Fun_People Archive
30 Jan
The splendid artistry of Babelfish applied to the Beatless

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 98 14:24:18 -0800
To: Fun_People
Precedence: bulk
Subject: The splendid artistry of Babelfish applied to the Beatless

[AltaVista has a translation utility that it's testing as a utility to its
 search engine.  People have been finding all kinds of games to play with it.
 It's, of course, a terribly difficult task to do well, especially where
 language-dependent or even culture- or age-group-dependent idioms are used.
 Where might that be particularly tricky?  How about popular songs?  -psl]

Forwarded-by: Avram Grumer <avram@interport.net>
Forwarded-by: "Kevin J. Maroney" <kmaroney@crossover.com>
From: rec.puzzles:
Subject: Beat-less Songs

The following pieces of text are all first lines of Beatles tunes that
have been translated into French, then back into English, then into
German and back, by the free (beta) translation service at
<http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com>.

1. If it gives for which to some extent, you require, if there is,
   load something I then to form me even in, and I send to you with
   the love of me him.

2. I was, I made an idiom, I not only knew, which there I would find.

3. I it is come the lucky discovery itself during the time from
   Marymutter of the trouble to the house of the words, which speak
   about the intelligence, disappear they left.

4. I has a girl or would have it, that the legend of I to have it has
   me in the past in the past to have.

5. When I age you and destroy my hair, much years henceforth,
   nevertheless, send you a Valentine me, the greetings of the
   birthday, bottle wine?

6. The expensive OH that the inscriptions of I, the baby in the blue
   black those and of me the preserve of feeling, to me the OH
   explains, that I then to form?

7. I am connection by the drilling, which the rain uses and stops my
   wandering spirit where it will disappear.


Can you puzzle out what the original songs were, before they got
transmogrified?

And (harder) can you sing these words to the original tunes, with a straight
face?

Mike Williams
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