At least two languages within the same song

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Such as:

Falco: "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny" (parts 1 and 2) and the original version of "Rock Me Amadeus"
Cherry/D'Our: "Seven Seconds"
Scotch: "Mirage"
The Beatles: "Michelle"

and....???

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Talking Heads - Psycho Killer

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Big and Rich- Rollin'

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Lady Marmalade

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

David Bowie - "Heroes"
Blondie - "Sunday Girl"

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Sisters of Mercy - Marion (version)

― stevo (stevo), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:54 (twenty-one years ago)

"Ma Cherie Amour"?

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Leonard Cohen "The Partisan"
April Wine, "Just Between You and Me"
Stereolab

― Joe (Joe), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Of course probably hundreds of Eurovision entries from various countries would also fit into this category

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 4 October 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

GERARDO - "RICO SUAVE"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 4 October 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Yello: "Domingo"

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:00 (twenty-one years ago)

"Jerusalem" Alpha Blondy - Hebrew, French, English, Arabic and Dioula.

tons of West and North African artists sing in mixtures of French and either Arabic, Wolof or other regional languages.

in kwaito (say Bongo Maffin) you get mixes of Zulu or Xhosa and English.

― H (Heruy), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Kraftwerk!

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Billy Joel - "You Were the One"
Freddy Fender - "Before the Next Teardrop Falls"
Pixies - "Debaser"

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:11 (twenty-one years ago)

bill wyman: si si je suis un rock star.

the TWAT.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Hmm, don't Kraftwerk's songs just exist as German *or* English versions, or is there any of them that'd include lyrics in both languages.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:15 (twenty-one years ago)

blur - to the end

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:15 (twenty-one years ago)

The Beatles - "Sun King"

― darin, Monday, 4 October 2004 21:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Hmm, don't Kraftwerk's songs just exist as German *or* English versions, or is there any of them that'd include lyrics in both languages.

there's definitely stuff on radioactivity that's in both languages. the title track, for instance. and the "turn the dial/with your hand" song, whichever one that is. (can't remember, can't be arsed looking for the CD, and the MP3s are on the other Mac, which is turned off.)

that is: the version of radioactivity in the english packaging. hmm. if i bought "radio-aktivitat" on import, would it have different versions of the songs? surely not.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Isn't the "Sun King" language made up? It's this not-quite-Italian, right? I haven't heard the song in ages.

There's a Warren Zevon song with a full verse in Russian, off "Transverse City."

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:26 (twenty-one years ago)

fun fun fun auf der autobahn, dude.
kraftwerk often use multiple languages in the same line.
"rendevous" shows up in two different songs, even.

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Er, it's not "fun fun fun auf der Autobahn", it's "wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn".

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:29 (twenty-one years ago)

fahren, fahren, fahren dude. (x-post...incidentally, i thought it was fun fun fun at first too)

Sun King is indeed made-up, just taking words from spanish and italian and not doubt others and jumbling them up. It makes no sense.

And I nominate Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick by ID and BHs.

― scotstvo (scotstvo), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Franz Ferdinand - "Darts of Pleasure"

― anode (anode), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:35 (twenty-one years ago)

fahern, huh? whattaya know.
At least by Expo 2000 they've just settled on repeating the same phrase in different languages.

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:38 (twenty-one years ago)

incidentally, i thought it was fun fun fun at first too

and although the lyric is definitely "fahren", i'm sure kraftwerk were all too aware of the polyglot effect when they wrote it. someone (pascal thingy? tim barr? some kraftwerk scholar) has, i'm sure, cast autobahn as the teutonic equivalent of surfin' safari: they're right.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:39 (twenty-one years ago)

"Bonnie and Clyde" I think Luna's version is all French except the title, which qualifies it. Steve Wynn's is maybe all English. I've never heard Serge Gainsbourg's original.

― nickn (nickn), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Color Me Badd - "I Adore Mi Amor"

― Talent Explosion (Talent Explosion), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

stereototal to thread

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:54 (twenty-one years ago)

air also

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:55 (twenty-one years ago)

girls & boys - prince

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

my cherie amor - wonder

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 4 October 2004 21:58 (twenty-one years ago)

blondie - call me
8th wonder - i'm not scared

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Passengers aka U2, Eno etc: "Miss Sarajevo"

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/27/italy.pavarotti/story.pavarotti.jpg

― Gear! (Gear!), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Watch Redman as he flips it in Korean.

― oops (Oops), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Girls and Boys by Blur as well.

The version of 'The Light Pours Out Of Me' where Devoto says 'le conspiration du silence defrait provoque ma pense' or something similar.

― Michael Philip Philip Philip Philip Philip Annoyman (Ferg), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Teardrop Explodes, 'je suis suicide je suis pain, j'avais indecision here we go again'

― Michael Philip Philip Philip Philip Philip Annoyman (Ferg), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

fremma neppa vette

― Symplistic (shmuel), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

reading quotes in this threads reminds me that french lyrics in english songs are mostly stupidly funny !

