# Foreign language song that moves you... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2017, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974 "2017-02-04T06:21:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/61 "2017-02-07T22:01:20Z")
How could I forget this one: [Ievan Polkka - Loituma](https://youtu.be/1ygdAiDxKfI) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/62 "2017-02-07T22:28:18Z")
Some foreign songs that don’t necessarily “move” me, but I at least like the sound of: [Sentimental Journey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy7YkF5kvKM) by Yuki (largely for the video.) [Had Gadia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzgQi2SAByA) by Chava Alberstein [Kaze no Toori Michi](http://thebest4thebest.com/video/x2asyb7) by Horishita Sayuri. [Under the Blue Sky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzI_5HPTNVQ) by The Indigo [Gentle Feelings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1QJ56BINLw) by Chara [This song](https://youtu.be/YFVC_Ktge7Y?t=3700) from the movie Naisu no Mori (around 1h02m into the movie, if the direct link doesn’t work–but watch the whole movie.) (There were others I wanted to post that YouTube has apparently made a concerted effort to scrub away.) ---
**Author:** ![Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Last_Glacial_Maximum)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/63 "2017-02-08T02:39:20Z")
“El Gran Varon” by Willie Colon. At the time I first heard the song in the late 80’s, I was still learning Spanish… I actually looked up the lyrics and was happy that I was correct in my understanding of the song. All these years later, my wife and I still listen to it from time to time. . ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/64 "2017-02-08T02:55:21Z")
[Plaisir d’amour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMvtkI8eBJE), here performed by Nana Mouskouri. There are many recordings of this song, and my favorite is by Jean Redpath (in a medley of similarly-themed songs), but I can’t find it on line anywhere. The melody of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is based on “Plaisir d’amour.” [Águas de Março](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1b9RK10JI) in the original Portugese by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/65 "2017-02-08T06:45:21Z")
[Olvidala](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4czHAzh5xbk)- a duet in Colombian Vallenato style. The title translants as “Forget her!” It is an upbeat yet plaintive song, with the lead pining for his lost love and his friend urging him to forget her. I first heard it when I first met my own Colombiana, the now **Mrs Iggy**. She was a bit \*horrified \*that I so liked the song and took the role of the lead when singing it. [spoiler]The song seems routine enough until the next to last verse when the countering voice starts… ```auto Spanish Translation Mira que tú jugaste a dos amores Look, you played with two loves Cuando lo eras todo en sus miradas When you were everything in her eyes ... ``` It’s a song sung by a lead who is a two timing cheat lamenting that his girlfriend dumped him and moved on to another guy. [/spoiler] My Spanish has much improved since then. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/66 "2017-02-08T22:05:02Z")
On the album Rock en Español, Vol. 1, Los Straitjackets teamed up with Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos and Big Sandy for Spanish covers of classic rock songs. My favorite, which gives me goose bumps when I hear it is [Dame Una Seña](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OkpL7BkrzI). Also great are [Hey Lupe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiQBgyBAzkk) and [La Hiedra Venenosa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJiJhw2yPdE) It’s an awesome album all around. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/67 "2017-02-08T22:14:35Z")
Peaceful, calming and beautiful, [Flower Duet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qx2lMaMsl8). ---
**Author:** ![Sandwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@Sandwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwood)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/68 "2017-02-13T01:08:49Z")
Some personal favourites: [To nie ptak - Kayah & Bregovic](https://youtu.be/nVgK42rFxwU) (Polish) [Velha chica - Dulce Pontes & Waldemar Bastos](https://youtu.be/gQxZTqMI_iU) (Portuguese) [A csitári hegyek alatt - Oi Va Voi](https://youtu.be/U9RgXSUZtO4) (Hungarian) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/69 "2017-02-13T02:47:26Z")
I recently uncovered these two and sent them to my sister, who agreed that they have stupendous voices, so I’ll share them with you. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9l8ghAxFCb8?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLA34046A4B9425E66 https://www.youtube.com/embed/sx3kec6I3V4?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLA34046A4B9425E66 ---
**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:** [February 13, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/70 "2017-02-13T14:48:58Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > [Águas de Março](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1b9RK10JI) in the original Portugese by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim. Jobim’s been mentioned in a few posts since I introduced him in post #12. Amazing talent. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/71 "2017-02-14T06:15:25Z")
Let me introduce you to Marie-Jo Therio. She’s French-Canadian, from Moncton, New Brunswick, about 200 miles east of where Maine ends. (I used to live there, and probably knew her family, but I was long gone before she was born.) She does her own thing. She sits at the piano and sort of lays out whats on her mind, it goes where it goes and ends when it ends. No musical structure, a refreshing unpredictability. There’s a pretentious cafe in Moncton called Cafe Rodinson, on Robinson Street, where old ladies eat quiche, and she tells us that a guy invites her to lunch there, but she’s a free spirit, and “Holy Shit”, this is not the life for her. “I want to draw birds that come from places you don’t even know.” This song was a landmark in the development of my appreciation for music. I love it, I love her. Holy shit. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fC3eUxbMsrc/hqdefault.jpg ""Le café Robinson" - Marie-Jo Thério") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC3eUxbMsrc) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/72 "2017-02-14T07:15:47Z")
