Axel Fischer - Amsterdam

[elebl]

This is a catchy club hit. As such, it is highly repetitive.

I'm not 100% with this translation. If you have any corrections or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Iffy spots in the translation have been marked with an asterisk (*).

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Traum von Amsterdam
Dream from Amsterdam
* Der die Hoffnung nahm
that took away [my] hopes.
Allein in einer fremden Stadt
Alone in an unfamiliar city,
Allein in Amsterdam
alone in Amsterdam.

Traum von Amsterdam
Dream from Amsterdam
* Der die Hoffnung nahm
that took away [my] hopes.
Allein in einer fremden Stadt
Alone in an unfamiliar city,
Allein in Amsterdam
alone in Amsterdam.

* Heut' sag' ich, es war einmal
Today I say, once upon a time,
Märchen voll Angst und Qual
fairy tales full of fear and torment,
Elfen, Prinz und gute Feen
elves, [a] prince and good fairies
* War'n für uns nicht vorgeseh'n
weren't designated for us.

* Halt mich, hast du oft gesagt
"Hold me," you've often said.
* Wie, hab ich dich dann gefragt?
"What?" I would then ask you. [It could be "How?" as well, but it didn't seem to flow as well with the song.]
Liebe hat total versagt
Love's totally failed
In Amsterdam
in Amsterdam.

Komm wir fahren nach Amsterdam
Come on, we're headed/driving towards Amsterdam.
Ich weiß, dass uns nichts passieren kann
I know that nothing can happen [between] us.
Du und ich, wir ham's doch im Griff
You and I, we've got it licked.
* Dabei saßen wir längst auf dem sinkenden Schiff
In doing so, we've long sat on [this] sinking ship.

Bleib doch, hab ich noch gesagt
"[But] stay here!" I've still said [further].
* Wie, hast du mich dann gefragt?
"How?" you've then asked me.
Liebe hat total versagt
Love's totally failed
In Amsterdam
in Amsterdam.

Traum von Amsterdam
Dream from Amsterdam
* Der die Hoffnung nahm
that took away [my] hopes.
Allein in einer fremden Stadt
Alone in an unfamiliar city,
Allein in Amsterdam
alone in Amsterdam.

Regenbogengold
We wanted
Haben wir gewollt
[the] gold [at the end of the] rainbow. [I switched the translations of these two lines to fit with English word order.]
* Rote Rosen soll'n vom Himmel fallen
Red roses [should] fall from heaven [for us],
* Und nie verblüh'n
[but they] never bloom.

Komm wir fahren nach Amsterdam
Come on, we're headed/driving towards Amsterdam.
Es war klar, dass ich dich nicht halten kann
It was clear, that I couldn't hold [onto] you.
* Liebe hat sich den Starken gewählt
Love's chosen [for itself] the strong [ones].
* Verloren, wenn man zu den Schwächeren zählt
[You're] lost if [you] count the weaknesses.

Bleib doch, hab ich noch gesagt
"[But] stay here!" I've still said [further].
* Wie, hast du mich dann gefragt?
"How?" you've then asked me.
Liebe hat total versagt
Love's totally failed
In Amsterdam
in Amsterdam.

Traum von Amsterdam
Dream from Amsterdam
* Der die Hoffnung nahm
that took away [my] hopes.
Allein in einer fremden Stadt
Alone in an unfamiliar city,
Allein in Amsterdam
alone in Amsterdam.

Regenbogengold
We wanted
Haben wir gewollt
[the] gold [at the end of the] rainbow. [I switched the translations of these two lines to fit with English word order.]
* Rote Rosen soll'n vom Himmel fallen
Red roses [should] fall from heaven [for us],
* Und nie verblüh'n
[but they] never bloom.

Traum von Amsterdam
Dream from Amsterdam
* Der die Hoffnung nahm
that took away [my] hopes.
Allein in einer fremden Stadt
Alone in an unfamiliar city,
Allein in Amsterdam
alone in Amsterdam.

Regenbogengold
We wanted
Haben wir gewollt
[the] gold [at the end of the] rainbow. [I switched the translations of these two lines to fit with English word order.]
* Rote Rosen soll'n vom Himmel fallen
Red roses [should] fall from heaven [for us],
* Und nie verblüh'n
[but they] never bloom.

Traum von Amsterdam
Dream from Amsterdam
* Der die Hoffnung nahm
that took away [my] hopes.
Allein in einer fremden Stadt
Alone in an unfamiliar city,
Allein in Amsterdam
alone in Amsterdam.

A-M-S-T-E-R-D-A-M
A-M-S-T-E-R-D-A-M

[Bernd]

Traum von Amsterdam
Dream from Amsterdam

I'd say dream of Amsterdam.

* Der die Hoffnung nahm
that took away [my] hopes.

I think you can be literal here, saying that took away the hope

Ich weiß, dass uns nichts passieren kann
I know that nothing can happen [between] us.

"to us"

* Dabei saßen wir längst auf dem sinkenden Schiff
In doing so, we've long sat on [this] sinking ship.

"dabei" isn't temporal here. It's preceding a contrary point of view of something. It could be translated "yet still" or "however".

* Rote Rosen soll'n vom Himmel fallen
Red roses [should] fall from heaven [for us],
* Und nie verblüh'n
[but they] never bloom.

it is one sentence. And it's verblühen, which is the opposite of blühen (bloom). Red roses shall fall from the sky and never wither/fade.

* Verloren, wenn man zu den Schwächeren zählt
[You're] lost if [you] count the weaknesses.

"zu jmd. (einer Gruppe) zählen" is "to count among sb. (a group)" or as this expression, I think, is more common in German than in English simply "be among". So it's "lost, if you are among the weak"

[amaryn]

Hi!

Have a look at Jacques Brel: "Dans le Port d'Amsterdam".
A better song about Amsterdam doesnot exist.
Translations of the song are probably available at Forum too.