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

fahren, fahren, fahren dude. (x-post...incidentally, i thought it was fun fun fun at first too)

I thought it was "Faen Faen Faen", which is not a very nice thing to say in Norwegian :-)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Speaking of Kraftwerk, "Numbers" may well have the record for most languages in one song (at least unless you count Jarre's "Technicolor 1" as a song)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 4 October 2004 22:50 (twenty-one years ago)

CAN "Oh Yeah" (First Verse: backwards, Second Verse: English, Third Verse: Japanese)

― hello i love you, Monday, 4 October 2004 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

But practically all these songs are mostly in English with a bit of another language included -- what about some songs mostly not in English with a bit of English included?

All I've got is "Dozivjeti Stotu" by 80s Yugoslav rock heroes Bijelo Dugme:

"Pazite srce, pluca, holesterol
No sex, no drugs no rock and roll
Planine, mora, plaze, cisti zrak
Da ne bi lues, psorijaza, rak"

― Guayaquil, Tuesday, 5 October 2004 00:34 (twenty-one years ago)

More Pixies; "Vamos" and "Isla De Encanta"

― Bruce S. Urquhart (BanjoMania), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

The Silos - "All Falls Away"

― frankE (frankE), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 01:04 (twenty-one years ago)

gilberto gil and jorge ben - nega

― tom cleveland (tom cleveland), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 01:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Missy - "Get Ur Freak On"
Mirah - "Dogs of BA"

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 02:16 (twenty-one years ago)

there's a few by ladytron

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 02:22 (twenty-one years ago)

**what about some songs mostly not in English with a bit of English included?**

The Police -- Hungry For You

― weather1ngda1eson (Brian), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 02:55 (twenty-one years ago)

"Hold on Tight" by ELO, the ridiculousness of which nearly prompted me to start a similar thread last week.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 31 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Bono starts yelping something at the end of "Another Time, Another Place" that I used to think was Russian, but it probably isn't. Anyone?

Gaelic praps?

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh wait, "Buddy (12" remix)" by De La Soul & Native Tongues has very funny lines in French.

― Sami (Sami), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I doubt Bono can speak Gaelic

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:46 (twenty-one years ago)

He speaks Latin on Gloria.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the language you're looking for is "Gibberish"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Like what they speak in Gibraltar?

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Bono = red-arsed baboon perched on Rock

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Well hand him over to the Spanish says I.

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:57 (twenty-one years ago)

He's an imperialist hangover we can all do without

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 13:59 (twenty-one years ago)

& Blondie .. "Denis"

― george gosset (gegoss), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 14:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Lee Perry - Bird In Hand

... Amharic!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 14:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 14:04 (twenty-one years ago)

when 99 red balloons won eurovision didn't her repeat performance have each verse in a different european language? or did i imagine it?

also: "Sind sie allein in Berlin?"

― koogs (koogs), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 15:14 (twenty-one years ago)

The Abyssinians - Satta Massa Gana
more Amharic/English hits!

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 15:43 (twenty-one years ago)

is that real amharic or cod-amharic?

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 17:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Wyclef's got at least one track like this, and I think more (names eluding me).

― JC-L (JC-L), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Faust - It's A Bit of Pain

― strom (strom), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:16 (twenty-one years ago)

A couple really good multi-lingual Wyclef tracks: "Sang Fezi", "Yele", "Guantanamera".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Mr. Roboto-Styx

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Koogs: You must be fantasizing. Particularly that part about "99 Luftballons" winning Eurovision (or even participating for that matter) :-)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

is that real amharic or cod-amharic?
You tell me...

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 20:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know if he's been mentioned, but Arto Lindsay jumps back and forth between English and Portuguese all the time.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 20:04 (twenty-one years ago)

The Clash, 'Should I Stay or Should I Go'

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 20:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Koogs, are you thinking of "A Little Peace" by Nicole? That was a pan-European language-fest of Eurovision nonsense when that won, if I remember correctly.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 20:10 (twenty-one years ago)

i can't place the Lee Perry song, so can't jusdge the Amharic. If i recall correctly, the Abyssinians sang only a couple of words in Amharic which were kinda mangled but still recognizable as Amharic.

to continue this English/Amharic theme, the gorgeous "Guramayle" by Gigi which is, on one level, about the experience of trying to communicate across language barriers.

― H (Heruy), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 21:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Mitsou - Bye Bye Mon Cowboy

Adam Ant - Vive Le rock

― Kim (Kim), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 23:24 (twenty-one years ago)

"Auf Wiedersehen," Cheap Trick

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 05:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Plastilina Mosh, "Peligroso Pop"

― Diego Valladolid (dvalladt), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 08:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, and lots of Yello songs. "Pinball Cha Cha": "¡CLARO... QUE SÍ!" Genius.

― Diego Valladolid (dvalladt), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 08:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow, amazingly nobody seems to have mentioned Beck's "Loser" yet.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 09:32 (twenty-one years ago)

"Adeste Fideles" - Monochrome Set (do dead languages count?)

