“Mas, que Nada!” (Brazilians use Mas que nada (in a literal translation: just nothing) colloquially to disagree with someone. A fitting English translation might be a sarcastic “Yeah, right!” or “No way!”) It is a song written and originally recorded in 1963 by Jorge Ben on his debut album Sambo Esquema Novo. Sergio Mendes covered […]
Music of The World (9)
“Voyage, voyage” is a song by French singer Desireless, released as the first single from her debut studio album, Francois (1989). It was written by Jean-Michel Rivat and Dominique Dubois, and produced by the former. Since “Voyage, voyage” is sung exclusively in French, its chart success came as a surprise as it managed the rare […]
Music of The World No. 8
“Quiéreme Mucho” (Also known as ‘Yours’) is a criolla-bolero composed in 1911 by Gonzalo Roig with lyrics by Ramón Gollury and Agustín Rodríguez. The song was inspired by Roig’s wife, Blanca Becerra, and premiered in Havana in 1911 without much success. In 1917, it was included in the sainete El servicio militar obligatorio and performed […]
Music of The World (7)
“Begin the Beguine” is a popular song written by Cole Porter. Porter composed the song in 1935 on a Pacific cruise aboard Cunard’s ocean liner Franconia. In October 1935, it was introduced by June Knight in the Broadway musical Jubilee, produced at the Imperial Theatre in New York City. The Beguine is a dance and […]
Music of The World (6)
“Chanson D’Amour” (‘Love Song’) is a song written by Wayne Shanklin. It was originally recorded by in 1958 by the husband and wife team of Art and Dotty Todd where reached No. 6 on the Billboard. The Manhattan Transfer remade “Chanson D’Amour” for their 1976 Coming Out album. The song came to the group’s producer […]
Music of The World (5)
“Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue” (“A Bench, a Tree, a Street”) was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 performed in French by singer Severine, representing Monaco. The song is a classic French ballad, with the lyric focusing on the loss of childhood innocence, and people following their dreams. The opening lines […]
Music of The World (4)
“Tous les garçons et les filles” (“All the Boys and Girls”) is a song by French singer-songwriter Francoise Hardy, with Roger Samyn credited as co-writer on Hardy’s original 1962 ye-ye-era recording. The song recounts the feelings of a young person who has never known love and her envy of the couples that surround her. Hardy’s […]
Music of The World (3)
“Al di là” (“Beyond”) is a song written by Italian composer Carlo Donida and lyricist Mogol, and recorded by Betty Curtis. The song was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961, performed in Italian by Curtis at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France in March 1961. In the United States, Emilio Pericoli […]
Music of The World (2)
“Mambo Italiano” is a song written by Bob Merrill in 1954 for the American singer Rosemary Clooney. Merrill reportedly wrote it under a recording deadline, scribbling hastily on a paper napkin in an Italian restaurant in New York City, and then using the wall pay-phone to dictate the melody, rhythm and lyrics to the studio […]
Music of The World (1)
Today we begin a new series. We shall be considing songs that became popular in the UK whilst being sung in another language. Despite Brexit and our general failure to learn any other language but our native tongue, it seems that we have long had a love affair with the music of world, no matter […]