# Foreign language songs that charted in English speaking countries **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783 "2018-09-23T14:41:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/21 "2018-09-23T16:33:34Z")
I’ve been really into K-pop recently (see my signature) so I’m aware that several K-pop songs have got onto the Billboard charts recently, especially from the massively popular boy band BTS. (They recently sold out Citi Field in New York in 20 minutes, something no other Korean band has come close to accomplishing, and hardly any western band can do.) Wikipedia has a list. All the songs listed are K-pop, though a few are English versions, as shown. > **[List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_K-pop_songs_on_the_Billboard_charts)** > > List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts is a compilation of weekly chart information for K-pop music published by the Billboard charts, and reported on by Billboard K-Town, an online Billboard column. This is a list of K-pop songs and singles, and songs performed by K-pop artists, on the Billboard charts. > The Hot Trending Songs chart posts both daily and weekly versions. The daily version is not included here. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/22 "2018-09-23T16:38:38Z")
Dang it! [Kraftwerks’ Numbers](https://youtu.be/4YPiCeLwh5o) missed the non-English mark by “One Two” words. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/23 "2018-09-23T16:48:36Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > If songs like these are foreign language then all bets are off! From the OP: > [@](#): > > Since there probably aren’t a ton of songs that were completely in another language, let’s include songs that were only partially in, say, French, or even only included a line or two in another language ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/24 "2018-09-23T16:49:00Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > If songs like these are foreign language then all bets are off! But acceptable, per my opening post. **[Guantanamera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm1anurhbeg)**, The Sandpipers **[Volare](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wWiC0e3b2I)** (Nel blu dipinto di blu), Domenico Modugno. It was also charted by Dean Martin and Bobby Rydell in combinations of Italian and English. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/25 "2018-09-23T16:49:58Z")
What about the ersatz German to kick off Def Leppard’s [“Rock of Ages”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4CZfac0N0E)? 🙂 (Or sampled somewhat more recently in Offspring’s “Pretty Fly for a White Guy.”) ---
**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:** [September 23, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/26 "2018-09-23T16:59:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > But acceptable, per my opening post. > > **[Guantanamera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm1anurhbeg)**, The Sandpipers > > **[Volare](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wWiC0e3b2I)** (Nel blu dipinto di blu), Domenico Modugno. It was also charted by Dean Martin and Bobby Rydell in combinations of Italian and English. The day I read the OP with any understanding is the day I. . . um, stop making a fool of myself! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/27 "2018-09-23T17:05:24Z")
Does **Tequila** count? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/28 "2018-09-23T18:29:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What about the ersatz German to kick off Def Leppard’s [“Rock of Ages”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4CZfac0N0E)? 🙂 (Or sampled somewhat more recently in Offspring’s “Pretty Fly for a White Guy.”) The same sort of nonsensical “German” kicked off **[Snoopy vs The Red Baron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtJ1Gnh9wPU)**, by The Royal Guardsmen. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/29 "2018-09-23T18:49:47Z")
ELO’s, “Hold on Tight,” has a verse in French that is (I think) a reprise of the first verse. The Beatles, “Sun King,” has some kind of different language at the end 😕. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/30 "2018-09-23T19:06:25Z")
The Clash translating a verse into Spanish in [Should I Stay or Should I Go](https://youtu.be/BN1WwnEDWAM) is one of my favorite Spanglish moments in pop. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/31 "2018-09-23T19:18:17Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > The Clash translating a verse into Spanish in [Should I Stay or Should I Go](https://youtu.be/BN1WwnEDWAM) is one of my favorite Spanglish moments in pop. Or Beck’s Loser – “Soy un perdidor…” (not really how you’d say “I’m a loser” in Spanish). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/32 "2018-09-23T19:21:22Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ELO’s, “Hold on Tight,” has a verse in French that is (I think) a reprise of the first verse. Likewise April Wine’s “Just Between You and Me.” Eh, they’re Canadian. > [@](#): > > The Beatles, “Sun King,” has some kind of different language at the end 😕. The summer of '69 was full of Romance-language shenanigans…see CSN’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” (Stephen Stills did spend part of his childhood in Costa Rica, so his attempts are a little more serious than Lennon’s). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/33 "2018-09-23T19:24:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The same sort of nonsensical “German” kicked off **[Snoopy vs The Red Baron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtJ1Gnh9wPU)**, by The Royal Guardsmen. And R.E.M.'s 1986 cover of “Superman” starts with a Japanese pull-string Godzilla doll’s talking. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/34 "2018-09-23T19:37:23Z")
If you’re gonna count _fake_ foreign languages, [The Witch Doctor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_Doctor_(song)) was a pretty big hit. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/35 "2018-09-23T19:54:31Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > If you’re gonna count _fake_ foreign languages, [The Witch Doctor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_Doctor_(song)) was a pretty big hit. Also Sheb Wooley’s (as Ben Colder) “[Don’t Go Near The Eskimos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd9vtv7VPlY)”, a parody song starting with some fake Inuit lyrics that somehow made it to #18 on the country chart. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/36 "2018-09-23T20:05:35Z")
Back to business: **[Pata Pata](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq5S5sH1Ikk)**, Miriam Makeba, charted at #12 in the US. This was sung in her native Xhosa “click” language. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/37 "2018-09-23T20:05:59Z")
David (Bread) Gates had a hit with, “[Took the Last Train](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u-Z8YnvuCA),” which has its chorus in French and then repeated in English. Ray Stevens’, “Ahab the Arab,” has some mock-Arabic in it (and Camel-speak by Clyde). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/38 "2018-09-23T20:12:35Z")
“The Girl from Ipanema” has been mentioned. I thought sure there would be a lot more bossa nova and samba songs that qualify, but I could find only one more that both charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and has lyrics in Portuguese. “Mas Que Nada” by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 hit #47 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/39 "2018-09-23T20:17:00Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > The English version of 99 Luftballoons charted in the US as 99 Red balloons. However, the original German version seems to have become way more popular ever since. I always thought the parody version, [99 Words for Boobs,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXivEpsCveA&t=3s) should have received more recognition. Who needs words in any language, anyway? (NSFW) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/40 "2018-09-23T20:28:48Z")
Edith Piaf’s “Milord” with lyrics in French somehow managed to hit #88 in 1961. It’s far from her best effort. Claudine Longet’s version of “L’Amour est Bleu” with the original French lyrics and a few spoken words in English hit #71 in 1968. The original version by Vicky [Leandros] seems not to have charted in the US. Several other artists also charted with their own versions of the song, but I think they were all either instrumentals or English translations. I’m getting my data on peak chart position from [Hot 100 Singles Chronology](https://singleschronology.wordpress.com). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783.md?page=3)