# Songs in Other Languages... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375 "2003-01-18T02:13:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/1 "2003-01-18T02:13:07Z")
How do bands manage to perform around the world…and do the lyrics still rhyme and basically remain unchanged? I think about British or USA bands performing in Germany or Japan, as two examples. How is it done? Or, do they simply sing in English? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/2 "2003-01-18T04:38:26Z")
Guess what - your second option. There are some exceptions, but \>99% of the USA/UK bands simply sing in English abroad. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/3 "2003-01-18T05:18:26Z")
I figured listening to songs in a language you can’t understand would be pointless - so why are all these Western bands popular in foreign countries? But then I heard Shakira singing in Spanish, which I can’t understand. And it’s infinitely better than listening to her sing English. Sounds more exotic… with an x, not an r. Mmmm, Shakira. The Beatles converted a few of their earlier songs to German, quite possibly because they played in Germany a lot. But they were still popular even when they only sang in English. ---
**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/4 "2003-01-19T01:35:27Z")
Most bands these days stick to their languages, regardless of location. You don’t have to speak the language to like the song. For example, when I started listening to Einstürzende Neubauten, my German went only so far as _guten Tag_. I just liked how they sounded and had a vague idea of what they were singing about. I suspect that’s the case with a lot of people who attend concerts of a band from another country–they sound cool. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/5 "2003-01-19T04:08:48Z")
Don’t forget Peter Gabriels’ _Deutsches Album_! He sings it all in German, the version of “The Family and the Fishing Net” is particularly good. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/6 "2003-01-19T08:57:36Z")
Going in the other direction, how about Nena’s [Neunundneunzig Luftballons"](http://members.aol.com/Oxym0r0n99/nena.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/7 "2003-01-19T11:11:30Z")
I think ABBA made a few tracks in other languages , especially Spanish. I agree that the the best versions by most artists are the ones in the original language. I am a great fan of Edith Piaf. She did record some songs in English but the French versions are so , so much better even though I cannot understand the words. The general “feel” of the song is that much better. ---
**Author:** ![AchimbaProphet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@AchimbaProphet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AchimbaProphet)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/8 "2003-01-19T12:38:28Z")
I guess that Bjork’s first band the Sugarcubes pissed off a few people at a New York performance where they sang the set in Icelandic. I personally would have enjoyed that. When I travelled abroad I purchased dance music sung in Dutch, German, and French. It made for some great times when I slipped it into a few rave sets. People could not figure out if they were too messed up to understand it or if it actually was in a non-English language. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/9 "2003-01-19T13:25:36Z")
Years ago I bought an 8-track at a garage sale. It had a label made with a “tape tool” which stamped out Hebrew characters. I listened to the music; it seemed to be in Italian–or rather a Jewish dialect which is to Italian what Yiddish is to German and Ladino is to Spanish. One song I remember–and recorded onto an audiocassette–was apparently titled “Roberta,” which moved me because of a girl in high school with that name, whom I had insulted and still remembered. But that’s another story… ☹ I was never able to identify the singer or understand the Italian lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![RealTronic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RealTronic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTronic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/10 "2003-01-19T14:02:18Z")
You’re overlooking one of the most classic releases of all time: TOY SOLDIERS by Martika. She released this instant classic not only in Spanish but also in Japanese… \ Anyway, I do think that there are songs that are good enough, so they become hits regardless of whether the audience actually understand the lyrics or not. I personally am I great fan of Mylene Farmer, but I don’t understand a word of French. Further, as a previous poster noted, Shakira’s songs in Spanish sound better than her songs in English. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/11 "2003-01-19T15:45:34Z")
Abba did some tracks in Spanish as mentioned. Roxette have released whole albums in Spanish due to the fact that they are huge in South America 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-other-languages/149375/12 "2003-01-19T16:10:28Z")
> [@](#): > > I figured listening to songs in a language you can’t understand would be pointless - so why are all these Western bands popular in foreign countries? Huh? A great many of us foreign people understand English just fine, thank you. In fact, there are many Finnish bands which perform in English instead of Finnish (and one folk-black-metal band which performs in Swedish).