# What's your favorite song in a language you don't understand? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 4, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363 "2022-11-04T17:17:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/61 "2022-11-05T18:09:38Z")
I think this is just beautiful - [Einstürzende Neubauten - Nagorny Karabach (Official Video) - YouTube](https://youtu.be/hd-6WweqD0Y) I’ve never looked into exactly what the song’s about, as I fear it might be so grim as to ruin the song for me. Not that grimness has ruined Neubauten’s English songs for me. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/62 "2022-11-05T18:20:33Z")
I have several Freshlyground albums - many songs are in English, some are a mix of Xhosa and English, some are Xhosa. https://www.youtube.com/embed/C3D0iWLTBm0?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLzz5diC5CuSrWTz00f83gaUqjb4AJIrUR ---
**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:** [November 5, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/63 "2022-11-05T21:35:39Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Swedish, anyone? Yes…my second choice for this thread was going to be… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-vexjCTOfDE/maxresdefault.jpg "Dungen - Familj (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vexjCTOfDE) ---
**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:** [November 5, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/64 "2022-11-05T21:38:50Z")
Nena’s German version of “Ninety-Nine Red Balloons”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Fpu5a0Bl8eY/maxresdefault.jpg "NENA | 99 Luftballons [1983] [Offizielles HD Musikvideo]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpu5a0Bl8eY) ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/65 "2022-11-06T00:27:26Z")
Where to start? You don’t have to understand Spanish to understand what she’s trying to get across: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/90GqAf3zJ8s/hqdefault.jpg "Bebe - Malo (Videoclip Oficial)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90GqAf3zJ8s) Then there’s ZAZ: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qIMGuSZbmFI/maxresdefault.jpg "ZAZ - Je veux (Live)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIMGuSZbmFI) Everyone knows this song, but who knows Meiko Keiji, or what she is singing. (and, after listening to this, go out and stream Lady Snowblood to understand) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/N8eNu8M8BIE/maxresdefault.jpg "修羅の花 (東宝映画「修羅雪姫」より)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8eNu8M8BIE) ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/66 "2022-11-06T03:17:46Z")
I also prefer songs in other languages. As someone said upthread, lyrics are often rubbish. I love everything from Buena Vista Social Club especially Ibrahim Ferrer. I was lucky enough to see him in person. Santana especially Oye Como Va I like BeauSoleil quite a bit too. Unlike the Spanish groups where I can actually catch a word or two, the cajun has nothing I can recognize, but I like it. ---
**Author:** ![boson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boson/32/11407_2.png) [@boson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boson)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/67 "2022-11-06T06:29:05Z")
I love Mwahulwana by Wazimbo and Orchestra Marrabenta Star De Mocambique which is the first song on Trance Planet Vol. 1. It laments a woman in prostitution ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/68 "2022-11-06T08:37:11Z")
> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > I do know that for Japanese people, at least of the era, although the words are literally about something else, there is a subtext something like, “OK, we lost the war. But we have to pick ourselves up, because Life goes on.” While it was written about the experience of the lyricist Rokusuke Ei coming back home from protests about the 1960 US Japan security treaty, it written about the sadness of being alone, so it can be taken as having a broken heart, and needing to look above the clouds to keep from crying. My favorate was already mentioned, the German version of 99 Red Ballons. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/69 "2022-11-06T13:56:42Z")
The lyrics are actually quite beautiful, just melancholic. Not grim at all. Not really about the conflict, although that does underlie the whole thing and adds to the melancholy. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/70 "2022-11-06T14:56:17Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > I often like the opening/closing music in anime – but I can’t think of a specific example. > > Brian One of my faves: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Opening 2 - Super Driver. About a goddess that doesn’t know that she is one, but all her friends know it and stop the end of the world by preventing her from figuring out. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KFOw_sokB50/maxresdefault.jpg "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Opening 2 - Super Driver [Karaoke/Lyrics/Subbed]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFOw_sokB50) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/71 "2022-11-06T15:04:32Z")
