I think this is just beautiful - Einstürzende Neubauten - Nagorny Karabach (Official Video) - YouTube
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.
I have several Freshlyground albums - many songs are in English, some are a mix of Xhosa and English, some are Xhosa.
Yes…my second choice for this thread was going to be…
Nena’s German version of “Ninety-Nine Red Balloons”.
Where to start?
You don’t have to understand Spanish to understand what she’s trying to get across:
Then there’s ZAZ:
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)
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Via the Scandinavia and the World Webcomic:
Notorious in that the singers perform their arrangement of a traditional, very scandalous, Danish folk song in three languages: in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian!
The Japanese seem to be able to create catchy tunes about deeply disturbing themes. Here’s one.
Without lyrics
And, with the lyrics in English
This one’s on my playlist. A battle anthem from someone who’s battled all her life.
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:
…and one in a fictional language:
By this, I’m assuming you will similarly dis-allow anything from Blue Oyster Cult.
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.
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.
Or early R.E.M.
Or Stevie Nicks.
