How do you translate “Hamilton” into another language? That was the challenge faced by rapper-turned-songwriter Sela Finale and veteran musical theater translator Kevin Schroeder. They were asked to collaborate on the German version of the show for the first time in a language other than English.
The project turned out to be as complicated as they feared. Intricate rhyming schemes, elaborate wordplay, and so many songs. There were drafts, demos and revisions. Kurt Crowley, a member of the “Hamilton” music team, learned German to coordinate the process, and ultimately had to approve or reject each line by the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda. .
There are six lyrics that demonstrate some of the challenges the team faced when trying to keep the original meaning and melody, but written in languages with different sounds and syntax. The first line is the original English lyrics. The second is the German lyrics. The third is the so-called back translation. This is what the German word literally means in English.
avoid exaggeration
Burr: How do bastards, orphans, harlots and/sons of Scotland drop by Providence in the middle of forgotten/Caribbean spots, poor and filthy/and grow up to be heroes and scholars. ?
Burr: Wie wird ein Bastard/der vom Schoß einer trostlosen Dirne kroch/Aus ‘nem gottverdammten, verlor’nem Loch in der Karibik/Ohne Titel, ohne Mittel, ohne Werte/Am Ende doch ein Held und ein Gelehrter?
(How is it that this bastard/Crawled out of the lap of a desolate whore/Out of the hideous lost pit of the Caribbean/Without title, means, or merit/A hero and a scholar in the end?)
These are the first words of the musical’s opening song, “Alexander Hamilton,” which introduces the title character to his humble upbringing. The challenge here was to maintain the directness of the original lyrics without exaggerating claims or insulting the West Indies. The original proposed German lyrics refer to Hamilton as the esoteric word “Bastardblag” meaning “bastard brat”, his mother as “Hure” meaning whore, and the islands where Hamilton grew up as “filthy”. They called it “verdreckten”. Miranda thought the words went too far and asked him to hang up. “The first draft was almost Trumpish,” he said, alluding to the crude language the former president used to refer to Haiti, El Salvador, and several African countries. No. I didn’t want to comment on Nevis or St. Croix, it was a really small part of the world, an example of what could easily be lost in translation if you weren’t on board with it. “
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rap song quotes
Burr: Oh, you talked about me/I’m a trust fund, baby, you can trust me.
Burr: Schiess mich über’n Haufen, doch/Du bist’n Babe, ich möcht’ dein Badewasser saufen.
(Shoot me down but/You are a babe, I’d like to drink your bath water.)
The original “Hamilton” score contains many quotes from American hip-hop songs. Most of them were cut from the German version because the translation made them unrecognizable. However, to achieve the same effect, the translator inserted some quotes from German hip-hop songs into the German score. In the section of the song “The Skyler Sisters” in which Aaron Burr flirts with Angelica Skyler, where the translator inserts the phrase from 1995, meaning “You’re baby, I want to drink the bath water.” I found german songjacklerMiranda, who listened to all the quoted German songs before approving the quote, said she sees “Hamilton” as a love letter to hip-hop and musicals. He has said he sees hip-hop quotes as an entry point for some audiences. “Maybe a hip-hop fan who walks in with arms crossed hears those mentions and says, ‘OK, whoever wrote this clearly loves this culture and loves music,'” he said. “And we wanted to continue to reflect that.”
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new image
Angelica: So this is what it feels like to put wisdom together/with someone on your level! What the heck is a catch? / A sense of freedom, seeing the light / Ben Franklin with a key and a kite / Seen to the right?
Angelica: So kribbeln Schmetterlinge, wenn sie starten/Wir beide voll auf einem Level, offene Karten!/Das Herz in den Wolken, ich flieg’ aus der Bahn/Die Füße kommen an den Boden nich’ ran/Meinlieber Schwan!
(When the butterfly takes off, it tingles like this/We’re on the same level, all the cards are on the table!/My mind in the clouds, I’m off track/I feet not touching the floor / my dear) Swan! )
The original language is chock-full of untranslatable American tropes and idioms. So the translators were given permission to come up with their own phrasing. An example of this is from her song “Satisfied” where Angelica Skyler prepares to toast the marriage of Hamilton and her sister, remembering the first time she met him. The images are completely different (Ben no longer mentions Franklin in her), but the meaning remains. “That section sounds great and gives you the same feeling of falling in love for the first time,” Miranda said.
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prioritize meaning
Eliza: You lose all rights to my heart/You lose our bed place/You sleep in your office instead/Having only memories of when you were mine te/i hope you burn
Eliza: Du nahmst dir das recht auf mein Herz/Den Platz hier in unserem Bett/Ich lösch unser leben komplett/Dir bleibt nur die Asche/Du warst einmal mein/Ich hoffe du brennst
(You took the rights to my heart from yourself/Here in our bed/I’m wiping out our lives/All you’re left with is ashes/You were once was mine/I hope you burn)
There have been many moments of Miranda and others doing so. We allowed the German translator to bend the original meaning in order to preserve the lyricism and melody. But there were other moments when they argued for literalism, and the end of the song “Burn”, in which Eliza Hamilton expresses her anger at her husband’s infidelity, was one of them. I tried to get him to repeat “Brennan,” a shortened form of the word “burn,” throughout the song. However, that meant changing the last line of the song from saying “I hope you burn” to saying “This all burns”. Miranda rejected the idea, arguing that Eliza should direct her anger squarely at her husband, which is not quite an echo of the word used earlier in the song, but in its original meaning. Holds a certain “you burn”. “I really just wanted to make sure the last line was personal: ‘It’s not about the world, it’s about you. This is what you did and these are your results.'” said Miranda.
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Protection of choreography
Hamilton: Teach me how to say goodbye / Get up, get up, get up / Eliza
Hamilton: Weitergeh’n und Abschied nehm’n/Fly Sane, Fry Sane, Fry Sane/Eliza
(Move on and say goodbye/Be free, be free, be free / Eliza)
On the show’s penultimate song, “The World Was Wide Enough,” Hamilton dies. As the moment approaches, he paints his wife, repeating the phrase “stand up,” perhaps alluding to ambition, revolution, or perseverance. German translators initially suggested lyrics that maintained the internal prosody of the lyrics, but changed their meaning, using the word “reise” meaning quietly, and instead of “get up”, “Eliza beautifully reflected the name. However, choreographer Andy Blankenbühler objected, saying that maintaining the relationship between words and movements was more important because the movements of the moment made the ensemble more lively and “stand up” rather than “quiet”. The translators went back to the drawing board and came up with something less poetic but more protective of the dance concerns. So if the lyrics under the movement are changed, what adjustments need to be made?” Miranda said. “I try to keep those connections alive.”
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Pointed addition
Hamilton: America, great unfinished symphony you sent for me
Hamilton: USA, durch deine Brust pumpt Sklavenblut, Moral und Wut.
(America, slave blood, morality, and wrath are slammed into your chest.)
A German translator saw an opportunity to interpolate a reference to America’s troubled history of slavery. “Our version is kind of a German perspective on America,” said Kevin Schroeder, one of his translators. “He says ‘an unfinished symphony,’ but that also implies some flaws.”
Audio production by Arjen Mensinga and Josephine Sedgwick.