Friday, March 28, 2025

La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special "Vacation All I Ever Wanted" Edition

Okay, kids -- here's the deal.

A certain Shady Dame and I are getting ready to head off to the Continent for a week or so. Starting tomorrow.

Excuse: Desperately neeeded relaxation. And yeah, this may not be the smartest thing we've ever done. I mean, given what we are all currently enduring from the Real Life Bond Villain/Manchurian Candidate administration, who knows what might happen when we go to the airport?

Barring being shipped to a private prison in El Salvador, however, we will be checking in on a more or less daily basis while we're out of the country -- starting on Monday, when Part VII of PowerPop friend Capt. Al's's 20th Century Best-Of series will be here.

In any case, let's go right to today's obviously relevant business. To wit:

...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis pop/rock/folk/soul/hip hop song featuring a title or lyric snippet/verse in a foreign (i.e. other than English) language is...?

No arbitrary rules whatsoever, although you get extra points if any of them are in Yiddish.

Here's mine, BTW.

Which also has the virtue of being nicely futuristic. 😎

Okay, I was just being silly with that one, obviously. My real favorite -- and this is a bit of a cheat, but it's so fabulous you'll forgive me -- is this one, which I had completely forgotten until I was mucking about in my archives yesterday.

I should add that the above is also a clue to where La Dame Ombragée et moi will be seeing the sights by Sunday.😎😎

Alrighty, then -- what would YOUR choices be? Discuss.

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Also -- pray for our safe return! Or stage a GoFundMe in case we need a good lawyer! 😎😎😎

33 comments:

  1. Funky Western Civilization by Tonio K. gets my vote.

    - Paul in DK

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  2. Psycho Killer - The Talking Heads
    C'est Plain Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand
    Je t'aime- Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin
    Michelle - The Beatles
    Si Tu Dois Partir - Fairport Convention
    I Think We're Alone Now (in Japanese) - Lena Lovich

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  3. The French Song- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

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  4. Jet Screamer was voiced by the multi-talented Howard Morris ("Your Show of Shows" and Ernest T Bass on the "Andy Griffith Show" among many other credits).

    The Violent Femmes did a pretty good version of "Eep, Op, Ork" on a 90s comp of cartoon songs.

    Bob in IL

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  5. That's Amore by Dean Martin also name checks tasty cuisine and was great in the movie Moonstruck.
    rs

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    Replies
    1. "when an eel lunges out/ and it bites off your snout/That's a moray"

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    2. I laughed more than I should have at that. Thanks!

      -Dave in Atlanta

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  6. "Hava Negila" as played by the band at my bar mitzvah in 1963.

    Captain Al

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  7. Ah, Monsieur Simels, eel est drole :-) :-)

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  8. Golden Earring - (Kill me) Ce Soir

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  9. CSN - Suite Judy Blue Eyes

    rob

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  10. Ridiculously enough, I have 31 versions of 'Γ‡a Plane pour Moi' in my iTunes.
    One fave: ELO 'Hold On Tight'
    Worst: Styx "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto"

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  11. Just one more -
    The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go
    rob

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  12. Who could forget Paul singing
    Michelle on the Ed Sullivan show -
    Sont des moits qui vont tres bien...
    rob

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  13. Forgive the self-promotion, but I have a song called "Belle Virginie," Inspired by the French explorers who named many of the places around what eventually became my home town - Erie, PA.

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  14. Gunter Gleiben Glauchen Globen
    Def Leopard - Rock of Ages
    rob

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  15. Tommy Lorente - "Arthur" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09plHZNqfpQ

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  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  17. One that came to my mind has already been voted for, not favorably it seems, so I'll go with the two Beatles German songs I've heard: Komm gib mir deine Hand & Sie liebt dich

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  18. Rob B Mullen3/28/2025 6:06 PM

    The Sandpipers - #9 on U.S charts
    Guantanamera πŸ˜‰
    rbm

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  19. Rob B Mullen3/28/2025 6:12 PM

    Royal Guardsman
    Snoopy Vs . The Red Baron
    Achtung wir singen zusammen due ..
    πŸ›©️

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  20. “Walk On The Kosher Side” - Gefilte Joe & The Fish
    “Piece de Resistance” - Ben Vaughn Quintet
    “Reconnez Cherie” - Wreckless Eric
    “You Never Can Tell” - Chuck Berry
    “It's Easy To Say 'Bon Temps Rouler’” - Geraint Watkins
    “As Long As The Price Is Right” - Dr. Feelgood
    “Nuevo Laredo” - Doug Sahm
    “My Cheri Amour” - Stevie Wonder
    “Tequila” - The Champs
    Have a safe trip!

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  21. What -- nobody nominated Ritchie Valens and La Bamba?

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  22. Pour Le Monde - Crowded House
    Talk About the Passion - REM
    Circumstances - Rush

    -Dave in Atlanta

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  23. The Foreign Girl - Gerry Devine and the High Beams

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  24. Games Without Frontiers (Pete Gabriel) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZmlUV8muY
    Nukkanya (Paul Kelly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn3YyhmAJpo
    The Execution (Paul Kelly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWE0NZeRV0k
    And anyone who claims to be a fan of power pop will love this or be a liar: Linda Linda (Blue Hearts); the 40-second intro is integral to the song, so don't skip it (or the song if the intro doesn't grab you) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYC71PAuIKE

    C in California

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    Replies
    1. Blue Hearts! Their EP and first LP are phenomenal. I was lucky enough to see them. That gem is the namesake of the excellent girlband the Linda Lindas.

      Delete
  25. "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma"
    The Ray Charles version, where he mangles the French verse.

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  26. Hank Williams Jr.
    Jambalaya - fitting tribute

    rob

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  27. Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakomoto
    mc

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