02

Been singing along to the same, old songs? Wondering which song to add to your existing playlist? You’re not alone, fret not. Looking for something that’s beyond your comfort zone? Well, if you’re searching for some songs that are in (a) language(s) that you don’t (entirely) understand, you might find this (list) helpful.  You can always thank me later, no worries.

French – Je N’ai Que Mon Âme – Natasha St Pier

Listening to this song makes me reminisce about the time I used to study the rather nasal language with my ex-classmates from different parts of the world. The ballad was one of the entries in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001. Although I can barely understand the lyrics, I find the opening powerful, as it invites you to listen to more of the song. St Pier who is Canadian of Acadian origin has largely been based in France. I think there’s an English version of the song, but to me, nothing beats the original.

Indonesian – Widuri – Broery Marantika

I learnt this Indonesian song, thanks to a primary school teacher in my Kebangsaan school though I still am trying to figure out the exact purpose. Perhaps, the teacher was attempting to elevate our Malay to a higher level, so all of us (in the class) could have an improved grasp of the language. By the way, Malay and Indonesian have some similarities as they both belong to the same group of Austronesian languages. Just days before publishing, I found out that he had passed on in 2000.

Russian – Lullaby – Polina Gagarina

One weekend, to my surprise, this turned up on my list of suggested songs to listen to – on one of the popular video-streaming websites. Maybe it was because I kept returning to the site for my dose of reality TV singing competition shows. So out of curiosity, I clicked on the thumbnail of the (audition) video, with no expectation. Well, it didn’t take long before I found myself humming to the song, even though I had no idea what the contestant was singing about. Both soothing and captivating, I felt like I was transported to a completely different world altogether. Eventually, I found out that the original was sung by Polina Gagarina, who represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015.

Indonesian – Senja Di Kuala Lumpur – Broery Marantika

Given its infectious yet breezy opening and chorus, it’s easy to instantly like this song, which is about five minutes in length. Due to the melody, some might initially mistake it for an English song. Yes, it’s an Indonesian (indirectly) promoting a Malaysian city. Isn’t it ironic?

Italian – Con Te Partiro – Andrea Bocelli

A number of online sources seem to disclose that Bocelli lost 100% of his eyesight due to a mishap during a football match, in which he was the goalkeeper. Even before that, he had been diagnosed with a condition that restricted a part of his vision. But hey, who would have thought that he would later be named the most well-liked living tenor across the globe? This particular song is also often linked to the duet version with the English soprano voice Sarah Brightman, who has the capacity to perform in several languages including Japanese, German, Spanish, Chinese and Turkish.

 Malaysian – Standing in the Eyes of the World – Ella

Due to Malaysia’s rich history and multicultural make-up, many Malaysians are able to communicate in and/or understand at least two languages. Partly due to this, a song like this was thought out – and ultimately came to fruition. Sung mostly in Malay (by the country’s Queen of Rock), the evergreen, uplifting song was used when Malaysia hosted the Sukan Komanwel (SUKOM) or Commonwealth Games (CG) in 1998. One of the composers of this inspiring work of art is a certain Mr Gates, who separately recorded the song fully in English. Nudge me the next time you hear Ella’s soulful interpretation (of the song) over the radio or TV.