Who says rock can’t be educational?
April 2, 2008Listening to Today’s Music can be educational! Don’t believe me? Read on:
“Just Between You and Me” by April Wine
These Canadian rockers from the early 80’s offer us a little French lesson:
Lyrics found at http://www.lyricsfreak.com
Seulement entre toi et moi
Means that our love will always be
Thanks!
“Mr. Roboto” by Styx
Those arena rockers from the 70’s, Styx, give us a glimpse into Japanese:
Lyrics found at http://www.seeklyrics.com/
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Mata ah-oo hima de
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Himitsu wo shiri tai
I found out here that the above lyrics mean:
Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
Until we meet again
Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
I want to know your secret
I never would have known that or cared. See? We’ve all learned something today from rock.
“La Bamba” by Richie Havens / Los Lobos
Don’t we all love to sing Spanish sometimes? I learned Spanish from Cheech and Chong when I was a kid. This song is a much better source to jump off from, believe me.
Here’s a site that gives a helpful translation of the song: http://www.spanish-translation-help.com/la-bamba-translation.html
Though I wasn’t willing to admit it, I knew deep in my heart that this:
Yo no soy marinero
Soy capitán
Meant this:
I’m not a sailor
I’m captain
Wacky stuff!
“La La Means I Love You” The Delfonics
Oh, OK!
“La La La Means I Love You” by Swing Out Sister
Wait a minute…
“I Wanna Sex you Up” by Color Me Badd
Who knew “Sex” was a verb? Who knew “Bad” was spelled “Badd”?
“How To Save A Life” by The Fray
Lyrics found at: http://www.lyricsmania.com/
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Not sure if I know how to save a life now, but I know how to sound wimpy. Just joking around, this is a great song.
We all want knowledge, right? We all want wisdom. The Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)
Our wisdom and knowledge come from God. Are you seeking wisdom from God? Are you seeking God? Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Do it! You’ll be wiser than some of the wisest people this world has to offer.
Just from a musical stance, sometimes it’s better NOT to know what songs mean in other languages. I still have yet to find good English translations of foreign songs! I mean, they’re okay and all, but for example, the original versions of “99 Luftballons” and “Major Tom” (surprised me that an English title is a German song!) sound a lot better in their original languages! And some translations just reveal plain ol’ weirdness. With “Mr. Roboto”–no offense, but what WERE people thinking back in the ’80s?
“Who knew ‘Sex’ was a verb? Who knew ‘Bad’ was spelled ‘Badd’?”
*Laughs* Who knew “Mud” was spelled “Mudd”? (Sounds like those people never passed first-grade spelling!)
As a musician, I’ve picked up a lot of pointers from rock ‘n’ roll. But as far as academic lessons go–well, some non sequiturs speak for themselves.
Way to go John. (comment above) My first thought after reading this cool post was the eighties song from Nena, “99 Luftballons”. Below is the chorus in German and then the English to follow.
99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Hielt man fuer UFOs aus dem All
Darum schickte ein General
Eine Fliegerstaffel hinterher
Alarm zu geben, wenn es so war
Dabei war da am Horizont
Nur 99 Luftballons
99 red balloons.
floating in the summer sky.
Panic bells, it’s red alert.
There’s something here from somewhere else.
The war machine springs to life.
Opens up one eager eye.
Focusing it on the sky.
Where 99 red balloons go by.
Again, a very creative posting Robert.
I’m so embarrassed to have forgotten 99 Luftballons! Thanks guys. Those are some bizarre lyrics in English.
There’s an awesome cover of that song by punk band, Goldfinger. John, if you had Napster, you could listen to the whole thing right now!
Did somebody say “Major Tom” is originally German? Utter Nonsense. Space Oddity was written by David Bowie himself.