There is a German lullaby with the line “tomorrow morning, if God wants, you will wake up again” and quite a number of kids worried “what if He doesn’t?”
It’s taking a song to an unintended implication. “All I want for Christmas is you” implies how important you are, not that you aren’t much. And the German lullaby implies that God will wake you up, not that he might decide not to. Another commenter pointed out that “if” could also be “when” so God will wake you when he sees fit.
This seems to be a mistranslation, because in German, “wenn” can mean both “if” and “when”, but it’s actually closer to “when”. If you really mean “if”, you use “falls” instead of “wenn”.
So the intended meaning is in fact “tomorrow morning, when God wants it (ie. at the time God wants it), you will wake up again”
I honestly never thought about it that way. It wasn’t sung to me when I was little and I only know it from people who misunderstood it. But it’s not closer to “when”. It’s the default for both. You can disambiguate it to “falls” or “sobald” but “wenn” is in both contexts the most common word.
I can’t argue with that, because the German “wenn” is definitely more ambiguous than the English “when”, but since it’s a lullaby, you kinda have to assume that perhaps it’s leaning more on the positive side, because who on earth would want their baby to die in their sleep?
If Germans really were this cruel, they would have been wiped off the face of the earth a long time ago.
because who on earth would want their baby to die in their sleep?
actually, this exact thought was really calming to me when i was a kid (yes, the song was sung to me too):
if i die, at least i die in my sleep, where i wouldn’t really be aware of it anyways, so i don’t have to care about it. it’s like, every human has to die sometime, but at least it can be in your sleep. and there’s nothing you can do about it either, so you don’t have to worry about it.
Since the song is quite old and “when” is the older meaning, there is a point to make about the intended meaning. What I took issue with was calling it a mistranslation and at least by now I think we agree it’s not
Used to say that as a kid. Catholicism is a fear thing. I don’t think much of it. I don’t think it’s particularly bad, just hey, if I choke on air tonight, bring me to the promised land! Unfortunately, this is it.
That’s why Metallica put it in their song “Enter Sandman”, which Motörhead later covered (I’m only saying that because I like the Motorhead version better)
This is even darker! The one I quoted is arguably just a filler to get enough syllables for the line. Depending on your image of God, it’s just “of cause he does”. Your version elaborates on the idea much more
@lugal@EfreetSK child mortality rates were pretty fucking high in earlier times. Around the time the original poem was published 40-50% of children under 15 died.
Only vaccines and modern medicine put this down to 4.2% globally in 2022, with the most developed countries reaching 0.3%
There is a German lullaby with the line “tomorrow morning, if God wants, you will wake up again” and quite a number of kids worried “what if He doesn’t?”
i don’t see in the slightest how that is related to the post?
It’s taking a song to an unintended implication. “All I want for Christmas is you” implies how important you are, not that you aren’t much. And the German lullaby implies that God will wake you up, not that he might decide not to. Another commenter pointed out that “if” could also be “when” so God will wake you when he sees fit.
aaaaaaaaaaaaah i got it (i think)
why is it that germany produces the wierdest stuff for kids like isnt there a kids show thats just a grumpy bread loaf wishing he could die?
Bernd das Brot doesn’t want to die. He just wants to be left alone and likes ingrain wallpaper
This seems to be a mistranslation, because in German, “wenn” can mean both “if” and “when”, but it’s actually closer to “when”. If you really mean “if”, you use “falls” instead of “wenn”.
So the intended meaning is in fact “tomorrow morning, when God wants it (ie. at the time God wants it), you will wake up again”
I honestly never thought about it that way. It wasn’t sung to me when I was little and I only know it from people who misunderstood it. But it’s not closer to “when”. It’s the default for both. You can disambiguate it to “falls” or “sobald” but “wenn” is in both contexts the most common word.
I can’t argue with that, because the German “wenn” is definitely more ambiguous than the English “when”, but since it’s a lullaby, you kinda have to assume that perhaps it’s leaning more on the positive side, because who on earth would want their baby to die in their sleep?
If Germans really were this cruel, they would have been wiped off the face of the earth a long time ago.
actually, this exact thought was really calming to me when i was a kid (yes, the song was sung to me too):
if i die, at least i die in my sleep, where i wouldn’t really be aware of it anyways, so i don’t have to care about it. it’s like, every human has to die sometime, but at least it can be in your sleep. and there’s nothing you can do about it either, so you don’t have to worry about it.
Since the song is quite old and “when” is the older meaning, there is a point to make about the intended meaning. What I took issue with was calling it a mistranslation and at least by now I think we agree it’s not
i think “wenn” is indeed translated as if, while “wann” is translated as when
or maybe people use the same word differently, i’m not sure
I grew up during the Cold War, close enough to NYC that if it was bombed, I’d be fried. So this sentiment definitely had real meaning as a kid.
Isn’t that a thing in English, too?
Still pretty messed up.
Used to say that as a kid. Catholicism is a fear thing. I don’t think much of it. I don’t think it’s particularly bad, just hey, if I choke on air tonight, bring me to the promised land! Unfortunately, this is it.
That’s pretty metal, heh
Literally. Metallica used this in their Enter the Sandman song.
That’s why Metallica put it in their song “Enter Sandman”, which Motörhead later covered (I’m only saying that because I like the Motorhead version better)
I like the Funktallica version
That sounds interesting, you got a link?
https://youtube.com/@conhuir
He funks up a bunch of metal bands, it’s good stuff
Ah that’s great thanks!
It’s AI though, which to some people is probably fine, but I can’t unhear the uncanny valley.
Ah jeez, I didn’t even notice. Fuck that shit, I officially hate it.
That was the reference I was making, yeah
This is even darker! The one I quoted is arguably just a filler to get enough syllables for the line. Depending on your image of God, it’s just “of cause he does”. Your version elaborates on the idea much more
With music composed by Brahms.
@lugal @EfreetSK child mortality rates were pretty fucking high in earlier times. Around the time the original poem was published 40-50% of children under 15 died.
Only vaccines and modern medicine put this down to 4.2% globally in 2022, with the most developed countries reaching 0.3%
That is to say… that poem had a point.
yup. childhood mortality was so high that average lifespan was 40-ish years, but life expectancy at age 20 would be 60-70 years old.