Via the Scandinavia and the World Webcomic: > **[My Wedding - Scandinavia and the World](https://satwcomic.com/my-wedding)** > > Webcomic: You can hear a version of the song sung by a Dane, a Swede, and a Norwegian here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p\_dqdcofoA0 Notorious in that the singers perform their arrangement of a traditional, very scandalous, Danish folk song in three languages: in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/p_dqdcofoA0/maxresdefault.jpg "Huldrelokkk live : Min Bryllopsfest") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_dqdcofoA0) ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/72 "2022-11-06T15:35:07Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > > [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > > > I do know that for Japanese people, at least of the era, although the words are literally about something else, there is a subtext something like, “OK, we lost the war. But we have to pick ourselves up, because Life goes on.” > > While it was written about the experience of the lyricist Rokusuke Ei coming back home from protests about the 1960 US Japan security treaty, it written about the sadness of being alone, so it can be taken as having a broken heart, and needing to look above the clouds to keep from crying. The Japanese seem to be able to create catchy tunes about deeply disturbing themes. Here’s one. Without lyrics [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DD6LHfm5AZY/hqdefault.jpg "Wagakki Band(和楽器バンド):Yoshiwara Lament(吉原ラメント)-Live At Tokyo National Museum") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD6LHfm5AZY) And, with the lyrics in English [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SvoiBy637Wk/maxresdefault.jpg "和楽器バンドWagakki Band：吉原ラメント(Yoshiwara lament) - REACT tour 2019 (sub CC)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvoiBy637Wk) ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/73 "2022-11-06T15:47:24Z")
This one’s on my playlist. A battle anthem from someone who’s battled all her life. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4Sje2VYw99A/hqdefault.jpg "Sinead O'Connor - Oro Se do Bheatha Bhaile") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sje2VYw99A) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/74 "2022-11-06T18:24:55Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I have found that I can enjoy some songs without understanding the lyrics; the sounds of the words can be enough to convey meaning or mood For me, that’s the majority of all music. I mean, a song might have lyrics that I find meaningful, or a rap might include clever verse. And, if so, that’s a nice _bonus_. But, for most songs, most of the time, I’m just enjoying the human voice as another musical instrument, and I don’t really care what they are saying. Accordingly, a _lot_ of my favorite music is in a foreign language. I’m going to cheat slightly then, and give one example in a foreign language: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pO5PLjDUkWw/maxresdefault.jpg "Yoko Hikasa - Utsukushiki Zankoku Na Sekai Lyrics") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO5PLjDUkWw) …and one in a fictional language: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wdOdu-5lV-M/maxresdefault.jpg "砂塵ノ記憶") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOdu-5lV-M) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/75 "2022-11-06T19:55:09Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > And before anyone chimes in, _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ and _Louie, Louie_ don’t count. By this, I’m assuming you will similarly dis-allow anything from **Blue Oyster Cult.** ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/76 "2022-11-06T20:33:50Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IwMPmrkpMog/maxresdefault.jpg "Tomier & Palazi - Si col flaca molins torneja") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwMPmrkpMog) Si col flaca molins torneja Occitan, somewhere between Latin and French The music is I think reconstructed, was maybe never written. Words are from various trobadores around the time of the Albigensian crusade. Idk why this fascinates me so, apart from the notion that history is generally written by conquerors, and these people were most definitely conquered. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/77 "2022-11-06T22:54:42Z")
The Canadian group The Rankin Family usually included a Gaelic song or two on their albums. I don’t understand it but like to listen. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/78 "2022-11-06T23:02:59Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Another #1 from 1963: Bonus points for the singer being the subject of a Straight Dope article back in [1988](https://www.straightdope.com/21342122/did-the-singing-nun-commit-suicide-with-her-lesbian-lover). ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/79 "2022-11-06T23:31:23Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > > [@Telemark](#): > > > > And before anyone chimes in, _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ and _Louie, Louie_ don’t count. > > By this, I’m assuming you will similarly dis-allow anything from **Blue Oyster Cult.** Or early R.E.M. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363/80 "2022-11-07T00:21:03Z")
Or Stevie Nicks. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/R6B6CyZHnZU/hqdefault.jpg "Stevie Nicks--"What the Hell is She Saying?"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6B6CyZHnZU) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-in-a-language-you-dont-understand/974363.md?page=5)