HAVING A GO AT UNDERSTANDING AND TRANSLATING SWISS GERMAN
I haven’t read or heard much Swiss German in my life, but I know it’s definitely present in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36oMNe8nPGs This girl is Swiss and her name is Steff la Cheffe – she is more famously known for her beatboxing talents. And it’s her 31st birthday today, so… “Frohi Gibusstag, Steff”? I’m just guessing.
But I digress. It’s time I wrote a blog in which I have a go at rewriting this song in standard German, and then translating it into English. Odd as it may seem, while it’s easy enough to find the original lyrics of this song on Google in Swiss German, I’ve never seen them in standard German. And I’ve never found an English translation of these lyrics, either. Or maybe I’m just more fond of Steff than most people. How many people know Swiss German, after all?
Getting back to the topic at hand: I started with rewriting it in standard German, although I have to say that sometimes the choices I made were motivated more by best guess English translation of the German I agreed it most sounded like than by my reasoning what it must have been in standard German! And, the length of some of the bits in the standard German version that I wrote means that it’s not always possible to sing it to the rhythm provided like in the original Swiss German version. Anyway, here I go.
My standard German version
Anna Anna, Anna Anna, Anna Annabelle
Ich brauche neue Schuhe, ich brauche ‘ne Gucci-Tasche,
Ich brauche ‘ne neue Duft, ich kaufe Flaschen tüchtig,
Ich brauchen ‘ne schöne Maske, ich brauche Make-Up,
Ich brauche ‘ne neue Nase, wo die Augen abgehen,
Ich gehe zum Star-Friseur, mache meine Haare schön,
Waschen, schneiden, fönen, mache mir Strähne, das geht auch toll (waaa),
Ich brauche viele Tan, Bleichmittel kaufen,
Ich will viel waschen, mir reine Mittel kaufen,
Ich brauche Lotion gegen meiner Cellulite (waaa),
Ich brauche ‘ner Wunder-Büstenhalter, Type Gross (Muh)*1,
Ich brauche Diamante, ich brauche Bling-Bling,
Ich brauche Grills*2, brauche Ketten, brauche Piercing,
Ich brauche es in klassischem Schwarz, ich gehe zum Ausgang,
Ich brauche Herz*3, ich brauche Stärke*3, ich brauche Mustang*4,
Ich brauche Prestige, ich brauche Checks nicht,
Wie die Mädchen brauche ich es in Heftweite*5,
Ich habe ‘ne Freundin, ich habe Drama*6, wäge deine Freude und deine Form und dein Gala,
Frage dir Brigitte oder Petra, die wissen weiter bei jedem Thema (x2)
Anna Anna, Anna Anna, Anna Annabelle
Ich gehe aus*7 (oh nei)*8, ich muss abnehmen [lose weight],
Joggen gehen, walken, mit Hanteln,
Ich gehe auf das Laufband, ich finde es voll Fun,
Renne auf dem Steuer*9 mit einem Blick auf eine Holzwand,
Ich schlucke Vitamine, ich trinke Energie,
Werde “rein”, werde fit – ihre Therapie,
Gib mir das Schmerzmittel, die bittersüsse Pille,
“Nehmen her damit”, es passiert aus freiem Wille,
Ich brauche Mundschutz*10, es mich impfen lassen,
Gehe Schwein, gehe Vogel, gehe Pilze (Pilze? – ja!)*11,
Ich brauche Sicherheit, gib mir ein Microchip,
Gib mir meinen Namen, mini-Masse und eure Fingerabdrücke,
Ich brauche Kameras, ich brauche Stacheldraht,
Ich brauche einen Leibwächter, wer mir nachts umfahren (schützen) wird,
Ich muss Karriere machen, ich muss “Cheffe-Tage” schaffen,
And ich lege Nummer an [set the time?] wenn ich mit der Cheffe schlafe
Ich habe ‘ne Freundin, ich habe Drama*6, wäge deine Freude und deine Form und dein Gala,
Frage dir Brigitte oder Petra, die wissen weiter bei jedem Thema (x2)
Anna Anna, Anna Annabelle, Anna Anna (x2)
Die Annabelle habe ich gekündigt, sie ist nur meine Freundin,
Ihre Tipps sind mir zu bünzlig, ihrer Seite sind sie zu dünn gesehen*11 [coming from her, they look too weak]
*1 It’s a good job I checked this bit in the video – I mean, at first glance I thought the “Muh” bit represented the sound of a cute kiss – “mwah” – but, no, it’s the sound of a cow mooing for some reason…
*2 Known as fronts or golds, it’s basically dental jewellery, which is common in hip-hop culture; a bit like this music video, really.
