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Singing in German
The Beatles recorded German-language versions of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You”. Have you ever done, or considered doing, the same with any of your original songs?
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22 Replies
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The idea makes us chuckle but to be honest, at the moment we wouldn’t consider re-recording any of our original songs in German right now. We can’t see that working all too well 😉
Do you know the story of how George Martin had to personally drag the Beatles to the studio because they initially refused to do these recordings? This story cracks us up every time we read it!
Since we don’t have anyone dragging us anywhere we’ll probably give this one a miss.
When we used to play “She Loves You” at the Cavern Club we sometimes snuck in a German verse in the middle of the song though and it was so entertaining watching the faces in the audience when we made the switch to German.
The hardcore Beatles fans started grinning because they knew exactly what we were doing and the other half of the audience looked totally confused and had no idea what was going on.
🙂
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Thank you, Mona, for your reply and the link. I had not heard that Beatles story, but it’s very easy to picture it occurring exactly as described!
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While re-recording an original song in German might not be something you want to do, I wonder if throwing in some German words or phrases in a new future original song might not be fun or interesting. Kind of like what you did at the Cavern with She Loves You. I don’t know if it’s just me but some rock songs sound great with a little German mixed in. I remember in the 80s there was Nena with 99 Luftballons, and Falco later with Der Kommisar, and Rock Me Amadeus. They sounded great and they became massive hits in the English speaking world. Aufstehn is a good example from your 2007 concert. I don’t know what you are saying in the German parts, but it sounds awesome when mixed in with the Engish parts.
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I understand what you are saying, Mona. I can’t see the point in you re-recording in German what you have already done. Your current recordings in German are appropriate and the occasional addition of German lyrics in future live performances would be a nice surprise.
We do have a recent video of you singing in German.“Leise Rieselt Der Schnee” 2.0 (Studio Recording), was included in the Advent Calendar last Christmas Day.
It was great to see this new video, however, I still love your original Austrian recording of this song from when you were around 15 years of age.
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If singing a Beatles song in German isn’t odd enough, what if you add a layer of Jim Henson to it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pUZMjhOehg
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That was delightfully cute David ?
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Thanks, Jung. My very first experience with Beatles music was seeing the original English-language version of this on Sesame Street when I was four or five years old.
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Yes, that is very odd! Please don’t go there Lisa and Mona! Perhaps Elvis’s “Wooden Heart” in German would be an excellent alternative though!
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I don’t believe MLT have done an Elvis cover yet. I think this would be the perfect fit and I could well imagine Mona learning the squeezebox for the occasion!
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Actually I can picture Mona on the tuba and Lisa on the accordion in a “Bus Stop” style video of this song. Now wouldn’t that be Oom-pah Fabulous!
“Treat me nice
Treat me good
Treat me like you really should
‘Cause I’m not made of wood
And I don’t have a wooden heartMuss I denn, muss I denn
Zum stadtele hinaus
Stadtele hinaus
Und du, mein schat, bleibst hier?There’s no strings upon this love of mine
It was always you from the startSei mir gut
Sei mir gut
Sei mir wie du wirklich sollst
Wie du wirklich sollst
’cause I don’t have a wooden heart”Guitar and Ukulele chords:
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Wow Howard, you even provided the chords. That sounds like a lot of fun for Mona and Lisa to play. I’m just trying to picture Mona on Tuba and Lisa on accordion. ? It can only be great. I wish I could play so I could try it too.
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If “Wooden Heart” doesn’t make the grade, how about “She’s Not You”. I can just see the Twins doing a classic cover of this, complete with Mona’s trademark Elvis scowl with her curled lip while she swings those hips Elvis style.
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MLT covering Elvis is an intriguing idea, Howard. Do you envision them writing harmony parts for the lead vocals, or would it just be one of them singing solo?
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If you don’t believe me, check this ‘mug shot’ out!
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And how about some more!
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Well, David, I have no doubt that MLT could come up with the appropriate arrangement if they chose to do a Presley song. They have shown in the past that they can improvise and change covers when required or preferred. Also, Elvis’s songs are usually backed by various singers and often a chorus of singers. “She’s Not You” has several backing singers and “Wooden Heart” has the option of including another singer for the German part or even a choir of singers like with the children in my video example. The MLT’s “Little Drummer Boy” is a good example of how they have multi-tracked their voices when required. “Please, Please, Me”, is another example (along with other songs) when three-part harmonies are required. They depend on the bass guitarist in their live bands for the third voice.
I know that soloists like Elvis aren’t their usual style, preferring the harmony group sound, but they have shown themselves to be very adventurous in the past. I only suggested “Wooden Heart” because it suited the Topic “Singing in German”, and I also think they could utilise their considerable acting skills to pull this one off!
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They have sung a few songs that Elvis had sung…. “That’s All Right Mama”, “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock” … In a medley of sorts… from a live gig or it was from a radio show… Whatever it was from, they MLTBuzzed Groovified the songs…!
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Yes, you are correct Jacki. I knew there was something out there in the MLT video universe. “That’s All Right, Mama” – MonaLisa Twins (Elvis Cover) live, shows us just what they can do with a song from the “King”! Check out Mona’s rocking moves and Lisa’s fancy guitar picking!
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Okay, I’m convinced: Mona and Lisa can cover any song by anyone and make it their own while still remaining true to the original.
I recall Lisa once saying something to the effect that she doesn’t understand why some people choose to cover a great song and yet remove every element that made it great in the first place. MLT always know exactly how to balance their own style with respect for the original recording.
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Hey Howard, the twins have covered Elvis: That’s All Right, Mama!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjQC6uaCcFs
Underscores for me their superb live performances.
Edit… oops didn’t see the 2nd page… late to the party… ?
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