barley drink, the beer vat
the whiskey vat, the wine
it wraps us in a happy mood

the whiskey vat makes my heart sing
a wine jug makes my house
a welcome house, a warm house

my heavy mug is filled
with beer, my brown bottle
carries beer from the vat
filled with purest water, grain
and yeast transmogrified

all the beautiful bottles are prepared
for you

may the heart of God
favor you, may the eye of the whiskey vat
be our eye

let the heart of the beer vat
be our heart, what makes your heart
feel joy
makes my heart feel joy

this is a happy mood, our hearts
are full of joy

pour your pleasure out
upon a stone, like wine
a fated stone, and you have laid
a glad foundation, a solid footing
where you build your peace

prosperity is built here

may God be with you
he will pour spirits
and wine for you
let the sound of pouring beer
resound in you

in my brewery there is good beer
I will keep the cupman
standing ready as I spin around
in lakes of beer
feeling wonderful, drinking beer

a blissful mood, my beer joy

exhilaration fills my heart,
contents my liver
my heart is a heart filled
with joy

I clothe your liver
in the raiments of a king

Venus is happy, the moon is happy,
the wind is happy, the daughter
of the moon is happy again

07/13/2007

Author's Note: years ago, I stumbled across an ancient Sumerian drinking song (http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr55a.htm) - written about 4500 years ago. Just for fun, I did a liberal rewrite. Then forgot about it. Today, I tripped over my version again, did a little editing, and now have posted it here. The gist of the Sumerian original is pretty much all over this rewrite, though quite a bit has changed. I still think it's a fun poem, though more than a bit hedonistic. Cheers!

Posted on 07/13/2007
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