*3 In the lyrics to this song that I consulted, I read only “(?)” in place of these two individual words. I’m pretty sure that they are “Herz” and “Stärke”, meaning “heart” and “strength” respectively (don’t forget that this is in a Swiss accent) – and maybe these are traits of the horse she refers to immediately afterward.
*4 Considering the short clip of Steff on the horse and the horse neigh sound, I’m guessing that Mustang is the name of the horse.
*5 The German expression I came up with here (which I made up) is supposed to mean “I must have it in my reach” – I decided for myself that “Heft” meant “grip / handle” and not “book”, like I was always told back in school.
*6 Think of this as more like “I have an act / my style”.
*7 I go out (in the sense of “I go outside” – she talks about getting exercise in the lines that follow).
*8 This was taken as an onomatopoeic interjection which doesn’t actually mean anything. Aren’t they common in lyrics anyway?
*9 Run on the wheel? Like a hamster? Fair enough.
*10 “Oral protection” should mean “gum shield” in this context.
*11 This is only my best guess. I don’t get it either, but mushrooms are a common sight around trees, and that man does peek out from behind that tree.
And now, my English translation, with explanatory comments where appropriate:
Anna Anna, Anna Anna, Anna Annabelle
I need new shoes, I need a Gucci handbag,
I need a new scent [i.e. perfume], I am astute / discerning with the bottles that I buy,
I need a new “mask” [i.e. face], I need make-up,
I need a new nose, from which my eyes lead off [or “which my eyes are farther away from”? I’m sure it’s a cosmetic thing I’m not acquainted with, but… who knows?],
I go to a star hairdresser, make my hair nice,
Washing, cutting, hairdrying, make streaks, that’s also great (waaah),
I need a lot of tan, to buy bleach,
I want to wash a lot [or rather, essentially, “have a really good wash” – most likely in the sense of with a luxurious and sumptuous bath and all the rest of it], buy pure substances,
I need lotion on top of my cellulite (waaah),
I need a wonder-bra, big size (moo),
I need diamonds, I need bling-bling [to those of you who don’t know, “bling” is a slang expression for expensive jewellery – unfortunately for Steff la Cheffe, it’s a popular expression with chavs],
I need grills, I need chains, I need piercing,
I need it in classic black, “I am emerging” [in this case, it’s hard to know whether “Ich gehe zum Ausgang” would be better translated as “I’m going out” or “I’m coming out”, or some select expression to the effect of either],
I need heart, I need strength, I need Mustang,
I need prestige, I don’t need cheques,
Just like the girls I must have it in my reach,
(Bridge)
I have a [strictly female] friend, I have an act, consider your friends and your shape and your appeal [even though, strictly speaking, “gala” means a big event which involves some sort of entertainment or performance – maybe a competition],
Ask Brigitte or Petra, they know more about this topic (x2),
Anna Anna, Anna Anna, Anna Annabelle
I go out (oh!), I must lose weight,
Go jogging, go walking, with dumbbells,
I go on the treadmill, I find it a whole lot of fun,
Run on the wheel with a look at a wooden wall,
I swallow vitamins, I drink energy,
Become “clean”, become fit – their therapy,
Give me that which makes me feel pain [i.e. “I’m not afraid of it” / “I can take it”], the bittersweet pill,
“And now take it”, it’s a free will thing,
I need oral protection, so that I may be immunised,
Do the pig thing, do the bird thing, do the mushroom thing (mushrooms? – yes!),
I need security, give me a microchip,
Give me my reputation, a really small weight and your fingerprints,
I need cameras, I need barbed wire,
I need a bodyguard, who will [lit.] go around me [i.e. to protect her] at night,
I need to make a career, I must create “Cheffe days” [remember what her name is!],
And I will set the time when I [lit.] “go to sleep with Cheffe” [in other words, go to bed / sleep]
(Bridge)
Anna Anna, Anna Annabelle, Anna Anna (x2)
I have discontinued Annabelle, she is just my friend,
Her tips are too petty-minded for me, coming from her they look too weak.
Evaluation: I have reasoned that this is a music video in which Steff la Cheffe talks about living a separate persona named Annabelle who is essentially materialistic and full of expensive tastes, and she believes that it all makes her popular, so to speak, but at the end of it Steff has learned to leave her behind and just be who she is and expect credit on her own merits – it’s about self-confidence – without pushing Annabelle down for being vacuous or fake. Yes, good work, Steff, well done. ?