Mann in den besten Jahren ([info]deniko76) wrote in [info]linguaphiles,
@ 2008-06-18 12:26:00
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Bilingual Songs
I like bilingual songs very much. The fact that they are bilingual gives them some subtle additional flavour that I can not express in words.

Here are three songs that I have in my mp3-player now and that I adore listening to:

  • Bonnie Tyler et Kareen Antonn, Si demain (Turn Around) (English / French)

  • Rammstein feat. Sharleen Spiter, Stirb nicht vor mir // Don't Die Before I Do (English / German)

  • Ramazzotti & Cher, Piu Che Puoi (English / Italian)

    And what great bilingual songs do you know?

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    [info]ultimateairn
    2008-06-18 06:32 am UTC (link)
    I'm going to say Sublime "Caress Me Down". :D

    (Reply to this)


    [info]abouttoexpire
    2008-06-18 06:37 am UTC (link)
    Megadeth "A tout le monde"

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]inactivism
    2008-06-18 07:01 am UTC (link)
    This is what I was going to say. Awesome song.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)

    [info]tsukikage85
    2008-06-18 07:05 am UTC (link)
    I love Sixpence None The Richer's Japanese version of "Kiss Me", and Spice Girls' German "If You Wanna Be My Lover" ("Willst Du Mich als Lover") is fun. I have a bunch more, so maybe I'll go through them later.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]lautmalerei
    2008-06-18 07:32 am UTC (link)
    Wait, do the Spice Girls actually sing it in German?

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]tsukikage85, 2008-07-13 03:33 am UTC
    oh man! - [info]lautmalerei, 2008-07-13 08:07 am UTC

    [info]deltasunlight
    2008-06-18 07:10 am UTC (link)
    Placebo's Burger Queen and Arcade Fire's Une Annee Sans Lumiere.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]ledh
    2008-06-18 01:02 pm UTC (link)
    burger queen! so much better in french and it was already sublime. Protege moi as well...

    (Reply to this) (Parent)

    [info]tekalynn
    2008-06-18 07:18 am UTC (link)
    Rie fu's "Life is a Boat", in English and Japanese.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]inactivism
    2008-06-18 08:14 am UTC (link)
    OH GOD YES. Rie Fu is love. ♥

    Her song "I Wanna Go To A Place", also in both English and Japanese, is gooooorgeous.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]vyctori, 2008-06-18 02:58 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]chrryblssmninja, 2008-06-28 07:42 pm UTC

    [info]rapto
    2008-06-18 07:20 am UTC (link)
    ВИА "Гра" и Танок на майдані Конго, "Нет ничего хуже" (Russian / Ukrainian)
    "Нема нічого гіршого, ніж бути як всі"

    Ти мусиш знати )

    (Reply to this)


    [info]eastertheatre
    2008-06-18 08:08 am UTC (link)
    "Con te partirò" -- JUST KIDDING! I hate that song. I also hate "The Prayer". But I love "Volare" by Dean Martin :)

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]ledh
    2008-06-18 01:02 pm UTC (link)
    I want to kill that song (con te partiro) and just reading it's name has jammed it into my head! NO.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]eastertheatre, 2008-06-18 11:23 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]ledh, 2008-06-19 06:37 am UTC

    [info]lilacsigil
    2008-06-18 08:31 am UTC (link)
    "Undersea Communities" by the Avalanches (English chorus, Japanese verses) is awesome, like all their songs.

    Ben Folds Five have a version of "Song for the Dumped" in Japanese, which is hilarious, but not really bilingual!

    (Reply to this)


    [info]oh_meow
    2008-06-18 08:34 am UTC (link)
    Patio Song by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci- half English, half welsh

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    [info]amygooglegirl
    2008-06-18 09:04 am UTC (link)
    Jean-Jacques Goldman - Je te donne (French/English)
    Travis - Last Laugh Of The Laughter (English/French)
    Michelle Branch - Till I Get Over You (English/French)
    Kimya Dawson & Antsy Pants - Tree Hugger (English/French)

    (Reply to this)


    [info]otana
    2008-06-18 09:07 am UTC (link)
    Quidam from the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name is in English, French and Italian, I believe.



    Dreams Come True by S.E.S. is in Korean and English, and I think there's a Japanese version too.



    Around the World by Monkey Majik is in English and Japanese, by a Canadian band that moved to Japan.



    Artists like Shizuka Kudô and Hikaru Utada often record songs in both English and Japanese, and BoA often performs in a mix of Korean, English and Japanese depending on her audience. But they generally sing the whole song in one language, so I guess that's not really the same thing. :P

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]citharadraconis
    2008-06-22 09:30 am UTC (link)
    The lyrics for Quidam look like English, French and Spanish (and Quidam is Latin).

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]otana, 2008-06-22 10:09 am UTC

    [info]gawibawibo
    2008-06-18 09:07 am UTC (link)
    "Feiticeira", by Luís Represas and Andrea Bocelli (half Portuguese, half Spanish).

