Pop Tunes Translated : NPR
Hear the foreign-language versions of hit English-language songs
Johnny Cash sings
'I Walk the Line'
in German
('Wer kennt den Weg')
'Space Oddity'
in Italian
'Get Back' by The Beatles
German
('Geh Raus')
For the past few years, producer Jennifer Sharpe has amassed a small collection of what she likes to call "foreign tongue recordings."
They're versions of hit songs from the American charts, sung by the original artists, usually in German, Italian or French
"Wer kennt den Weg, den Weg zurück"
Johnny Cash performs ca 1978
The singers learned the lyrics phonetically, line by line, taught by a language coach.
Sharpe says the songs were recorded when English-language songs had a tough time making it in Europe.
