# Artists who insist on singing their songs in the wrong language **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141 "2003-01-07T13:02:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/21 "2003-01-09T17:48:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minor7flat5 \* > **Do any of you native Germans or German speakers prefer the German version of The Beatles’ “She Loves You” over the English version?** > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Knighted Vorpal Sword_ > **It goes the other way as well. The Beatles recorded both “She Loves You” (Sie Liebt Dich) and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand). They were OK in German, but just don’t have the same flow that they have in English.** Ahhh… Someone answered this one! I always wondered if it had the flow. How was their accent? ---
**Author:** ![Sagasumono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Sagasumono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sagasumono)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/22 "2003-01-09T18:05:39Z")
High Priestess I agree and feel your pain. Don’t even ask about Puffy’s (no not puff daddy’s) U.S. release. Kuraki Mai also did an english relase album to little fanfare, and in fact for some reason the sound quality not of her voice per se, but of the music was totally subpar to her Japanese release. Toshinobu Kutoba is a mixed bag. I know he speaks Enlish fluently, but when he sings in English, he still has this horrible lisp sounding accent with his words. He’s done three english release ablums, and his last one wasin’t bad, but I would have much preferred the JPN version. His Sunsine Moonlight one sucked though,except for his Just the Two of Us Rendetion. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/23 "2003-01-09T20:10:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > \*\*It’s always the right thing to do, as long as the “wrong language” is German. > > My favourite is probably Johnny Cash’s german version of “I Walk The Line.” > > Petula Clark’s “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” works great in german, too. \*\* I suggest you listen to “Helden” (“Heroes”) by David Bowie. I heard it on a friends collection set (4 CD’s back in the late 80’s, spaced the name). I really liked it. RTOP: I’d also say that I only like a few artists who do this, but I’m not against it completely. I’ve just recently heard those Russian girls “Tatu” sing “All the things she said.” (Which, btw way is a great video) and would have to say that they pull it off. But some of the local Czech bands I hear fail miserably… -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/24 "2003-01-10T03:17:55Z")
I agree with **moodtobestewed** - _99 Luftballoons_ sounds better in German, even though I can brely understand it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/25 "2003-01-10T13:31:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > \*\*I was going to bring up ABBA. They never would have reached superstardom if they had stuck to English. > > \*\* Crappers! I meant if they had stuck to Swedish (preview is your friend). ABBA has done covers of their own songs in Swedish, also Spanish, and some German and Waterloo in French. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/26 "2003-01-10T16:15:36Z")
Edith Piaf singing in English sounds forced and somewhat mangled, but I still like it. I prefer hearing Brazilian singers sing in Portuguese, but it doesn’t hurt the music too much when it’s sung in English. I cannot ABIDE English translations of Italian opera. It sounds wrong and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/27 "2003-01-22T20:39:46Z")
I’m reminded of the very distracting English version of _Ave Maria_ that closes the original 1940 film **Fantasia**. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/28 "2003-01-23T00:35:01Z")
One thing I noticed on the _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_ soundtrack is that the ending song, the one that plays over the credits, sounds much better in Chinese\* than in English. I’m not sure why. [sub]\*Disclaimer: I only call it Chinese because I’m not sure whether it was in Mandarin or Cantonese or what. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/29 "2003-01-23T00:39:23Z")
Good GOD people. The disparaging of [Till Lindemann](http://www.geocities.com/jarbabyj/wwtd/wwtd.html) in this thread simply will not stand. Don’t you know the man can hear you? ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/30 "2003-01-23T01:55:28Z")
I found Engel to be better in German than in English, though the English one wasn’t too bad. It just seems to work better in German. ---
**Author:** ![CakeOrDeath666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CakeOrDeath666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CakeOrDeath666)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/31 "2003-10-31T12:54:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Bas \* > \*\*Rammstein in English was definitely not a good idea. \*\* I second that. I’ve heard Engel done in English, and it was nowhere near as good as the original. I think it’s because their accent suits that type of music a lot more than English. Till Lindemann’s voice is amazing, but in the English versions it just sounds…silly. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/32 "2003-10-31T13:00:01Z")
With a very few notable exceptions (e.g. certain versions of _The Port of Amsterdam_ and _If you go away_), anything ever translated from the work of Jacques Brel. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/33 "2003-10-31T13:55:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*With a very few notable exceptions (e.g. certain versions of _The Port of Amsterdam_ and _If you go away_), anything ever translated from the work of Jacques Brel. \*\* Most people don’t realize that the really cheesy song “Seasons in the Sun” (Oh you know, the one that starts: “Goodbye to you my trusted friend” and has the chorus “We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.”) is actually a Jaques Brel song from 1961 called “Le Moribond”. And of course this gives me an opportunity to use my signature. ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Interior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@Lux\_Interior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Interior)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/34 "2003-10-31T14:13:10Z")
Sie liebt dich ja ja ja Sie liebt dich ja ja ja Sie liebt dich ja ja ja jaaaaaaaaaaa Just doesn’t sound right! ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/35 "2003-10-31T14:24:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Equipoise \* > **I cried with despair when Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins > started singing in English. (I still love them though)** Allegedly, Fraser _always_ sang in English, at least some of the time–it was just impossible to understand her. Her singing only became more intelligible after she apparently took speaking lessons, some time before _Heaven or Las Vegas_. That’s the story I read in _NME_, anyway…probably not the most authoritative of sources. ---
**Author:** ![emulsified](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emulsified/32/2915_2.png) [@emulsified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emulsified)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/36 "2003-10-31T14:43:54Z")
Re the OP… I love the song Dindi, in fact it was the first dance song at my wedding (it has the added bonus of only being about two minutes long, I’m no public dancer). However, the only version I’m familiar with is done by Astrud Gilberto and is in English. I think it’s a beautiful song. So I guess different strokes for different folks. Of course, I would love to hear the Portuguese version as well, and I will look for it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/37 "2003-10-31T15:01:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mycroft Holmes \* > **Most people don’t realize that the really cheesy song “Seasons in the Sun” … is actually a Jaques Brel song from 1961 called “Le Moribond”.** That’s actually the one I had in mind when I wrote my post. **Lux Interior** , your Beatles translation is not a million miles from: Ich lieb dich nicht du liebst mich nicht Ich lieb dich nicht du liebst mich nicht Da da da… ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/38 "2003-10-31T15:34:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by High Priestess \* > \*\*The ending to the game Kingdom Hearts was originally called “Hikari” (light) sung by Utada Hikaru in Japanese; for the US release of the game, they had her sing it in English. Her accent is fine, but the song went from being sweet and romantic to… something else, and was renamed “Simple and Clean.” I’ve no idea why. I can’t _stand_ the English version. \*\* Utada Hikaru was partially raised in the U.S. and and released a stateside album of songs that she wrote and sung in English before she ever recorded in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/39 "2003-10-31T15:36:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > \*\*Crappers! I meant if they had stuck to Swedish (preview is your friend). ABBA has done covers of their own songs in Swedish, also Spanish, and some German and Waterloo in French. \*\* And ditto for Bjork and the Sugarcubes. They should have stuck to singing in Icelandic. Those sellout hacks! ---
**Author:** ![Lucki\_Chaarms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lucki\_Chaarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucki_Chaarms)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141/40 "2003-10-31T15:50:15Z")
I dunno, I love the German version of “Get Back” by The Beatles. It’s just so bizarre, it’s perfect in its own way. It’s sort of surreal, especially because the pronunciation is so awful, it sounds like cartoon Germnan. LC [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-insist-on-singing-their-songs-in-the-wrong-language/147141.md?page=3)