Music: What Are Your Favourite Non-English Songs?

[phrenssoa]

I’m always interested in hearing songs in different languages. What are some of your favourites?

Here are some of mine:

French (so many great songs to choose from):


Spanish (again so many great songs to choose from):


Portuguese:


Italian:


Indonesian:


Tagalog:


Turkish:


Ukrainian:


Russian:


Icelandic:


Swedish:


Bambara:


Latin:

Click to read more...

 

[VMBM]

A few off the top of my head (too many to choose from, but anyway...):

French; Jacques Brel's "Je suis un soir d'été" 'I am a summer evening':

Swedish; Hoola Bandoola Band's "Keops pyramid" (need a translation? ):


Finnish; CMX's "Pilvien kuningas" '(The) King of clouds'

 

[Osprey]

Fun fact: Valens knew very little Spanish and learned the lyrics phonetically.

I'm also equally fond of the Los Lobos version that was featured in the 1987 La Bamba movie:

 

[Mescaleroman]

 

[barriers]

Anything by Mina from the late '50s into the '60s, any language and she sang in many


Modern Acadian disco


My favourite Cape Bretoner left-handed fiddler had a marginal hit in Canada during the mid-'90s with this song sung in Scottish Gaelic by Mary Jane Lamond


This one is mostly non-English


Also this,

 

[John Price]

 

[Mescaleroman]

Does Jonsi's made up language count ?

 

[Neutrinos]

 

[Teemu]

First dance at my wedding

 

[Jack Straw]

 

[The Marquis]

Love this thread idea. I'll listen to every last one of those videos of songs I haven't seen:

To start: French, just one song per artist or I'd be posting dozens of the same artists.

The first song is among my top 10 songs ever.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Japanese stuff, largely. Yura Yura Teikoku, Haruomi Hosono, Fishmans. I'm francophone but French music largely does very little for me. I really like Jean Leloup though. Some Serge Gainsbourg as well.

 

[The Marquis]

Now for Spanish (and a bonus Catalan at the end):

Again, not repeating any artists, because it would get ridiculous

This first two are also in my top 10 songs ever.




































Catalan:

 

[The Marquis]

Polish:

 

[Hully14]

 

[McGarnagle]

As a wannabe polyglot I'll definitely have to keep tabs on this thread. I'm currently relearning German, so let's start there.

 

[The Marquis]

Now for "others" includes mostly Italian, but also Portuguese, Japanese, German and "Hopelandic" or Icelandic.. Since only one dude on earth "speaks" the former, and I don't speak the latter... I'll never know.

 

[Xelebes]

I will do one video per post to make load times on this thread easier.

Firstly, my favourite song in Inuktitut by an artist who I think is out of Pangnirtung. Just simply enjoy it.

 

[VMBM]

I have a weird (?) innate love for Italian schlager. So, examples of this... Many of the songs became familiar to me as Finnish versions first (some of them are actually better imo).



The best Eurovision song ever? One of the biggest 'robberies' at least; finished only third


Mr. Marcato did recordings in Finnish too, but in Italian here (and a little English)




A really underrated Eurovision entry from '75


A little more from the total s**t show (nowadays) called the Eurovision Song Contest. Mr. Battiato composed the song, but Alice steals the show completely

 

[#37]

 

[phrenssoa]

Love this thread idea. I'll listen to every last one of those videos of songs I haven't seen

You and me both! Thanks for all the recs!

Japanese stuff, largely. Yura Yura Teikoku, Haruomi Hosono, Fishmans. I'm francophone but French music largely does very little for me. I really like Jean Leloup though. Some Serge Gainsbourg as well.

Jean Leloup is great!

 

[phrenssoa]

I will do one video per post to make load times on this thread easier.

Firstly, my favourite song in Inuktitut by an artist who I think is out of Pangnirtung. Just simply enjoy it.

Love to see some Indigenous content! Keep ‘em coming!

 

[VMBM]

Listening classic Swedish hits right now. Liksom...

Mats Olin believes in the summer!








Agnetha Fältskog singing a Jules Sylvain melody on a TV special (where he met and fell in love with a certain Björn Ulvaeus)


Benny & Björn with Agnetha and Frida on a record for the first time (1970)


Benny & Björn's protegé Ted Gärdestad (sad story)

 

[kook10]

 

[phrenssoa]

I’m discovering some good tunes in this thread!

Here’s another good Indonesian song: