# Why do British people lose their accent when they sing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242 "2007-05-23T17:08:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242/41 "2007-05-25T10:22:23Z")
I was listening to the Beatles at a very young age (like, 5 - my dad played them all the time) and I remember he used to have me pick out which of them was singing. I used to think that Paul McCartney was American. “Paul is British?” I asked my dad in surprise when he explained the band’s history to me. I had been exposed to Monty Python back then and I had a good idea of what a British person sounded like compared to an American. I thought Paul sounded totally American. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242/42 "2007-05-25T11:28:16Z")
To be fair, the Python lot don’t exactly sound the same as a typical scouser! ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242/43 "2007-05-26T15:31:57Z")
[QUOTE=MrFloppy] There doesn’t have to be a ‘good amount’ of accent. As a Brit, I can hear the smallest amount which is why I think this is peculiar to US listeners. Random Coldplay song selected on my trusty iPod - In My Place - track 2 from A Rush of Blood. His pronunciation of the word ‘Must’ as in “how long must you wait” etc. is not something you would hear in LA. If you can’t hear the accent throughout ‘The Scientist’ then I don’t know if you ever will. I also have an excellent ear and am also a musician. [/QUOTE] Sorry, but I just don’t hear it. The guy sounds like he’s straight out of Kansas, not England. Overall, my point is, if you had no idea where Coldplay was from, _the average listener_ wouldn’t be able to tell they were English. Test it out. Find someone who doesn’t know about Coldplay (like an older person) and play a few songs for them, then ask them where they sound like they’re from. I just did it to my mom and she said with a questionable glare, “Seattle?” 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 26, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242/44 "2007-05-26T16:30:57Z")
When the Beatles first landed in New York in 1964, they had a press conference. Reporter: Why do you sing like Americans but speak with an English accent? Lennon: It sells better. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242/45 "2007-05-26T16:49:00Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] Sorry, but I just don’t hear it. The guy sounds like he’s straight out of Kansas, not England. [/QUOTE] Even in “Yellow”? Another one – you know that 80s hit “Come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners? Listen to the opening verse “_Poor old Johnny Ray_”. Does that sound like it could have come from a Kansan, or a Bostonian, or a Jamaican, or pretty much any English speaker? Yet another: can you pick out Bob Marley’s accent in his songs? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242/46 "2007-05-26T17:01:12Z")
I missed the 5-minute Edit deadline. So I’ll add: > [@](#): > > Overall, my point is, if you had no idea where Coldplay was from, the _average listener_ wouldn’t be able to tell they were English. Depends on the song, I’d wager … I don’t know Coldplay’s catalog very well. But in the Coldplay I have heard (the radio hits like “Clocks” and “Yellow”), the singer sounds very distinctly British. What’s the _average listener_, anyway? How familiar is the average listener with various English accents? With modern media, I’d think the average listener can discern this stuff better than you might expect. All that said, there are loads of cases in which a singer puts on some “other than their own” accent when performing. British singers have done/do it, Australians, Canadians … and, yes, Americans, too (see early Green Day). The change in accent a lot like putting on a different coat and hat and adopting a different persona. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242/47 "2007-05-26T19:28:02Z")
I’m always slightly taken aback when Mick Jagger sings “Ruby Tuesday” and \*doesn’t \*sing it “Toos-day”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-british-people-lose-their-accent-when-they-sing/405242.md?page=2)