The materiality of music: interplay of lyrics and melody in song translation

Abstract

In this study, we use the concept of materiality to re-evaluate traditional approaches to song translation. Materiality conceptualises a text as a complex unity of matter, form, and meaning, and songs provide an example of the interconnectedness of a material text and its verbal content. In our analysis of Hank Williams’ song Ramblin’ Man and its Finnish translation, we utilise notation to illuminate the intricate relationship between the original melody and the translated lyrics. By showing how the Finnish song’s lyrics and melody have been shaped to support one another, we demonstrate how different translation solutions are not just attempts to replicate the source text’s meanings but factors in the interplay of language and its material medium. We argue that materiality enables an all-encompassing view on how different levels of meaning interact in a text and thereby allows translation studies to move beyond juxtapositions of semantic fidelity and interpretative adaptation.