45

I thought of a few examples, but want some more. Don't count songs with nonsense lyrics or instrumentals without lyrics. Don't count bilingual songs (unless neither of them is English, or if the English portions are commonly omitted). Don't count songs primarily popular among immigrant populations or others fluent in that language.

Basically, songs an American monoglot could sing along with, but couldn't translate.

top 37 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] grannyweatherwax@feddit.nl 52 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Gangnam style ?

[-] AngryHippy@slrpnk.net 48 points 1 year ago

Rock Me Amadeus - Falco

La Bamba - Los Lobos

Macarena - Los Del Rio

Despacito - Luis Fonsi / Daddy Yankee

99 Luftballons - Nena

Sadeness, part 1 - Enigma

Volaré - Domenico Modungo

La Bamba and 99 Luftballons were on my list, others should have been.

[-] Screwthehole@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago
[-] Jagger2097@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Du hast nicht

[-] Venat0r@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Du hast - Rammstein

Gold - Sigur Rós

[-] sharkfucker420@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago

Du hast was also my first thought

[-] knaak@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago
[-] teft@startrek.website 1 points 1 year ago
[-] Anti_Weeb_Penguin@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Now that's great music taste!

[-] Xariphon@kbin.social 25 points 1 year ago
[-] teft@startrek.website 8 points 1 year ago

For those who don’t recognize the title it’s also known as the Numa Numa song.

[-] radix@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Dragostea Din Tei for sure. Such a fundamental part of my fourth grade experience, only rediscovered almost a decade later during Zoom school.

[-] prashanthvsdvn@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago
[-] teft@startrek.website 3 points 1 year ago

Gotta represent with my man Daler Mehndi.

[-] Xariphon@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Isn't he in jail now?

[-] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

Caramelldansen

[-] Selkie210@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Yuve Yuve Yu by Mongolian band The Hu

I wasn't expecting a Mongolian answer to show up here, so this is great.

[-] teft@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago

The Hu

Anyone who has played Jedi: Fallen Order or Jedi: Survivor will recognize The Hu from the intro song in Fallen Order. In Survivor they have 3 songs on the jukebox as the band The Agasar (one of which is Sugaan Essena, the song from Fallen Order).

[-] ettyblatant@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Plastic Bertrand - Ça plane pour moi

[-] skullvalanche@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Ha! Came here to say this. Ya beat me to it.

[-] tegs_terry@feddit.uk 8 points 1 year ago

Èdith Piaf stuff paably

[-] IntergalacticZombie@feddit.uk 7 points 1 year ago

Does Auld Lang Syne count?

I think so. Some Scottish words are co-intelligible with English, but the song as a whole isn't.

[-] CetaceanNeeded@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Schnappi, das kleine krokodil was quite popular in Australia in the early 00's.

[-] PlatonicaWhore@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

This is very recent, but the production slaps

Coco - Elena Rose

[-] EbenezerScrew@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

90s kid so Mocedades - Eres Tú will always have a sweet spot in my heart!

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ue o Muite Arukou - Kyu Sakamoto

[-] tetris11@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

whistles a melancholic tune

[-] DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone 3 points 1 year ago
  • O Fortuna by Carl Orff. Actually, the entire Carmina Burana has some real bangers
  • Lots of stuff by Enya
[-] charonn0@startrek.website 3 points 1 year ago

Prisencolinensinainciusol makes me laugh.

[-] CetaceanNeeded@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I mean it was a song by an Italian that at the time didn't speak English trying to make a song that to Italians would sound like it was in english.

[-] Wolfiexo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

IN-GRID - Tu Es Foutu and also by her In Tango Alizée - J'en ai marre or J'ai pas vingt ans or Moi Lolita

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
45 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26753 readers
1222 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS