Is that "don't"?

It's Cologne dialect German.

@FrayedBear Typo. Yes DON'T.

@FrayedBear Ah, Koln. Umlaut.

@rogerbenham ö - easy on the phone.

@FrayedBear I use my phone almost entirely as a phone. I am often a luddite.

I wanted to see if anyone else could understand the Colonge dialect. The translation is close but misses mark . What the translations cannot convey are the double meanings, is the satire and idioms of 1936

@vocaloldfart Sometimes these kind of songs written in the local idiom are virtually untranslatable into a different culture and language. Insider knowledge of local history and custom is required to appreciate fully….

@Marionville I understand and follow most of it, but the reference to Schmalz ... lard has me wondering who that refers too.Is it a fat politician? or covering oneself in lard to delay the cold of being immersed in the cold??
Carnival songs have always been noted for saying things that are never dared spoken the rest of the year.

@vocaloldfart I think it was most likely directed at some local dignitary or politician of the day. Satire was usually a strong basis for this type of song…topical at the time of writing it, but sometimes lost in the ensuing passage of time…

Here's a version with English translation line by line followed by an excellent explanation of this 1936 song. The song reminded of a wonderful folk song popularised I think by the Dubliners.

[beatcrave.com]

@FrayedBear Makes an excellent ringtone for your mobile. The chances that anyone having that particular song as a ringtone is unbelievably slim to non existent

@vocaloldfart I preferred a Lancashire clog dance or a wonderful shanty called "hang 'em Johnny" - both very loud. I used to get strange looks & mutterings at the supermarket checkouts when it rang!

@vocaloldfart

Hanging Johnny
Words by Traditional
Tune by Traditional

With a double pull, this shanty was probably used for the halyard or a long drag. A classic example of a 'stringing-out' shanty - one where the shanty singer could make up as many verses as required to get the job done. Sung at a session, it's important to read the room and think carefully about how many verses to include if there are lots of people who would like a sing - it would be totally historically in keeping to shorten (or even lengthen!) the song to match the occasion.

They call me hanging Johnny,

Away, boys, away!

They say I hang for money!

So hang, boys, hang down!

They say I hanged my mother,
My sisters and my brothers

They say I hanged my granny,
I strung her up so canny

They say I hung a copper,
I gave him the long dropper

I’d hang the mates and skippers,
I’d hang 'em by their flippers

A rope, a beam, a ladder,
I’ll hang ye all together

Hang 'em from the yardarm,
Hang the sea and buy a pigfarm

They say I hang for money,
I hang because it’s funny

They call me hanging Johnny,
Ain’t never hanged nobody