Martinex1: Here it is Tuesday again and time for
Follow the Leader. In the last two weeks we've had the far-ranging topics of Paste Pot Pete and Frankenstein, so you can see almost anything goes today at BitBA! This continues to be one of our most popular days for conversation - and it all begins with you!
So kick us off, join in, leap on, and enjoy the fun!
19 comments:
Which songs do you like in a language other than English ? Pop songs, folk songs, opera arias...in any language except English.
I can't think of many pop songs not in English but here are some that come to mind:
"Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco (obviously includes some English such as the title).
"Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus" by Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg - banned by the BBC in 1969 for being too naughty and suggestive but it still reached #1 in the UK singles chart (the BBC ban helped - eventually they realised that banning records was counter-productive).
"Joe Le Taxi" by Vanessa Paradis - a UK top ten hit in 1988.
I could include "99 Luftballoons" by Nena but in Britain the song was released in English as "99 Red Balloons" and was #1 for 3 weeks in February/March 1984 - I wonder if it would have reached #1 if released in the original German, as it was in most other countries ?
Other kinds of songs:
Opera arias: I like Baroque music and especially Handel. Some really nice arias by him include "Va Tacito", "Ombra Mai Fu" and "Lascia Chio Pianga" all in Italian.
Christmas Music: "Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen" by Michael Praetorius. Also "Still, Still, Still", "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" and "O, Tannenbaum" all in German.
A few years ago I heard a beautiful song sung in Welsh but I didn't have a clue what it was about :)
I like the Police song “Hungry for You” and the Stranglers’ “La Folie” - both with French lyrics.
I still don’t know most of what is sung, but I like these anyway.
And of course “99 Luftballons” by Nena which was played frequently back in the day in both the English and German versions.
I'd never heard "99 Luftballoons" in German until I watched it on YouTube just a few months ago.
99 Luftballons was the first thing I thought of.
Also enjoy Ritchie Valens' La Bamba.
Colin! Outstanding question to pull me out of the winter-time blues!
From Germany, I've always loved Frankreich, Frankreich by Black Foos! Which is about France. "Baguette, cigarette, Jeanette, Claudette.,, ohhh la la la la la!"
Next up Italy.
I'm a big fan of 'Ca Plane Pour Moi' by Plastic Bertrand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTo79sPCVXA
And Arlo Guthrie's performance of the African folk song 'Guabi Guabi' was a favorite of my childhood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVcV38R7oxM
Ciao!
The whole world lives Toto Cotugno's L'Italiano, from1983, no?
Also I really enjoyed Gianna Nannini's hits in the 80s like Bello Impossible and Un Regazzo Come Te!
Interesting topic, Colin!
I always liked Domenico Modugno's "Volare"; a nice Italian classic. In the 70's, there was "Eres Tu " by Mocedades: loved that song, especially as I was taking Spanish at the time in Middle school.
In the 80s:the flip side of Peter Schilling's single "Major Tom" featured the song in German. That was pretty cool...
Yeah, 99 Luftballons and Der Komissar were the first ones that came to my mind. I've heard some pretty good renditions of Volare. There's a Georges Brassens song called Gare au Gorille (Beware the Gorilla) that's hard to understand because he sings so fast, but if you read the lyrics it's hilarious.
What?!? No “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco?!? (I preferred Der Komissar) !
Does the song from Dr. Seuss’s Grinch count - the one the “Whos” sing? I still don’t know what they are saying. I assume it’s not English which was the only criteria “wah-hoo foris wah-hoo foris”??!?
Feliz Navidad!
Oh Jeez Colin - you had “Amadeus” in your first sentence. Not sure how I missed that!
Oh, and there was a song featured on "Mad Men" all in French: "Zou Bizou Bizou" I believe it was. A pretty steamy performance...
Vive la France!
Colin you made my day with Joe Le Taxi!!! One of my French favorites! 3 cheers for Vanessa Paradis!
If I stay in the Bronze Age i would recommend Rita Mitsouko's "C'est Comme Ca!" Good stuff!
I don't think I could name a favorite. I listen regularly to FIP Radio France at work and that has a nice international mix. I confess to being a sucker for French pop music, though, and the last album of it I bought was Christine and the Queens.
Lastly, I think the most recorded / popular song in the world is "Parole, Parole" (Words, Words).
Originally written in Italian but released a year later in 1973 in French by Dalida, it went on to be a top hit in Europe, Japan , Mexico, etc. and has been recorded in every language I think. Anyhow I've really enjoyed Dalida's version over the decades.
It's probably a song everyone should listen to, just for one' down cultural education (hopefully I don't sound snooty).
Thanks for all the comments :)
I forgot about "Fernando" by ABBA - the chart hit was in English but they also did a Spanish version as an album track.
Almost all my picks are in German. For no particular reason...
Like almost everybody, I remember 99 Luftballons in the early or mid 1980s. I'm pretty sure it was on MTV.
Peter Gabriel re-recorded an entire album -- his 2nd or 3rd -- in German. I distinctly remember his "I Don't Remember" from the German release. He also recorded "Here Comes the Flood" in German (that may have been a separate project with Robert Fripp).
More obscure: Jefferson Airplane's "Bark" album had a song by Grace Slick called "Never Argue with a German if You're Tired."
Grace Slick (famous for White Rabbit and Somebody to Love) also recorded a very long song that was half Spanish and half English on her 1973 solo album, "Manhole."
Finally, I'm surprised that nobody's mentioned The Beatles! The recorded "Sie Liebe Dich" (She Loves You) and "Komm, gib mir deine Hand" (I Want to Hold Your Hand) in German as a thank-you to their German Fans who helped them get started in their early days in Hamburg. These two songs appeared on the American (U.S.) release, "Something New."
That's all I've got, except, of course, the previously-mentioned "Feliz Navidad." If I'm not mistaken, it was written by Jose Feliciano...
Terry in Virginia
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