Ever hear a song and say, "Yeah, this is nice. But what would it sound like in French/Spanish/Greek/Swahili/Urdu?" Well, then, friends, you're in the right place. This week we take songs that are already good in English and some how get even better in a foreign language. And the best news? No one picked "Yesterday"!

SONGS:

Freedom Fry: Stayin’ Alive (Cover 2021) (Bee Gees 1977)

Mikel Erentxun: Esta Luz Nunca Se Apagara (Cover 1992) (The Smiths 1986) 

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:

Other Covers of Popular English Songs in Another Language

Rachid Taha (Arabic): Rock the Casbah (The Clash)

Karel Gott (Yiddish): Paint it Black (The Rolling Stones)

Eileen (French): These Boots Are Made for Walking (Nancy Sinatra)

Selena (Spanish): Fotos y Recuerdos (The Pretenders)

David Bowie (Italian): Space Oddity (David Bowie)

Seu Jorge (Portuguese): The Life Aquatic (David Bowie Tribute)

Marta Kubišová (Czech): Hey Jude (The Beatles)

Albert Pla (Spanish): Walk on the Wildside (Lou Reed)

Lena Lovich (Japanese): I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James and the Shondells)

Nina Hagen (German): Sonntagmorgen (Velvet Underground)

From Pluribus

Maro (Portuguese): Era de Aquário/Deixa o Sol Entrar (The 5th Dimension)

Kit Sebastian (Turkish): People Are Strange (The Doors) 

Murat Evgeen (Turkish): Nobody Told Me (John Lennon)

Vince Gilligan Talks Pluribus Soundtrack (Brooklyn Vegan)

Learn More

About Freedom Fry

About Blondfire

Duet Between Two Nationalities: A Conversation with Freedom Fry (Atwood Magazine, 2016)

Freedom Fry Covers (Spotify)

610 Foreign Covers of Popular English Language Songs (Spotify User James Haardiing)

Beach Boys’ Fans Talk Foreign Cover Versions (Endless Harmony)

Readers Recommend Foreign Language Versions (The Guardian)

Multimodal Refractions of Bob Dylan in French Covers (Jean-Charles Meunier, Ph.D. thesis)

Pushing Aside Stayin’ Alive: New songs to keep the (heart)beat during CPR

The Office CPR Scene

Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” Drum Loop from “Night Fever”

Mikel Erentxun (All Music)

Duncan Dhu - En Algun Lugar (YouTube)

Naufragios (1992), de Mikel Erentxun (Efe Eme)

Todo es igual siempre (YouTube)

Gotcha Covered: “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”

Unsolicited Advice

Radio France: FIP

FIP: Curious Radio and More

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