WELDON KEES

THE VIEW OF THE CASTLE

The castle is mortgaged now, my dear,

The mortgage is overdue:

The moat, the tower, the beautiful yards,

The silverware and the frightening guards<;

Although it's still on the postal cards,

The castle is mortgaged now, my dear;

They whisper its days are few.

The castel's been cracking for years, my dear,

And has not been properly cleaned;

The rooms are draughty and bring on colds,

The pantries are covered with unpleasent moulds,

It's thought rather queer the foundations holds

After so many years, my dear;

And it's best no to speak of the beams.

The princesse were whores, my dear,

The princesses were whores;

The queen looks on with unconcern,

The king tries hard to seem strong and stern,

Yet neither of them was much startled to learn

That the princesses were whores, my dear.

And the prince was covered with sores.

This is the castle then, my dear,

With its justly famous view.

There are other historic sights in store -

Battlegrounds, parks we might explore,

The hundreds of monuments to war;

Now that you've seen the castle, my dear,

We'll see them before we're through.

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A VISTA DO CASTELO

O castelo está agora hipotecado, minha cara,

A hipoteca está vencida.

A fossa, a torre, as belas cercas,

A baixela de prata, os guardas assustadores;

Embora ainda presente nas cartas postais,

O castelo está agora hipotecado, minha cara;
Murmura-se que tem os dias contados.

O castelo há anos que está cheio de fissuras, minha cara,

E não tem sido adequadamente limpo;

As salas têm correntes de ar e causam constipações,

As despensas cobertas de bolores desagradáveis,

Parece até estranho que os alicerces aguentem

Depois de tantos anos, minha cara;

E será melhor não falar das traves-mestras.

As princesas eram putas, minha cara,

As princesas eram putas;

A rainha repara com despreocupação,

O rei esforça-se por parecer forte e decidido,

Contudo nenhum deles ficou muito espantado ao perceber

Que as princesas eram putas, minha cara,

E o príncipe estava coberto de chagas.

É este, então, o castelo, minha cara,

Com a sua justamente famosa vista.

Há outros panoramas históricos disponíveis -

Campos de batalha, parques que se podem explorar,

As centenas de monumentos à guerra;

Agora que viste o castelo, minha cara,

Iremos vê-los antes de terminar.