361 The Lieders a the Old World (Li Soprani der Monno Vecchio)
Translated by Peter Nicholas Dale
 
Wunce upon a time from his palatial hall a king
Pud an edict out f’ris peoples ut sed: “Hey yu chaps!
I'm me, got it?, an yu lot ain’ wirth a fucken thing,
Ya bunch a slaven arseholes: so shutcha traps.
 
I get the strait ta bend over, an I straiten up the bent,
I can hock the lottayez f’ra bob or two adda throw:
An if get yez hanged id ain’ crueldy: ’cos, ya know,
Life an properdy’s jus stuff I pud up fa rent.
 
Anywun on this planet, if he ain’t a King,
Or if he lacks a title like ‘Emp’ra’ or ‘Pope’,
That fellah can’ ever have a say in anything.”
 
His hangman wen’ out with the edict ta size up folks’ views
N’ grilled ev’rywun as t’w its tenor, fa the inside dope,
N’ t’wa man they all ansered back: “It’s true. Yep, it’s true.”
 
2/5/2000
The sonnet is translated into "Strine", the dialect spoken in Australia down to the 1960s.