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nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala - Ain't no mountain high enough

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:35 am
by jan Oweli
toki! mi ante e kalama musi "Ain't no mountain high enough" li wile kama jo e pilin pi sina mute.
Hi! I tried to translate the song "Ain't no mountain high enough" in toki pona and I would like to know how you find it. I'm new in toki pona, so it may contain a lot of mistakes. The * I put in the translation are when I struggled the most and I am the least sure.
I didn't really care about the musicality, but more on the meaning.

nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala, tan jan Marvin Gaye en jan Tammi Terrel

o kute, jan lili o, nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala
Listen baby, ain't no mountain high
supa ma pi lili pona li lon ala, telo wawa suli pona li lon ala, jan lili o
Ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough baby
sina wile mi la sina li lon ma ali anu weka la
If you need me call me no matter where you are
o toki weka mi, o monsuta lili ala, jan lili o
No matter how far, don't worry baby
o toki weka e nimi mi la mi li kama lon wawa
Just call my name I'll be there in a hurry
sina wile ala monsuta lili
You don't have to worry

tan ni, o jan lili: nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala
'Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough
supa ma pi lili pona li lon ala
Ain't no valley low enough
telo wawa pi suli pona li lon ala
Ain't no river wide enough
tawa ni: kama lon sina, jan lili o
To keep me from getting to you babe

o pilin tawa ni: tenpo suno pini la mi pana e lon pona* tawa sina
Remember the day I set you free
mi toki tawa sina e ni: tenpo ali la sina ken pilin pona tawa mi*, jan lili o
I told you you could always count on me darling
tenpo suno pani ni la mi pana e toki pi pakala ala*
From that day on, I made a vow
sina wile mi la mi li lon
I'll be there when you want me
kepeken nasin, kepeken nasin*
Some way, somehow

tan ni, o jan lili: nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala
'Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough
supa ma pi lili pona li lon ala
Ain't no valley low enough
telo wawa pi suli pona li lon ala
Ain't no river wide enough
tawa ni: kama lon sina, jan lili o
To keep me from getting to you babe

a ala, jan lili
Oh no darling
kon anu telo sewi
No wind, no rain
anu tenpo lete lete li ken ala pake e mi, ala, ala, jan lili o
Or winters cold can stop me baby, na na baby
tan ni: sina...
'Cause you…

Re: nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala - Ain't no mountain high enough

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:22 pm
by janKipo
Don’t need to repeat ‘suli’ ‘nena pi suli pona’ is "a high enough mountain”
vocative comes before the sentence, so start with ‘jan lili o,’ (strange rule but apparently firm.) same throughout. ‘jan lili o’ probably not quite what ‘babe’ is about; maybe ‘jan suwi’ or so.
prob ‘anpa pona’ for “low enough”, ‘telo wawa (or ‘tawa’) pi suli pona’
‘wile e mi’. “No matter where you are” =“ “Your location is not important “ ‘lon sina li suli ala’??
‘mute weka li suli ala tawa mi’ (to reduce ambiguity) ‘monsuta lili’ is a nice shot.
can’t have an imperative as ‘la’ clause. so ‘sina kalama e nimi mi la’
no ‘li’ with ‘mi' subject. ‘lon tenpo lili’ is clearer than ‘lon wawa’ for speed.
repeat above
‘tawa ni: mi kama ...’ I would use ‘pake’ here but you may not have it in your vocabulary yet. It means “prevent” so ‘ona li pake e ni: mi kama lon sina’ Note, otherwise you need a subject ‘mi’ with ‘kama’ and a negation.
“remember: ‘o awen e ni lon lawa’ ‘ni is actually ‘tenpo suno ni:’ "the day”and what is that day “I set you free on it” ‘mi ken e sina lon ona’
tp doesn’t do “trust” well, but maybe ’tenpo ali la sina ken sona e ni: mi pana e pona tawa sina’ “You can always be sure I will help you”.
not sure what ‘pani’ is supposed to be or work, maybe 'tenpo suno ali li kama la mi toki wawa e ni:’
‘sina wile e mi’
‘jan lili o, tan ni la’
prob. ‘jan lili o, ala a.’
‘kon ala en telo sewi ala (or, less surely, ‘kon anu telo sewi ala’)
‘tenpo pi lete lete’
OK use ‘anu and save the ‘ala’ for ken’ that works -- and I see you do have ‘pake’.
‘jan lilo o, ala. ala.
‘tan ni la sina...’

a bunch of fusbudgety rules wich are still rules, a few newby problems (‘mi li’’) but pretty good. Keep it up.

Re: nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala - Ain't no mountain high enough

Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 2:20 pm
by jan Oweli
Thanks! "pani" is just a typo, it's supposed to be "pini".
If I were to say something like "Listen to that, Greg", would I need to repeat "o" like that: "jan Greg o, o kute e ni" or is "jan Greg o kute e ni" ok? Last thing: you suggest to translate the "I set you free" part into "mi ken e sina lon ona" (if I understood correctly), but I don't really understand...

Re: nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala - Ain't no mountain high enough

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 7:34 am
by janKipo
The question about vocative + imperative is currently disputed. The full form is always safe, the abbreviated may be understood but misinterpreted.
‘ken e’ “cause to be able, enable, remove any forces against” ‘ken’ as a noun means, “freedom, etc.”

Re: nena suli pi suli pona li lon ala - Ain't no mountain high enough

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 6:31 pm
by jan Oweli
Thank you very much! I made corrections to the text.

nena pi suli pona li lon ala, tan jan Marvin Gaye en jan Tammi Terrel

jan suwi o, o kute. nena pi suli pona li lon ala
Listen baby, ain't no mountain high
supa ma pi anpa pona li lon ala, telo wawa pi suli pona li lon ala
Ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough baby
sina wile e mi la weka mute li suli ala tawa mi
If you need me call me no matter where you are
jan lili o, o kalama e nimi mi o monsuta lili ala
No matter how far, don't worry baby
sina kalama e nimi mi la mi kama lon tenpo lili
Just call my name I'll be there in a hurry
sina wile ala monsuta lili
You don't have to worry

jan lili o, tan ni: nena pi suli pona li lon ala
'Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough
supa ma pi anpa pona li lon ala
Ain't no valley low enough
telo wawa pi suli pona li lon ala
Ain't no river wide enough
ona li ken ala pake e ni: mi kama lon sina
To keep me from getting to you babe

o awen e ni lon lawa: tenpo suno ni: mi ken e sina lon ona
Remember the day I set you free
mi toki tawa sina e ni: jan lili o, tenpo ali la sina ken sona e ni: mi pana e pona tawa sina
I told you you could always count on me darling
tenpo suno ali li kama la mi toki wawa e ni:
From that day on, I made a vow
sina wile mi la mi li lon
I'll be there when you want me
kepeken nasin, kepeken nasin
Some way, somehow

jan lili o, tan ni la nena pi suli pona li lon ala
'Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough
supa ma pi anpa pona li lon ala
Ain't no valley low enough
telo wawa pi suli pona li lon ala
Ain't no river wide enough
tawa ni: kama lon sina
To keep me from getting to you babe

jan lili o, ala a
Oh no darling
kon anu telo sewi
No wind, no rain
anu tenpo pi lete lete li ken ala pake e mi, jan lili o, ala, ala
Or winters cold can stop me baby, na na baby
tan ni la sina...
'Cause you…