Books like Pippi in the South Seas

My favourite bit is the song "Sjörövar-Fabbe" - though, as Gulla points out below, this isn't actually in the book, only the movie. It's about Pippi's great-grandfather, Fabbe, who despite being a fearsome pirate has a tendency to become seasick any time the waves get a little rough. Most Swedish three year olds can sing the refreshingly simple chorus: "Oj, oj-oj-oj, oj-oj-oj!" If you're curious, you can hear Drängarna singing it on Youtube.I wondered how difficult it would be to convey to non-Swedish-speakers just what a fine song this is. After a day's thought and experimentation, I have a literal translation, based on the one produced by Google Translate, and a non-literal translation which tries to capture the spirit of the original at the cost of taking great liberties with the text. I feel I have a better understanding of what Nabokov went through when he produced his famous translation of Eugene Onegin: there isn't any satisfactory solution even for a good nursery rhyme, so think how infinitely worse it must be when you're dealing with a book-length literary masterpiece.Anyway, here are the results of my little exercise. I should add that tjohej hadelittan lej doesn't mean anything at all; it's just a piratey chant put in for onomatopoeic effect. I've followed Vivi's suggestion of replacing this with the phonetic English "Joey had a lit an' lay" in the non-literal translation.Original text Sjörövar-Fabbe, farfars far,är minsann en sjusärdeles karl,kring alla hav han far och far,tjohej hadelittan lej.Sjörövaryrket passar´n bra;"De är bara att röva och ta,och de", sa Fabbe, "gillar ja",tjohej hadelittan lej.Men då...vad står på?Fabbe blir plötsligt blek och grå!Oj då!Vad står på,oj oj oj oj oj oj oj!(Oj oj oj oj oj oj oj!)Sjörövar-Fabbe, farfars far,är minsann en sjusärdeles karl,men han är sjösjuk alla da´r,tjohej hadelittan lej.Stormen ryter och åskan går,havet brusar och seglena slår,ner i kajutan Fabbe går,tjohej hadelittan lej.Kräks och svär och mår inte bra."Bättre väder det vill jag nog ha,annars", sa Fabbe, "slutar jag",tjohej hadelittan lej.Men då...vad står på?Fabbe blir plötsligt blek och grå!Oj då!Vad står på,oj oj oj oj oj oj oj!"D´ä nåt ingen mänska förstår,varför alltid så illa jag mår,bara båten guppar och går,tjohej hadelittan lej."Sjörövar-Fabbe, farfars far,är minsann en sjusärdeles karl,men han är sjösjuk alla da´r,tjohej hadelittan lej.Literal translationPirate-Fabbe, great-grandfather,is indeed a TERRIFIC manaround all the seas he sails and sails,tjohej hadelittan lej.The pirate profession suits him well;"All you have to do is steal and take,and that" said Fabbe, "I like",tjohej hadelittan lej.But then ...what's going on?Fabbe suddenly becomes pale and gray!Oops!What's the matter,ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!)Pirate-Fabbe, great-grandfather,is indeed a TERRIFIC manbut he is seasick every day,tjohej hadelittan lej.The storm roars and lightning strikes,the sea growls and the sails flap,down in the cabin goes Fabbe,tjohej hadelittan lej.He vomits and swears and does not feel good."Better weather, that's what I want,otherwise", said Fabbe, "I'm quitting"tjohej hadelittan lej.But then ...what's going on?Fabbe suddenly becomes pale and gray!Oops!What's the matter,ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"It's something no human being will understand,why I always feel so bad,just because the boat's bobbing around,tjohej hadelittan lej."Pirate-Fabbe, great-grandfather,is indeed a TERRIFIC manbut he is seasick every day,tjohej hadelittan lej.Free translationOld Pirate Fabbe, grandad's dadToughest guy the family ever hadOut on the ocean he's scary and badJoey had a lit an' lay."Pirate life is perfect for meGrab people's stuff and push 'em in the seaThat," says Fabbe, "'s what I like to see"Joey had a lit an' lay.But... no way!What didya say?Why's Fabbe gone all pale and gray?No way!What didya say?oj oj-oj-oj oj-oj-oj! (Oj oj oj oj oj oj oj!) Old Pirate Fabbe, grandad's dadToughest guy the family ever hadBut he gets seasick and that makes him madJoey had a lit an' lay.The wind comes up, now don't dare laughSoon as the storm's gone a minute and halfHe's in the bathroom, 'cause he's gotta barfJoey an' a lit an' lay.Crawls to his bunk, lies down for a bitYells at the crew who couldn't give a shit"Fix that wind or I'm gonna quit!"Joey had a lit an' lay.No way!What didya say?Why's Fabbe gone all pale and gray?No way!What didya say?oj oj-oj-oj oj-oj-oj! I don't understand, you'll have to explainThree puffs of wind and a little spot of rainHe's in the bathroom, barfing again!Joey had a lit an' lay.Old Pirate Fabbe, grandad's dadToughest guy the family ever hadBut he gets seasick and that makes him madJoey had a lit an' lay.