10 Strange Times Singers Sang in Languages They Didn’t Speak

by World's Top Insider Team
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If music is an art then singing is a passion. Many artists across the world pursue singing to promote and share their artistic expression or message. As their music reaches their target audiences, they further promote it to the world beyond the boundaries and help the art to reach the masses. Most of the artists become famous by adding particular creative lyrics, unique melody and artistic elements into their songs to make them reach their target audiences. The music industry always prioritises quality, pronunciation and clarity. Many singers try to stick with their music without evolving. While others are keen to try and explore more with their music.

However, some artists try to further evolve their music by getting out of their comfort zone and experimenting with diversity. They try new genres, new languages  or new styles to push it forward without any barriers. Many singers venture beyond their comfort zone and promote their flamboyant and artistic expressions by singing in unfamiliar languages, which is not their native language. This may be for various reasons:

  • To Expand the Fan Base.
  • An ode to their inspiration.
  • Evolve their music.

We’ll explore ten instances where the singers had to push their songs beyond the boundaries, choosing to transcend the language barriers. These combined efforts of artists have resulted in creation of some spectacular and iconic unique musical pieces that are still sung in the the world:

 

10) Paul McCartney in “‘Michelle”: 

Source: Wikipedia

The Beatles Masterpiece  “Michelle” was sung in the voice of Paul McCartney, a member of the band. He wrote the song as he was inspired by his adoration for a French girl. He used to impress her with his guitar that strummed a French tune and tried to sing in pseudo-French phonetics, since he was not fluent. 

When the Beatles gained fame across the boundaries, the lead vocalist John Lennon helped McCartney to develop his old fake French tune into a proper song. So, McCartney took the help of a French friend and wrote lyrics for “Michelle” which was showcased in the Beatles Rubber Soul album. With determination, McCartney was able to pull a melodious song in a language he barely knew with help of his French friend.

 

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9) Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) in “A Tout le Monde”:

Source: Wikipedia

Dave Mustaine, a lead singer from the metal thrash band Megadeth was inspired by the Beatles melodious French song “Michelle”. His fondness influenced him to create a musical chorus for his song “A Tout Le Monde”  in French. Although he experimented with the song in Japanese, Spanish and other languages since he was inspired by the Beatles’s song he sang it in French. 

Mustaine’s song was a remarkable inspiration. It motivated him to experiment with the new languages adding a unique rhythm in metal thrash music.

 

8) John Lennon in “Across the Universe”:

Source: Wikipedia

Unlike Paul McCartney who sang a chorus in French language another member, John Lennon from the band was influenced by Indian spirituality. This influence came from their teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who taught band meditation.This spiritual influence led Lennon to experiment with the Sanskrit language. He added a mantra of “Jai Guru Deva Om” in his song which means “Hail to the Heavenly Teacher”.

The song constitutes a calming rhythm and melody that emphasises spiritual healing and a mix of Eastern tunes. This inspiration led to the formation of a masterpiece like Across the Universe.

 

7) Joe Strummer & Joe Ely in “Should I Stay or Should I Go”:

Ely in 2017

Source: Wikipedia

The Clash was a punk rock band, who experimented with several languages to focus on promoting their music and success. So, the Guitarist of the band wrote “Should I Stay or Should I Go” to give the song a classic feel. During the recording session, the lead vocalists Joe Strummer and Joe Ely added Spanish vocals to the song. The lyrics were translated by the studio tape operator’s mother, who was Puerto Rican. 

This fascinating experiment turned into a unique Spanish adaptation which the band calls “Weird Spanish Ever”. This creative blend showcased the ability of the band to experiment by amalgamating the classics and punk music.

 

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6) Bananarama in “Aie a Mwana”:

Source: Wikipedia

Bananarama was an English pop group of girls formed in 1980. They sang their debut song “Aie a Mwana” in Swahili language. It was a cover of an African song by Black Blood. Despite not being a fluent Swahili speaker, they learned the lyrics and recorded the song. 

It caught the attention of many people and paved the way for Banananrama’s fame in the 1980s. This brave move by the young girls marked the peak of their career and helped establish their band’s identity in pop music.

 

5) Andy Ellison in “Whangdepootenawah”:

Source: Wikipedia

Andy Ellison from the Jet band (later John’s Children) sang “Whangdepootenawah” in the 1970s. The title of the song itself originates from another language, even the origins of the song are unclear. According to sources, the band members brought the lyrics to Martin Gordon who set them according to the music. They were unaware of the fact that it was taken from Ambrose Bierce’s satirical Devil’s Dictionary. The language according to many was Ojibwa, a Native American language.

 

4) Conway Twitty’s Russian Version of “Hello Darlin”:

Source: Wikipedia

Conway Twitty was an American singer and songwriter. He served the country by joining the US Army during the era of warfare. During his time, there was a peak of hostility between two world powers USSR and USA which led to a Cold War. To maintain the peace, the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Project was announced as a joint space mission. The astronauts from both world powers accompanied on this mission and successfully made peaceful ties in those difficult times. As a gesture of gratitude, Twitty recorded the song “Hello Darlin” in Russian, after learning the language. This song fostered a cultural exchange, symbolising the power of music.

 

3) David Bowie in “Warszawa”:

Source: Wikipedia

David Bowie, a legendary singer wrote a song “Warszawa” for the Polish soldiers with themes of freedom and oppression. He was inspired by his visit to Poland. Instead of using Polish language for the song, he used phonetic sounds to deliver the emotions. The sounds were easy to decipher and evoke feelings of yearning. This unique blend was then loved by the people across the borders.

 

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2) David Byrne in “I Zimbra”:

Source: Wikipedia

David Byrne was inspired by David Bowie’s “Warszawa”. It led him to sing “I Zimbra” taken from African music. Although he struggled a lot with its lyrics, he added music to create unique songs blended with African poetry. This song consisted of many useless words to enhance the direction and context of the African dialect in the song.

This innovative approach made a unique blend of music that resulted in a captivating song.

 

1) Enya in “The River Sings”:

Source: Wikipedia

Enya was known for singing in many unusual languages for her 2005 album. As she wrote the song lyrics for her new song, her creative partner helped her develop the song in “Loxian”. This allowed Enya to express herself and her emotions in a new language. She didn’t struggle with other languages, so Loxian was a comfortable language too as per “The River Sings”  which she experimented with.

 

Conclusion

These instances show us with determination and a creative mindset, any artist can achieve heights in their career. The only distraction in this journey is the “comfort zone”, which makes a person unable to achieve heights and stay afloat. With true confidence and teamwork, many artists even in today’s era have reached heights. For instance, Zayn sang songs in Urdu language and kept experimenting with the language as it was his ancestral language. There are many instances in pop culture today.

 

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