Testing ChatGPT's Translation Skills

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This is Irwin Goodman's (Antti Hammarberg) song A Working Man's Saturday that came out in 1965. The lyrics are by Vexi Salmi, a veteran writer of lyrics for Finnish language popular songs in his time.

Here's a translation by ChatGPT 3.5. I told it to make the translation laconic and understated, focusing on the repetitiveness and dullness of the working man's week. It think it fell somewhat short in that regard but it had to make it rhyme and it must have not been an easy task to translate these lyrics according to my specs. It rattled off each version in mere seconds. I think this is impressive, most impressive.

Verse 1:
At five it's sauna, at six it's cell,
A working man's Saturday, an empty shell,
At five it's sauna, at six it's cell,
A working man's Saturday, just another spell.

Verse 2:
On Sunday morning, back home he goes,
Chugs liters of water, no one knows,
Regrets his actions, in front of his wife he shows,
The hard work weighing heavy, sweat on his brow glows.

Verse 3:
Seven to four, day after day,
A working man's Monday, nothing to say,
Seven to four, it's the same old way,
A working man's Monday, just another gray.

Verse 4:
Every day at seven, off to work he goes,
Sweating for his loved ones, never a repose,
Rain or shine, the hard work never slows,
Until Saturday arrives, a chance to decompose.

Chorus:
At five it's sauna, at six it's cell,
A working man's Saturday, a routine to dispel,
At five it's sauna, at six it's cell,
A working man's Saturday, a break from the spell.

Verse 5:
Water's good, aspirin goes down,
The fog clears, wallet's wearing thin and brown,
Another week, the same old town,
Until Saturday arrives, to shake off the frown.

Chorus:
Hey, at five it's sauna, at six it's cell,
A working man's Saturday, a respite from the sell,
At five it's sauna, at six it's cell,
A working man's Saturday, a break from the spell.



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1 comments
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Wao! This is lovely
Thanks for sharing

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