Plattdeutsch Video

An amusing video from Youtube. A stickup artist walks into a convenience store with a gun, demanding money. The clerk responds in Plattdeutsch (Saxon), which he does not understand. A Swat team bursts in, demanding in Plattdeutsch that he drop his gun. He again does not understand, does not drop his gun, so they blow him away. The moral of the story is that fluency in Plattdeutsch could save your life. This is of interest to those who want to know what the saxon language sounds like.

Two Suennermarten songs

As I mentioned before, Suennermarten is St Martin's day, a holiday where we children would walk from farmhouse to farmhouse with lit lanterns, begging treats by singing certain songs. As before, I am forced to endure the lack of umlauts on this keyboard by typing an "e" after the vowel. Here are two of the songs:

Matt'n, Matt'n Heern

Matt'n, Matt'n Heern,
de Aeppel un de Beern,
de freet ik ja so gern.

Laat mi neet so lange Stahn,
Ik mutt ja noch nach Bremen gahn.
Bremen is ne schoene Stadt,
de hett fuer alle Kinner watt.

Roughly, in English ( can't get it to scan. Maybe if I worked on it longer?)

Martin, Martin Lord
the apples and the berries
those I eat so gladly

Don't let me stand so long,
I still have to go to Bremen.
Bremen is a beautiful city,
that has something for all children.

Kip, Kap, Koegel

Kip, Kap Koegel,
Suenner Martens Voegel,
Suenner Martens dikkebunk
Steckt sien Kop to 't Fenster uut.

Schipke van Mariken
Lett sien Seilen striken,
Seet sien Seilen up de Topp.
Gaefft mi wat in'n Rummelpot,
'n Oortje or 'n Appel.

Laat me neet so lange stahn
Ik mot noch'n Huus wieder gahn.

Hier waant de rike Mann,
De mi woll wat gaeben kann.
Voeael kann he gaeben,
Lang soll he laeben.

Wenn he kumt to't Starben,
Sal he de Himmel arben.
Gott sal him belohnen,
Mit hunnertdusend Kronen.

Mit hunnertdusend Klockies dran,
Dor kumt Suenner Marten an.
Hurra!

In English

Kip, Kap Koegel
Saint Martin's birds,
St Martins big fat bed
Sticks his head out the window.

Ships from Mariken
Let your sails strike.
Set your sails up to the top.
Put something in my rummelpot,
a penny or an apple.

Don't let me stand so long,
I still want to go to another house.

Here lives the rich man,
Who can give me something.
Much he can give me,
Long shall he live.

When he comes to dying,
Heaven he shall inherit.
God shall reward him,
With hundredthousand crowns.

With hundredthousand cookies then,
There will come saint Marten.
Hurrah!