Also "R.S.V.P." is entirely in French but only uses expressions that English people use:

"Pas de deux, cordon bleu
Quelle domage, a la plage
Laissez faire, tete-a-tete
Mal de mer, vinaigrette
Sans souci
Ma cheri

Melange, et blancmange
Raison d'etre, et kilometre
Savoir faire, neglige
Au contraire, consomme
Vis-a-vis
Ma cheri

Je ne sais quoi, pate de fois gras
Corps de ballet, tout-a-fait
Rendez-vous, femme de chambre
Entre nous, tout ensemble
Lingerie
Ma cherie"

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 10:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci – Patio Song

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 10:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I wanted to say 'Wunderbar' but now I can't remember whether or not that song had any words at all other than 'Wunderbar'.

― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 10:31 (twenty-one years ago)

It doesn't.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 11:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i swear this has been done before. '7 Seconds' by Neneh Cherry/Youssou N'Dour was mentioned, as was that Beastie Boys track off 'Ill Communication' with the French girl intro.

― Senor Embargo (blueski), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 13:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I wish I could sprechen sie deutsch - FSK (originally by somebody else?)
(I've never heard the U2 song mentioned, but like anybody who goes through the Irish schools system, Bono would have been taught Irish/Gaelic for 13 years, so he should remember some little bit)

― Joe Kay (feethurt), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 13:21 (twenty-one years ago)

four weeks pass...

Kraftwerk: Antenne/Antenna. Refrain in English, other lines in German. Or the '75 version of Radioactivity...

― Leonore, Wednesday, 3 November 2004 02:29 (twenty-one years ago)

headless chickens - donde esta la pollo

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 03:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Catatonia - International Velvet

― Pistola, Wednesday, 3 November 2004 06:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Xmal Deutschland - Qual

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band did this all the time -- not just Cherchez La Femme, but also The Gigolo and Me (hilarious Franglish), Auf Wiedersehen Darrio (German), Once There Was a Colored Girl (Italian). . . They really liked languages.

Faudel -- Tellement N'Brick
Rachid Taha -- Ho Cherie, Cherie
Khaled -- Aicha (French, Arabic, and Frarabic (there is a ton of that))

El Gran Silencio -- I Like To Live En Mi Tierra

Tricky -- some song on Vulnerable with a rap in Italian

Jay-Z/Panjabi MC -- Beware (English and Punjabi)

and how can no one have mentioned the ubiquitous . . .

Lady Marmalade

― John Schapiro (Vornado), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

And of course the English/Elvish hip-hop classic from Lords of the Rings:
"A Elbereth, Githoniel
Silivren penna miriel
O menna algar elenath
Githoniel, a Elbereth
Elf booty got soul!
Elf girls like to rock and roll!"

― John Schapiro (Vornado), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 16:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Kula Shaker's "Tattva" (and probably a ton of others!)

― Patrick Allan (adr), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 18:09 (twenty-one years ago)

ten months pass...

Dunno if this counts, but a few years ago there was a song called "A Puro Dolor (Purest of Pain)" that was getting decent airplay in its original Spanish language version; subsequently, their version sung in English got most of the radio play; but I'm pretty sure I heard a version that mashed the two, doing a verse in Spanish and a verse in English. I could be misremembering, though.

Yeah, there were a million different remixes, including one that was mostly Spanish, but with some very silly English thrown in. Actually, for a long time I thought when they were calling out "Son by Four" they were actually yelling "So much more!" I don't really have too many genuinely guilty pleasures, but I guess "A Puro Dolor" may be one. For a long time I simply didn't like it, but it grew on me. I associate it with a particular club and time, and with someone I dated very briefly who used to like to sing it as we were walking down the street (which wasn't too bad since she knew Spanish and was a professional singer).

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 18 September 2005 00:10 (twenty years ago)

Donovan "Jennifer Juniper"

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Sunday, 18 September 2005 20:38 (twenty years ago)

Roxy Music: A Song For Europe (French)
Roxy Music: Bittersweet (German)

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Sunday, 18 September 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

Luke Haines, "Never Work."

"Ne travaillez jamais / Call a general strike in May" = genius

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Sunday, 18 September 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

Just about every song by Stereo Total.

― casey (t. fiend), Sunday, 18 September 2005 23:58 (twenty years ago)

Ween - "Buenos Tardes Amigo" (aka the best song evver)

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Monday, 19 September 2005 00:43 (twenty years ago)

Garoux Des Larmes - Throwing Muses
Vem Kan Segla - Lee Hazlewood
um, that annoying "Chocolate" song that was popular in Spain the summer before last
I'm pretty sure the bizarre new-wave Bisca had alternating Italian and English lyrics sometimes

if you count stuff like "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and Neneh Cherry's "Kisses on the Wind," there's a lot.

― babyalive (babyalive), Monday, 19 September 2005 04:27 (twenty years ago)

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