Man, My Spellcheck Loves These...

Here's a fun A-B comparison, one written 750 years ago in another language and the other less than 100 and in imitation of another language. (Warning: there is some mild profanity, again - I try not to make a habit of it, but these things happen.)

Cuckoo Song

Anonymous (c. 1250)

  

Sumer is icumen in,  
  Lhude sing cuccu!  
Groweth sed, and bloweth med,  
  And springth the wude nu—  
          Sing cuccu!          


Awe bleteth after lomb,  
  Lhouth after calve cu;  
Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth,  
  Murie sing cuccu!  


Cuccu, cuccu, well singes thu, cuccu:  
  Ne swike thu naver nu;  
Sing cuccu, nu, sing cuccu,  
  Sing cuccu, sing cuccu, nu!  




lhude] loud.  awe] ewe.  lhouth] loweth.  sterteth] leaps.  swike] cease.







And you might not believe it, but Ezra Pound, that crotchety, pacifist anti-Semite, actually had a sense of humor about literature, whaddyaknow!

Ancient Music

Ezra Pound  

Winter is icummen in, 
Lhude sing Goddamm. 
Raineth drop and staineth slop, 
And how the wind doth ramm! 
Sing: Goddamm. 


Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us, 
An ague hath my ham. 
Freezeth river, turneth liver, 
Damn you, sing: Goddamm. 


Goddamm, Goddamm, 'tis why I am, Goddamm, 
So 'gainst the winter's balm. 


Sing goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm. 
Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.