I have no idea how I even found this, it is so far outside of what I listen to:
Not sure if this one counts because half of it is in English but the as for the Italian part, I have no idea what she is saying but I want to marry her, straight up:
I think this is Egyptian, the song is from the end of a Moon Knight episode:
Love Rammstein, love Falco. But I speak German, so they don’t count. Same for Spanish and French.
Fell in love with this because of the movie Underground.
Love Manu Chao and Mano Negra.
Always thought this was Icelandic, turns out he invented his own language.
They sing in the Piedmont dialect of Italian.
Manu Chau famously sings almost-gibberish in multiple languages … at least he did when he was big when I lived in Mexico in 2002. Songs that skip between French, Spanish, and more. The Spanish parts, at least, were real words and phrases, but connected in ways that weren’t native to the language. Like Captain Beefheart in English!
Lhasa de Sela. I don’t understand the lyrics but they sure are powerful.
Here’s a song from one of the most famous french singers I’d never heard of (this song sold a million copies within 12 hours of its release in 1970). It becomes more powerful and heartbreaking the more you know about the backstory (involving the Holocaust and possible child abuse).
I LOVE the Italian rapper/pop/electro-funk singer Jovanotti, but i can only understand 10% of his lyrics (thanks to my Spanish). Here’s a catchy song of his from the mid-1990s; the title means “Lucky Guy”:
I don’t know why I didn’t think of this one at first, but I need to add Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot - “Bonnie and Clyde”
I know some Spanish, but not enough to sing along with this (not like I’d want to. I’m too busy dancing around the house).
Porque te vas (as used in the movie Cria Cuervos)
Raffaella Carra - A Far L’amore Comincia Tu [1977]
I have loved “World Music” since the 1970s. Here are several interesting songs (in no particular order).
Guabi Guabi - Arlo Guthrie
This African folk song was originally recorded by George Sibanda circa 1950. It was popularized in the US by Arlo, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, and others.
(Song begins at 3:55)
The Click Song - Miriam Makeba
Who can resist this song - also from Africa - with sounds that do not exist in European languages?
Mailaka - Johnny
Yet another African song. It’s from the album The Moon & Banana Tree, a collection of various artists from Madagascar. I like every song on this album, but that’s my favorite.
Mal Hombre - Lydia Mendoza
I love this song from the soundtrack of Crazy Heart. I understand a little Spanish, but many people don’t.
The Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choice
In the late 1980s, I bought the album Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (on cassette). What an unusual sound! I like many of the tracks, but this was what was available as a video.
Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
Somebody beat me to this delightful ditty. I bought a 45 of this song in 1963 when I was in high school.
This has been my favorite foreign language song since I was eight years old in 1958. I still love it and don’t care what anybody says.
Domenico Modugno: “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu”
My second favorite is much more recent:
Mohammed Rafi: “Jaan Pehechan Ho”
which I first encountered in the 2001 film Ghost World
Dunno why I love this song (Malhari) from a Bollywood movie. No clue what they are saying but they really seem in to it.
I talked to my husband about this thread and he immediately came up with this:
Amadou and Mariam (with a lot of help from Manu Chao)
Yeah, Jaan Pehechan Ho was a Bollywood revelation in that movie. The song that completely floored me, though, was Skip James’ Devil Got My Woman.
Surprised no one has explicitly mentioned this song
Another favourite:
There are also some good answers in this thread from a few years back.
Great song, great movie, great soundtrack. I got a chance to see Goran Bregovic here in Chicago around five years ago. Wonderful show! I also got to see Boban Markovic in Budapest about twenty years ago in Budapest at a New Year’s show a little down the street from my flat. Balkan brass music is so energetic and fun.