many enemies but without damaging property. Sure, it makes no sense in war but it works perfectly to clean up the problems at home
The sun shines, shines on this brave new day. No more taxes for public welfare, horrible slums burned in a flash of light, millions of unemployed suddenly wiped out. In the end we’ll have more space to do our own things. Tonight everything is ready to eliminate the miserable and the penniless—
Kill, kill, kill the poor
Kill, kill, kill the poor
Let’s kill them all tonight
Here pops the champagne: the crime rate is zeroed, you feel free again. Oh, life is a dream with you, Miss Pure White Trash and Jane Fonda, from the screens, have convinced liberals that everything is fine. So let’s get dressed up and dance all night while they eliminate, take out, kill all those bums
Kill, kill, kill the poor
Kill, kill, kill the poor
Let’s kill them all tonight