    (Reply to this)


    [info]graeco_celt
    2008-06-18 10:07 am UTC (link)
    I quite like the bilingual (English and Corsican) version of Fields of Gold that Sting did with I Muvrini.
    However, they switch languages verse by verse, so if you're only fluent in one of them or don't know the original lyrics, that could be quite annoying, I quess.

    (Reply to this)


    [info]rapto
    2008-06-18 10:18 am UTC (link)
    Youssou NDour & Neneh Cherry, Seven Seconds Away

    English, French and some third language that I don't recognize (Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi...)

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]miryoku
    2008-06-18 12:29 pm UTC (link)
    I like this song a lot! He is Senegalese, and I haven't actually looked at the lyrics recently, but maybe that's what it is.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)
    (no subject) - [info]ledh, 2008-06-18 01:03 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]rapto, 2008-06-19 03:31 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]jadziads9, 2008-06-18 04:09 pm UTC

    [info]xhuxus
    2008-06-18 10:29 am UTC (link)
    Manu Chao - Bongo Bong (King of the Bongo) [English/French]

    I know they do a lot of other bilingual/multilingual songs but I don't actually listen to them as much as I should so I can't recommend any others right off the top of my head.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]zoarazul
    2008-06-18 02:38 pm UTC (link)
    All Manu Chao / Mano Negra stuff is great! Saw them in concert last year. One of the best -- and sweatiest -- shows I've been to in ages.

    Edited at 2008-06-18 02:38 pm UTC

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
    (no subject) - [info]muckefuck, 2008-06-18 02:45 pm UTC
    (no subject) - [info]jadziads9, 2008-06-18 04:16 pm UTC

    [info]amygooglegirl
    2008-06-18 10:36 am UTC (link)
    L'amour à la française - Les Fatals Picards (French/English... both with overdone fake accents)

    (Reply to this)


    [info]azazel
    2008-06-18 11:37 am UTC (link)
    I'll have to toss Origa - Inner Universe into the list then; a japanese singer of russian descent, using russian, english and latin in one song.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=EIVgSuuUTwQ

    Now I'm quite tempted to do a "Bilingual Songs" show... or something like it.

    Edited at 2008-06-18 11:39 am UTC

    (Reply to this)


    [info]5ampunkrock
    2008-06-18 12:17 pm UTC (link)
    Bandera de manos - Juanes & someone else (Spanish/German)
    Sting & Cheb Mami - Desert Rose (English/Arabic)

    Actually, I have a collection of Cheb Mami's duets, most are bilingual with Arabic (some in English, some Italian, French, etc), and it's really enjoyable.

    (Reply to this)


    [info]ti_ana
    2008-06-18 12:19 pm UTC (link)
    "Stirb Nicht Vor Mir/Don't Die Before I Do" is a very cool one, I love Rammstein.

    I personally love "On n'oublie jamais rien" by Laura Pausini and Helene Segara. It's in Italian and French.

    (Reply to this)


    [info]galingale
    2008-06-18 12:23 pm UTC (link)
    There are two on the Moulon Rouge soundtrack -- "La complainte de la butte" and "Hindi Sad Diamonds". (La complainte has been running through my head for days now, and apparently I've been singing it a lot because when I popped in the CD yesterday my toddler said "Mama sad!")

    From the pop charts there's "Desert Rose/Brand New Day" by Sting & Cheb Mami. Go back a ways for "Shaking the Tree" by Peter Gabriel & Youssou N'Dour.

    Go back even farther for the album "Barcelona" by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé--this one was made for the Barcelona Olympics. It's definitely worth checking out -- there's the obvious English and Spanish but also Japanese. It's a really fascinating mix of rock with opera --NOT what we know of as "rock opera"!

    Oh and how could I forget "Homeless" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Paul Simon!?

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]ledh
    2008-06-18 01:04 pm UTC (link)
    complainte de la butte is soooo gorgeous!

    (Reply to this) (Parent)

    (Anonymous)
    2008-06-18 12:32 pm UTC (link)
    And let us not forget Michelle, by the Beatles.

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    [info]miryoku
    2008-06-18 12:37 pm UTC (link)
    Most Japanese/Korean songs are bilingual to some degree, but the English isn't always great...

    Song random bilingual songs that come to mind:

    Rachid Taha - Winta (Russian, Arabic and Georgian)
    Rufus Wainwright - Rebel Prince (English and Québécois French)
    Youssou N'Dour - Please Wait

    (Reply to this)


    [info]keigan
    2008-06-18 12:41 pm UTC (link)
    Eyes without a face - Billy Idol (les yeux sans visage) (though, only the title is bilingual)

    Fade to Grey - Visage (English/French)

    (Reply to this)


    [info]qphelia
    2008-06-18 12:47 pm UTC (link)
    Placebo's "Protege Moi." I forget if it's actually bilingual, or if there are two versions of the song: one in French and the other in English.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    [info]ledh
    2008-06-18 01:04 pm UTC (link)
    two version I believe...

    (Reply to this) (Parent)

    [info]ledh
    2008-06-18 01:05 pm UTC (link)
    Regina Spektor's "apres moi". French, Russian and English + brilliant voice+ exquisite piano.

    (Reply to this)

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