Folks, I’ve got some new auctions on eBay this week: lots of rare, signed, first edition horror and science fiction books by J. Michael Straczynski, Weston Ochse, J.F. Gonzalez, Wayne Allen Sallee, Yvonne Navarro, and more!
Check them out here. Bid early and often — the auctions end Saturday, October 7th!
There’s a danger in translating foreign language song lyrics into English. It loses some of the magic. We all felt a little disappointed when we learned the English translation of “Du Hast,” or “99 Luftballons,” or, really, any Falco song. But I got it in my head that I wanted to know just what Korean pop star PSY was singing about in the recent viral phenomenon “Gangnam Style” (click if you haven’t already seen the hilarious music video), so here it is. This is what he’s actually singing, translated into English:
Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style
A girl who is warm and humanly during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist
I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensible girl like that
I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
You know what I’m saying
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
Still confused? I am! Luckily, there’s a cultural (“Oppa” means older brother!) and geographical (Gangnam is a territory in Seoul!) explanation of the lyrics to be found at Business Insider.
(Also, for fun, here’s an equally hilarious “Gangnam Style” parody by the Oregon Duck.)
This actually exists on the wall of the new National Opera Center in New York City.
Click the picture to embiggen.
There are certain places you expect to find spelling and grammar failures. The menus of restaurants run by people who have English as a second language. Rushed, poorly produced print ads. Homemade signs. One place you don’t expect to find blatant failure, however, is a literary festival. And yet, that is exactly where I found this eyeful, spotted among the food trucks at the Brooklyn Book Festival.
“Bake potatos.” I don’t even know where to start.
