| Traduzione bretone / Breton translation / Traduction bretonne... |
Penelope | Penelop |
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You, the model wife, the cricket of the hearth, [1] | Te, ar skouer d'ar gwragez, ar skrilh eus an oaled, |
you, without any snag or tear in your marriage gown, | n'az peus graet rog ebet ez sae eured, |
you, the uncompromising Penelope, [2] | te, Penelop, n'heller ket diheñchañ, |
When following the lead of your pleasant but absent husband, | tra ma 'z ez trankil gant hent an eürusted, |
don’t you ever, in all honesty, nurse | daoust ha ne vagez ket, kuit a pec'hed, |
some pretty thoughts that somehow sneak in, | ur gaer a soñjezon flodus bennak, |
some pretty thoughts that somehow sneak in? | ur gaer a soñjezon flodus bennak? |
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Behind your curtains, in your oh so proper world, | A-dreñv da rideozioù, e-barzh an endro dereat dit, |
awaiting the return of a suburban Ulysses, [3] | tra m'emaout en gortoz eus da Ulis eus a vannlev, |
leaning over your needlework, | stouet a-us da labour gwriat, |
on melancholy evenings of doom and gloom. | d'an abardaezioù a velkoni ha mennozhioù teñval, |
have you never, in dreams of the sky above another bed, | daoust ha n'eus ket, gwech pe wech, en oabl ur stel all |
counted some new stars, | niveret stered nevez, |
counted some new stars? | niveret stered nevez? |
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Have you never yet called out to the passing object | Daoust ha n'ez peus biskoazh hetet birvidik |
of your wishes, who takes you by the hair, | ar garantezig a dremen hag a grog en ho plev, |
who tells you nothing much, | a lâr deoc'h komzoù flour, |
who puts the daisy [4] into the kitchen garden, [5] | a laka ur boked-marc'harid el liorzh |
puts the forbidden apple onto the tree branches, | hag an aval berzet war skourroù ar werjez, |
and puts your lace clothing into disorder, | hag an dizurzh e-barzh ho tantelez, |
and puts your lace clothing into disorder. | hag an dizurzh e-barzh ho tantelez? |
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Have you never hoped to see again in passing | Daoust ha n'ez peus bet biskoazh spi da adwelout war da hent |
that angel, that demon, who, his bow in his hand, | an ael, an diaoul-se, e wareg en e zorn, |
fires malignant arrows, | a zistag biroù gwidreüs, |
who gives their female flesh back to the coldest statues, | a restaol o c'hig a vaouezed d'an delwennoù yenañ, |
topples them from their pedestals, shakes up their virtue, | o diskar diwar o sichoù, a bennbouzell o vertuz, |
tears their off fig leaves, [6] | hag a ziframm diganto o delioù-wini, |
tears their off fig leaves? | hag a ziframm diganto o delioù-wini. |
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Don’t be afraid that Heaven will hold it against you, | Arabat kaout aon na vagfe an neñv kas ouzhit rak-se: |
there’s truly nothing there for which to lash a heart [7] | n'eus abeg ebet da foetañ ur galon |
that’s taken in by bad arguments and goes wild! | a vale ar vro o c'haloupat. |
It’s a common fault and a venial sin, | Ur faot boutin eo se hag ur pec'hed veniel, |
it’s the hidden side of the honeymoon, | an tu kuzhet eus loar ar bichoned, |
and the ransome for Penelope, | hag he dic'haou da Benelop, |
and the ransome for Penelope. | hag he dic'haou da Benelop. |
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[2] In Greek myth, Penelope was the wife of Odysseus, who remained faithful to him during his absence for the Trojan war and a very long journey back home from Troy
[3] The Latin name for Odysseus
[4] Symbol of love
[5] Symbol of domesticity
[6] Literally:”grape” not “fig”
[7] The stock phrase “there’s nothing for which to lash a cat” means “it’s something too trivial to make a fuss about", and the change from “cat” to “heart” essentially keeps that meaning