# Need Help Compiling a List of Songs With Lines in French **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063 "2003-10-07T14:47:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/61 "2003-10-09T14:34:23Z")
More Cole Porter, from KISS ME KATE, there’s a French verse in the original version of ‘Always True to You Darling, in My Fashion’: Mr. Harris, plutocrat, Likes to give my cheek a pat, If the Harris pat means a Paris hat, bebe! Ooh la la! Mais je suis tojour fidele, darling, in my fashion, Mais je suis toujour fidele, Darling, in my way! ---
**Author:** ![Stover9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Stover9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stover9)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/62 "2003-10-10T20:41:27Z")
There is a great CD by “AIR” title Moon Safari. Many French lyrics in it. Also, there is a Radiohead B-side, “A Reminder” that has some French voices (from a subway it sounds like?) in the background. Not sure that constitues “lyrics” though . . . ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/63 "2003-10-27T18:18:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BlackNGold \* > \*\*…Actually, you make it sound like it’s the kind of music right up my alley. I may have to check it out. I’m just unfamiliar with the rest of their work. \*\* Did you get a chance to check out Mountain yet? If you haven’t – I’ll once again strongly recommend you do. You’ll no doubt have a difficult time understanding Leslie West’s vocals, but that’s what internet lyrics sites are for. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BlackNGold \* > \*\*I’m curious as to the purpose of this project. It’s kind of an interesting concept for a CD. Care to enlighten me? \*\* I guess a response that’s a couple of weeks late is better than no response at all. Well, after I date someone a few times and get an idea of the type of music they might like, if I like them I’ll burn them a CD. Even though music wasn’t discussed on our 1st date, one of the people I’m seeing had said to me, “I’d love to have a cute guy teach me French.” My only response was, “I ain’t all that cute and I only know German as well as the average toddler.” But that got me thinking, what if I could put together an 80 minute CD of songs with French themes and lyrics – something titled Into to French. With a combination of ideas I got here, a little more thought on my part and one or two from [this old thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159740), here’s what I came up with. It actually turned into a 2 disc set – with some ‘filler’. Song’s recommended that I didn’t include where either (1) not in my collection, or (2) music I don’t like. Intro to French – Pre-101 BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND Big Shot CHUCK BERRY You Never Can Tell / Jack Rabbit Slim’s Intro THE DOORS L’America WARREN ZEVON Laissez-Moi Tranquille THE GRATEFUL DEAD France JIMMY BUFFET He Went To Paris DIRE STRAITS Les Boys BLUR To the End LEONARD COHEN The Partisan R E M Talk About the Passion JONI MITCHELL Free Man In Paris SWEET Lettres D’Amour DAVID JOHANSEN Frenchette VELVET UNDERGROUND Femme Fatale RADIOHEAD A Reminder BRIAN FERRY Bete Noir ERASURE Oh L’Amour BLONDIE Denis BERLIN The Metro BUTTHOLE SURFERS The Shame of Life LaBELLE Lady Marmelade (Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi) STEREOLAB Transporte Sans Bouger CONCRETE BLOND Les Coeurs Jumeaux SAINT ENTIENNE Radio Entienne / Only Love Can Break Your Heart THE POLICE J’Aurais Toujours Faim De Toil (Hungry For You) PETER GABRIEL Games Without Frontiers ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA Hold On Tight BEN FOLD FIVE Your Redneck Past THE WEAKERTHANS Our Retired Explorer (Michel Foucault in Paris 1961) PLASTIC BERTRAND / THE DAMNED Ca Plane Pour Moi / Jet Boy, Jet Girl NOFX Les Champs Elysees AIR Sexy Boy ENIGMA Principles of Lust (Sadeness / Love / Reprise) TANGEREINE DREAM Force Majeure ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/64 "2003-10-27T18:42:37Z")
The Cult, “Joy” from 1994’s self-titled “The Cult”. “La beatue est dans la rue”. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/65 "2003-10-27T18:47:18Z")
Lady Marmalaude - by Patty LaBelle, later by Mya, Pink, Lil Kim and Christina Aguilara for the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/66 "2003-10-28T01:37:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny Q \* > \*\*Bonnie and Clyde-- Serge Gainsbourg \*\* Does this count? The entire song is in French (as with almost all of Serge Gainsbourg’s work). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/67 "2003-10-28T01:39:32Z")
The Talking Heads spinoff group Tom Tom Club recorded “L’Elephant” in 1981, with all-French lyrics (and elephant-like noises from a guitar). Although King Crimson did the elephant noises thing to much greater effect the preceding year, in “Elephant Talk”. ---
**Author:** ![greenphan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@greenphan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenphan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/68 "2003-10-28T14:13:01Z")
In regards to the NOFX version of Champs Elysee, I actually prefer Joe Dassin’s original. And my suggestion is anything by Joe Dassin cause he’s French and all, but especially “Salut les Amoureux”, which is set to the same music as Arlo Guthrie’s “City of New Orleans”. ---
**Author:** ![BlackNGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BlackNGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackNGold)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/69 "2003-10-31T23:16:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JohnBckWLD \* > **Did you get a chance to check out Mountain yet? If you haven’t – I’ll once again strongly recommend you do. You’ll no doubt have a difficult time understanding Leslie West’s vocals, but that’s what internet lyrics sites are for.** I did buy a CD called “Super Hits” off of \. Less than $10 including shipping. Haven’t had a chance to listen yet. Interstingly, I had them placed in the wrong musical era, from the sound of MQ, I had them placed more mid-to-late 70’s. How did the CD go over? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/70 "2003-11-01T00:33:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobLibDem \* > \*\*Black Diamond Bay by Bob Dylan has a few lines in French: > > “… and the dealer says, ‘attendez vous, s’il vous plait…’” > > “a stranger tells her, ‘my darling, je vous aime beaucoup’”\*\* I’m not familiar with the Dylan song, but no one’s mentioned “Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup” by Nat King Cole (and possibly others). It’s about half in French. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/71 "2003-11-01T12:55:39Z")
“Ritual - Nous Sommes du Soleil” by Yes. Although this is the only line of French in the song, but it gets repeated a lot. ---
**Author:** ![lachesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lachesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lachesis)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/72 "2003-11-02T20:59:31Z")
well, heck. am i the only oldster who remembers Janice Joplin (i think, or whichever female vocalist) who did “Look What They’ve Done to My Song”? _Ils ont changez ma chason, Ma Ils ont changez ma chason, Ma Eh, ca cette imperfect Et ce ne pas bon, ma Ils ont changez ma chason_ [massive apologies for any possible spelling atrocities. it’s been several decades since my last French class, and i can’t find my old French/English dictionary.] ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063/73 "2003-11-02T22:56:47Z")
Here’s my entry: “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” from _Tales from Topographic Oceans_ by **Yes** **lachesis** , that was **Melanie** who sang “_Ils ont chang **é** ma chanson, ma_” You know, the old _passé composé_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-compiling-a-list-of-songs-with-lines-in-french/206063.md?page=3)