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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Wo immer ich meinen Kopf spazieren trage

English translation:

Wherever I am, wherever I may be

Added to glossary by Tony Smith (X)
Aug 25, 2011 10:37
12 yrs ago
German term

Wo immer ich meinen Kopf spazieren trage,

German to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings author biog
Schreiben ist für mich einer umfassende Form der Lebensgestaltung geworden. **Wo immer ich meinen Kopf spazieren trage**, drehen sich meine Gedanken überwiegend um meine jeweiligen Buchprojekte.

This is from an author biog, where she describes her working methods. I can't quite put my finger on the tone of this phrase. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +6 Wherever I am, wherever I may be
4 +1 Whatever I am doing
4 +1 Wherever my body and brain may be (physically),
3 +1 wherever I put my hat
3 wherever my feet may carry me
3 No matter where I am......
4 -2 Wherever (else) I let my head wander to...
References
Where is my head?
Change log

Sep 21, 2011 10:53: Tony Smith (X) Created KOG entry

Discussion

Horst Huber (X) Aug 26, 2011:
It would be "eine umfassende", or "zu einer umfassenden", presumably? Too many answers already; I would have tried something like "wherever I take this head of mine ..."
Nicola Wood Aug 25, 2011:
with Nicole As Nivcole says, the meaning is that straightforward.
Nicole Schnell Aug 25, 2011:
About "spazieren tragen" Just think of "eine Uhr spazieren tragen", for example. Or a mobile phone. Anything that you carry around without using it actively at this very moment. That's how she refers to her head.
seehand Aug 25, 2011:
with Nicole that's the meaning
Nicole Schnell Aug 25, 2011:
It simply means: Wherever I go / wherever I am. It's that easy. Wherever the physical location of her skull with her brain inside might be. Wherever she might be on a walk, shopping, at work or traveling and her head with her brain inside is accompanying her because it happens to be firmly attached to her body. It must be taken literally, otherwise the intended humor goes down the drain. It has absolutely nothing to do with "mind" / "thoughts" / "wandering mind". I will leave the perfect wording to a native speaker of English, though.
Nicole Schnell Aug 25, 2011:
It simply means: Wherever I go / wherever I am. It's that easy. Wherever the physical location of her skull with her brain inside might be. Wherever she might be on a walk, shopping, at work or traveling and her head with her brain inside is accompanying her because it happens to be firmly attached to her body. It must be taken literally, otherwise the intended humor goes down the drain. It has absolutely nothing to do with "mind" / "thoughts" / "wandering mind". I will leave the perfect wording to a native speaker of English, though.

Proposed translations

+6
2 hrs
German term (edited): Wo immer ich meinen Kopf spazieren trage
Selected

Wherever I am, wherever I may be

Borrowed from:

Wherever I am wherever I may be
...
Wherever I go whatever I see

http://www1.poemhunter.com/best-poems/deepak-hariharan/where...
Peer comment(s):
agree Cetacea
42 mins
agree franglish : or "wherever I happen to be"
2 hrs
agree Nicola Wood
2 hrs
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : or "no matter where I may be"
3 hrs
neutral Rosa Paredes : This is correct, but does not capture the original.
12 hrs
agree keya (X)
13 hrs
agree kudozian (X) : @ Rosa Parades: How can this be correct, though it does not capture the original ?
21 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Sorry for delay in grading. Thanks everyone."
-2
1 hr

Wherever (else) I let my head wander to...

What it is really saying is : "(Regardless of )wherever (else) my head wanders to, my thoughts mainly still revolve around my current book projects".
Peer comment(s):
neutral Nicole Schnell : Actually, no. This is not what the German text means.
5 mins
disagree Sabine Akabayov, PhD : agree with Nicole
31 mins
disagree Cetacea : That is not what the German is saying.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

Whatever I am doing

Whatever I am doing, or whatever I am up to, is a very general way of expressing this, although the preceding/following text may call for something a little more specific.

Peer comment(s):
agree Cetacea
1 hr
Thank you Cetacea
neutral philgoddard : I think this is right, but it's a bit of a colorless rendition of the original.
2 hrs
Thanks Phil. I favour a solution though that doesn't focus purely on where the author is, but rather what she is up to as well. I admit, it's not as colourful as the original, but I can't be colourful all the time ;-). Back to my sashimi...
Something went wrong...
+1
2 hrs

wherever I put my hat

just a suggestion for a fairly colloquial expression meaning wherever I am / settle / choose to be...
Peer comment(s):
agree Rosa Paredes : This is precisely what came to mind ... Spot on.
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

Wherever my body and brain may be (physically),

my thoughts are on/preoccupied with/swirling around whatever book project I'm working on at the moment.

This is a rather literal, straightforward option. I'll try to think up a few more in a bit, but this is to get the ball (or your train of thought) rolling.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2011-08-25 12:43:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or simply:

Wherever I go, my thoughts...
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : I think your first suggestion is spot on, and I would include "physically".
3 hrs
Thanks, Phil.
neutral Rosa Paredes : Too literal. It misses the tone of the German expression, sorry.
12 hrs
I think you missed my explanation, where I basically say just that.
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

wherever my feet may carry me

Would be an equivalent. On the opposite side of the body... ;-)
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

No matter where I am......

Sounds a bit more English to me
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

6 mins
Reference:

Where is my head?

Peer comments on this reference comment:
disagree Nicole Schnell : The text contains the word "head". And it's available as a ring-tone. And it relates to the question exactly how?
56 mins
disagree Cetacea : Absolutely no connection.
2 hrs
disagree Ingeborg Gowans (X) : totally on the wrong track, sorry
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
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