[https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;\_ylt=A2KIo.CDqqJYdggAg7xEnIlQ;\_ylu=X3oDMTBzM3UzbjRzBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMTA-?p=la+mer&vid=93d2ef19ed161d840e2d9c7de5fcb814&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.V7708981ec5e9bcc622cf9dc89a5a020d%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D240%26w%3D424%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4dZVvW44\_RY&tit=Charles+Trenet+-+La+mer+(live)&c=9&h=240&w=424&l=251&sigr=11bhb97b5&sigt=10ucau99h&sigi=1325asa87&age=1273407713&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yfp-hrmob&hsimp=yhsm-att\_001&hspart=att&type=att\_smartphone\_homerun\_portal&tt=b](https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KIo.CDqqJYdggAg7xEnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBzM3UzbjRzBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMTA-?p=la+mer&vid=93d2ef19ed161d840e2d9c7de5fcb814&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.V7708981ec5e9bcc622cf9dc89a5a020d%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D240%26w%3D424%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4dZVvW44_RY&tit=Charles+Trenet+-+La+mer+%28live%29&c=9&h=240&w=424&l=251&sigr=11bhb97b5&sigt=10ucau99h&sigi=1325asa87&age=1273407713&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yfp-hrmob&hsimp=yhsm-att_001&hspart=att&type=att_smartphone_homerun_portal&tt=b) La Mer ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/73 "2017-02-14T09:44:18Z")
[Purposefully misuderstanding “moves”] I can DJ, show me your moves! (Hopefully these aren’t singing about torturing puppies, I really couldn’t tell for sure.) [Borhesia - Ni Upanja Ni Strahu (No Hope No Fear)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJsaWXt9GqM) Slovenian [Mueran Humanos - El Círculo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxO-ops0cGc) Spanish (Argentina) [ИБВЖ – Ты Называл Это Место Домом (demo)(IBVZh - You Call This Place Home (demo))](https://soundcloud.com/ibvzh/demo-3) Russian [Xarah Dion - Sillage Et Caprice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUZw-9TjKtU) French [Kælan Mikla - Kalt (Cold)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImyPz4tqPFU) Icelandic [Dissidenten - Telephone Arab](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hh047H_vHc) Moroccan Arabic dialect [1984 - Tu Nie Będzie Rewolucji (???)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kNlRBglBdE) Polish [Grauzone - Eisbaer (Polar Bear)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhtxqvAlIpo) German [P-Model - Pinky Trick](http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vK5QW1mHeE) Japanese [Roberto De Simone - Secondo Coro Delle Lavandaie (Second Chorus of the Washerwomen)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wah8bIvVkIY) Historical Neapolitan dialect? [Wumpscut - Your Last Salute (Datom remix)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdUBWDl3mr4) Catalan [Danish [URL=“[MUSTA PARAATI - Romanssi - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHzvJMyQx0Q)”]Musta Paraati - Romanssi (Romance)]([Kalashnikov - Oedelaeg Og Haerg - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-BLDmIDzqU)"Kalashnikov - Ødelæg & Hærg[/URL) Finnish [Olho Seco - Nada](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX4CKR0GAn8) (Brazilian) Portugese [Crossover - Phostographt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04l9g0KL2eY) Gibberish made up to sound like German? And if you made it this far: [Doctor Kissinger’s Homemade Chocolate Penises - Schön!](https://doctorkissingershomemadechocolatepenises.bandcamp.com/releases) English Google-translated to German, sung guessing at German pronunciation ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/74 "2017-02-14T10:59:07Z")
Thought of another interesting example that qualifies as "moving’. [Dead Can Dance - Avatar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHGKcjmGxuY) I’ve heard the Lisa Gerrard sung parts are phonetics forming an imaginary language. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/75 "2017-02-15T01:05:47Z")
There is a huge repository of Russian music, virtually unknown in the west, with many beautiful and moving songs. Maya Kristalinskaya was one of the most popular singers of the Soviet era, and considered a national hero in post-Soviet Russia for her renditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGFpwZngFVI ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/76 "2017-02-15T03:26:28Z")
No idea what language it’s in: Eweroun by Falkenbach [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mA5nN65B_eg/maxresdefault.jpg "Falkenbach - Eweroun [Official Lyric Video]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA5nN65B_eg) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974/77 "2017-02-15T03:35:22Z")
[quote=“glowacks, post:76, topic:778974”] No idea what language it’s in: Eweroun by Falkenbach [/QUOTE] I tried to find out, but the best I can get is Wikipedia saying “Most of Falkenbach lyrics are in English. They also write lyrics in Old Norse, Latin, and Old German”. It’s probably not Latin, and Old Norse and Old German are probably very similar anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-song-that-moves-you/778974.md?page=3)