[Martin Rocek]

I am going to go out on a limb and basically on the basis of the irreverent comment in the crib and the absence of a comment, I'm going to propose Brian Allgar as the brave man who took on Francois Villon's "Ballade des dames du temps jadis". My other guess for Brian would be "Le Chat Noir".
I'm probably way off, but Marion, now you are not on your own!

p.s. OK--Brian just commented on the Villon, so that was wrong. Presumably the other guess is also wrong, since he said he knows of two mistakes.

[Michael Cantor]

I'm not a translator, but I'll guess that the Secret Yodeler is Kathleen Fitzpatrick (Bill Lantry's wife.)

[Brian Allgar]

Well, I don't want to give any games away, but I can say that, thanks to information to which I am privy, there are at least two wrong guesses and one misapprehension so far.

[Catherine Chandler]

I thought the Yodeler was either Kate Fitzpatrick Lantry or Claudia Gary. Maybe the name I left off my list was Charles Martin.....

[Marion Shore]

My first thought for the Yodeler was Julie Steiner. She's mentioned being a singer, and refers to it in some of her poems. She also hasn't been participating very much in this competition. On the other hand, it seems to me the yodeler has an East Coast American accent, and I know Julie lives in California, though that's not necessarily where she hails from. Anyway, whoever she is, I'm a fan.

[Ann Drysdale]

I think the TSDG has two heads.

[Brian Allgar]

Originally Posted by Ann Drysdale

I think the TSDG has two heads.

And so it proved to be, O Oracular One.

[Michael Cantor]

I didn't participate in the discussions because I don't translate and never know what to say about translations - possibly because I can't bear to share the credit - but I must compliment Julie on the sophistication of the way the competition was set up and managed, the gigormous amount of time it took, the depth of her comments, and - of course - her wonderful singing voice. I'm in awe!

[Roger Slater]

I had no idea that Julie could sing like that! Wow. What do we find out next? That she's also an Olympic swimmer?

Beyond talent, there's the hard work. In addition to what's been posted, Julie took the time to record and comment on non-finalists such as myself. It was so much fun to hear mine sung so well, though it made it that much clearer why it wasn't picked as a finalist. The finalists were all so much better than what I sent in, and all of them quite impressive.

[Martin Rocek]

Let me echo all the praise to Julie and add some of my own. Though I knew she was the Yodeler, I did not suspect that she was the DG as well. She did a fantastic job. Wonderful! And let me also thank everyone who participated, either by submitting a translation, or by commenting. I really enjoyed every contribution, and appreciate all the time you spent.

Again, thank you all and in particular, thank you Julie!

Martin