I come by it honestly

[gurdymonkey]

I received an email this morning from my Mom, informing me that my great aunt Trude passed away last night at the age of 101. (Not unexpected at her age, and she went peacefully.)  Attached the email was a compilation by my father of things she and my late grandmother Elly, were wont to say. I'm mortified to say I never learned any German, and they always spoke English to me, so I don't remember these gems as Dad does. I'm including the German, as allison_is  may find it interesting and have some comments on Dad's translations.

                     The Wit and Wisdom of Trude and Elly Joseph

Trude:

 Das Brod das ich esse, das Lied das ich singe. (The bread that I eat, so the song that I sing.)

Der liebe Gott ist mir nicht’s mehr schuldig. (The loving God no longer owes me anything.)

Sage mir mit wem du umgehst, dann sage ich dir wer du bist. (Tell me with whom you go about, I’ll tell you who you are.) 

Der Mensch ist ein product seiner Umgebung. (Man is a product of his neighborhood.)

Wie die Alten summen, so twitchen die Yungen.  (As the old sing, so twitter the young.) 

Bring dir self ein Fachelzug. (Bring along a Chinese lantern for your parade.)

Ich kann mein Soldaten nicht machieren lassen. (I can’t get my soldiers to march.)

Jeder Tag der gut rum ist kommt nicht bose wieder. (Every day that passes as a good one won’t return as a bad one.)

 Wo nicht’s ist, hatte den Kaiser sein recht’s verloren (Where nothing exists, Caesar has lost his rights)

 Fuert den Mann am Dangleband ohne das ehr es spuert.(Lead the man on a puppet string without him feeling it.)

Don’t worry. You will always get everything you need. (from a saved fortune cookie) 

Besser mit ein warmen hand als mit ein kalten. (T’s father) (Better [give] with a warm hand than with a cold one.)
 
Die first [then we can talk about it]. (Trude’s response when Arthur, her late husband, worried about what was going to happen to her should he die.) 

Pfunf minuten vor der Zeit ist Militarische Punktlichkeit (Arriving five minutes early is Military punctuality.)

Sach mir die Wahrheit, die Lugen mach ich. (Tell me the truth, I’ll make up the lies. The advice to his clients of a lawyer, Herman Reis, in Trude’s hometown of Vetter—who never lost a case.)  

 

Wenn gehst du in den Welt hinaus,
Dan ehre auch anderen Glauben.
Doch last doch deinen Herr und Gott,
From keinen Zweifler rauben.
 

When you go out into the world,
You should honour other people’s beliefs.
But don’t let any non-believer
Rob you of your Lord and God.   - Trude’s poem at her high school graduation
 

*Jeder Baum hadt seine Leiden, jeder Blume hadt ihre last. (sp.?) (Every tree has its suffering, every flower has its sorrow?) (Oct. 4, 2010)

 
Elly:

Und willst du nicht mein Bruder sein, So schlag ich dir den Schaedel ein. (And if you won’t be my Brother, I’ll smash in your skull.) 

*Ich liebe dich, was kostet das? (I love you—what’s it going to cost me?)

Kommt man ueber dem Hundt, dan kommt man ueber dem Schwanz. (If one can swallow the dog, then one can get over his tail.) 

Oser, sagt Schiller. (Hardly, says Schiller.)

 Auch gelochen. (Yet another lie.)

 Ein Geschenkten Gaul guckt man nicht ins Maul. (One doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.)

 Alle Sieben Schoenheiten. ([You’ve got] all the seven beauties.)

 *Wir haben es gut in Amerika. (We have it good in America.)

A sudden heart attack is a kiss from God.

 

 

Comments

[antoniseb.livejournal.com]

Nice collection!

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

I love "I can't get my soldiers to march."

[xrian.livejournal.com]

One I learned from a friend:

"Nur die dumm und die arme sind kalt." (Only the poor and the stupid get cold.)