Maybe I misunderstood, but weren't participants supposed to ensure they were OK with the copyrights of the lyricist, composer and performer? Just wondering, since the translator's note states the song was in the top ten in 2007.

Cathy, this seems to be the relevant information in the instructions for the contest:

"The Bake-off Staff is reasonably confident that the educational and non-commercial nature of this event falls under the Fair Use provisions of copyright law. We will attempt to make entries invisible to search engines so that the audience is limited to the Eratosphere community. However, please be aware that if you chose to translate a song that is not in the public domain, and you have not secured the permission of the copyright holders (lyricist and composer), there is a possibility that your entry may be removed at their request."

Susan

"analyze the question’s core"--This is the only line that doesn't ring true. I love the idiomatic spin on the refrain line. I can imagine Loudon Wainwright III doing justice to this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5OBf29s3W8

"I am a man, I'm a caveman," is off meter.

"In my bed, or on the trail," is too far off from "Dans la chambre, dans le salon".

"And I am master of fire, and master of games." lacks the internal rhyme of "C'est moi le maître du feu, le maître du jeu".

"A boar at bay while beagles bawl./ Look across the freak show rail:" is too far off from "Comme une erreur de la nature/Sur la terre, sans d'autres raisons."

Finally, but not exhaustively for the whole, the final stanza bears little resemblance to the French.

I did enjoy your damned entertaining inventive version nonetheless.

I prefer "Cro-Magnon man" to caveman. It ties in more with the evolution motif, and is more specific: i.e., we are Cro-Magnon, but cavemen could have been other types, Neanderthals for example. Besides, I like the sound of it. And it's what the original says.

Since the first Cro-Magnon skeletons were found in France, "Cro-Magnon" is more French, too.

Let me start by apologizing for my lateness in commenting on all these delights--I have been swamped at work.

I like this, but I have one major caveat: my French is not so great, but isn't "King of shame" a very feeble substitute for "Roi des cons"? (The DG seems to have the same feeling. Perhaps something like the "king of shits"?) Indeed, overall I have the feeling the original has an intensity and anger that is muted in the translation.

Kudos to the yodeler for a fantastic job.

Thumbs up to "I chase my tail," a phrase interesting enough to serve as a refrain. Nice job with a text whose loose organization presents some challenges. I didn't have any trouble with "king of shame." "King of shits," while maintaining the cuss-word impact of "roi des cons," actually sounds a a bit lightweight to me in English--the kind of insult one would use casually, rather than as a pungent condemnation. But maybe I just hang out with too many people who cuss too much.

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It occurred to me that one might be able to get the obscenity back into the refrain (while preserving both meanings of it in French) by saying "I'll duck blame for being a dunce / I am king, the king of cunts." (Sorry, it's all that translating of Martial--I am always finding ways to preserve the obscenity).

Susan