Here's how I'd translate the phrase above myself:

An rud a chuirfeadh i gcontúirt mo bháis mé, cuireann sé beocht ionam.

I'm basing it on your most recent post (nothing wrong with some of the previous translations).

lit: That (the thing) which would put me in mortal danger (danger of death), (it) puts life into me (enlivens/invigorates me).

Except that in the original, it's almost definitely a drugs reference -- it's not the risk of death you get with extreme supports, it's the slow, continual poisoning of drugs that is going to end up burning up the brain and/or body. Not risk, but certainty. The guy knows it's killing him, and he knows it's not living, but it feels like living because the high's so powerful -- and in fact it is the only way to feel alive, given how many of his serotonin receptors will already have been destroyed by the drugs. It's a very specific perception of reality that has been crafted personally by the author to concisely describe why drug dependency is more than mere addiction.

How do you capture all that in a different language, with different nuances, different subtleties, different preconceptions? It's pretty much impossible.

In essence, then, whatever you end up with doesn't have any value as a translation, but is rather a "token" -- it represents the original not through expressing the same meaning, but through the requester's association of the two. As such, then, it is only one step away from nonsense, and you'd often be just as well writing it as "blsweir sdkjfal;uiow afakeu aoerja" and saying it means it just because you want it to.

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A language belongs to its native speakers, and when you speak it, you are a guest in their homes.
If you are not a good guest, you have no right to complain about receiving poor hospitality.

My apologies, a Néill - if I had read previous posts more carefully, I would have understood that it was meant to be a translation of a song lyric. I simply took the last post at face value - my mistake.


How do you capture all that in a different language, with different nuances, different subtleties, different preconceptions? It's pretty much impossible.

Fair enough. Sometimes equivalent phrases/concepts can be found in different languages and cultures which come close to being identical but many phrases and concepts defy accurate translation and only really make sense in a particular language, culture, context, and environment.

And honestly I know this. I am simply trying to get something that makes sense as closely as possible. I now have 4 suggestions. I am going to choose what fits best in the areas that I am going to put it. If I list these 4 suggestions, would you be willing to double check spelling and your interpretation? I wish I could pay you for this, lol.

Thanks
Chris

This one would be the best one for splitting (at the comma obviously OP). But still it's not half and half like it is in English- so it remains uneven.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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1. An rud a chuirfeadh i gcontúirt mo bháis mé, cuireann sé beocht ionam.


2. Cuireann na rudaí a bhfeadfeadh mé a mharú beocht ionaim.


3. Gach rud a mharódh sé mé

cuireann sé an-bheoga mé


4.Cibé rud a mharódh mé
is é an rud a ghríosaíonn mé.

spell check and your interpretations of these

How about:

An rud a chuireann chun báis mé, cuireann sé beocht ionam. literally "The thing that puts me to death, (it) makes me feel alive."

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).