Translate to English
Song About a Rich Man Up for Auction
- I saw a rich man being auctioned
- by a dealer who called out loud,
- "What do I hear for a rich man?",
- but not a buyer could be found
- who wanted him at any price.
- "For that man there," they all cried,
- "we wouldn't put a nickel down."
- Anyone there could tell you why
- the task of the auctioneer was futile:
- the rich man never learned a trade,
- and who would pay for a useless fool?
- He doesn't do any kind of work
- that might to a buyer be of worth,
- nor can he fix the simplest food.
- When they put him up for sale,
- indeed they asked the man himself,
- "Well, rich man, what can you do?"
- "Nothing at all," the rich man said:
- "I hate to work and hate to spend,
- although I do like buying land,
- if you have any you'd like to sell."
- After they had heard all this,
- not one man or woman present
- offered even the slightest pittance.
[English version by Richard Zenith]
