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7.43am
14 June 2022
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There is a topic for covers and I thought it would be nice, a special foreign adaptation of Beatles songs topic.
Share those that you find really good
(or even less good, there are a few gems in French…
)
I share with you 2 fairly good adaptations :
Dalida’s version in italian of Girl,I find it beautiful !
the adaptation in french of Got To Get You Into My Life by Johnny Hallyday, It was quite popular in France. At first, I didn’t know It was a Beatles song !
(A lot of sweat in this one 
)
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sigh butterfly, Richard3.11pm
6 May 2018
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Great idea, @Pennys Poppies! 
Here are Italian versions of And I Love Her (La Tua Voce) and Rain (Pioggia) from Augusto Righetti:
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sigh butterfly, Pennys PoppiesAnd in the end
The love you take is equal to the love you make
4.04pm
11 June 2015
Offline I remember reading somewhere that it is usually necessary to change the lyrics to make the translations fit the music. For instance @Pennys Poppies how close is the French translation to this verse from Girl? Are they able to maintain the cadence and rhyming words or is the meaning altered?
Was she told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure?
Did she understand it when they said
That a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure?
Will she still believe it when he’s dead?
You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
12.48pm
14 June 2022
Offline sigh butterfly said
I remember reading somewhere that it is usually necessary to change the lyrics to make the translations fit the music. For instance @Pennys Poppies how close is the French translation to this verse from Girl? Are they able to maintain the cadence and rhyming words or is the meaning altered?
Was she told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure?
Did she understand it when they said
That a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure?
Will she still believe it when he’s dead?
The version of Girl by Dalida is in italian, so I can’t tell you BUT a french version exist by Johnny Halliday (him again 
) and It’s a little different.
In France, the lyricists try to maintain the cadence and ryming words more than the meaning of the words. (For example, the french version of “Twist And Shout ” it’s “Twist et chante” because “chante”(sing) is close, by the sonority of “shout”, but it’s not the same meaning.
I think in quebecois, it’s the opposite (if I believe the differences in translations in the Disney songs.)
For the french version of Girl,it is especially the first sentence which has been softened. (Maybe they were afraid it would bother a certain audience
)
Ne lui a-t-on pas appris lorsqu’elle n’était qu’une enfant
Wasn’t she taught when she was just a child
Que le temps est souvent le plus fort ?
That time is often the strongest?
Les défaites de la vie marquent un garçon pour longtemps
The defeats of life mark a boy for a long time
Le saura-t-elle quand je serai mort ?
Will she know when I’m dead?
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Richard, sigh butterfly1.08pm
11 June 2015
Offline Thanks Penny – I knew you were French and meant to provide a quote from your Got To Get You Into My Life example
(so I appreciate you working with my absentmindedness). I think the translations are really fascinating. I wonder how different “Komm, gib mir deine Hand” and “Sie liebt dich” are?
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Pennys Poppies, RubeYou and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
3.27pm
14 June 2022
Offline Never mind !
I checked for the french version of Got To Get You Into My Life and…its pretty accurate ! The lyrics are more “simple” so, its more easy to adapt, I guess
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sigh butterfly, Rube3.44pm
6 May 2018
Offline sigh butterfly said
I wonder how different “Komm, gib mir deine Hand” and “Sie liebt dich” are?
SB, I know German to some extent, and the translations of ‘Komm, gib mir deine Hand’ and ‘Sie liebt dich’ at the following links seem reasonably accurate:
https://www.lyrtran.com/Komm-g…..nd-id-6569
https://www.lyrtran.com/Sie-li…..ch-id-6640
There are some interesting changes.
For example:
Oh yeah, I’ll tell you something
I think you’ll understand
When I say that something
I Want To Hold Your Hand
I Want To Hold Your Hand
I Want To Hold Your HandOh please, say to me
You’ll let me be your man
And please, say to me
You’ll let me hold your hand
You’ll let me hold your hand
I Want To Hold Your HandAnd when I touch you I feel happy inside
It’s such a feeling that my love
I can’t hide, I can’t hide, I can’t hide
becomes:
Come On, Give Me Your Hand
Oh won’t you come on, come to me
You drive me out of my mind
Oh won’t you come on, come to me
Come on, give me your hand!
Come on, give me your hand!
Come on, give me your hand!Oh you are so beautiful
As beautiful as a diamond
I want to be your boyfriend
Come on, give me your hand!
Come on, give me your hand!
Come on, give me your hand!In your arms I feel happy and glad
It had never been like this with any other girl
Not like this, not like this, not like this
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sigh butterfly, RubeAnd in the end
The love you take is equal to the love you make
7.26pm
6 May 2018
Offline French version of Please Please Me (Tu Perds Ton Temps) recorded by British singer Petula Clark, who is also fluent in French:
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sigh butterfly, Rube, Pennys PoppiesAnd in the end
The love you take is equal to the love you make
8.21pm
11 June 2015
Offline Thanks Penny & Rich, it seems like the translation goal (at least from these examples) is to tone down the sexual innuendo rather that maintaining the poetic elements.
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Rube, RichardYou and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
5.32am
17 June 2021
Offline Frida Lyngstad recorded a Swedish version of The Long And Winding Road for her debut 1971 album, but it’s officially unreleased.
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Richard, sigh butterfly, Pennys PoppiesWinner of Most Hardcore Beatles Bible Fan 2021
9.14am
11 June 2015
Offline Cool Rube, I never heard that before. For some reason, I kept thinking of I Dreamed A Dream from Le Miz.
There must be hundreds of Yesterday foreign language versions out there. I’m going to do a little research and see how well the translations worked. Here are my initial findings for the word yesterday itself.
French: hier
German: gestern
Italian: leri
Japanese: ?? (kinou)
Spanish: ayer
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Rube, RichardYou and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
11.36am
6 May 2018
Offline Rube said
Frida Lyngstad recorded a Swedish version of The Long And Winding Road for her debut 1971 album, but it’s officially unreleased.
It’s a beautiful version, Rube. Thank you for posting it.
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RubeAnd in the end
The love you take is equal to the love you make
12.11pm
14 June 2022
Offline @sigh butterfly I found the french version of Yesterday , It’s not…the best version of this song 
(I like this singer tough, I recommend his song “Hasta Luego”.)
It’s called “je croyais” (I believed), the lyrics are very simillar.
A very “quaint” reprise of Yellow submarine by Les Compagnons de la chanson. It’s funny to see this troupe, which had a rather old audience, covers a Beatles song. But the choice of the song is logical and renders rather well.
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Richard, sigh butterfly12.46pm
14 December 2009
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Richard, sigh butterflyPaul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
1.13pm
17 June 2021
Offline Richard said
Rube said
Frida Lyngstad recorded a Swedish version of The Long And Winding Road for her debut 1971 album, but it’s officially unreleased.
It’s a beautiful version, Rube. Thank you for posting it.
You are welcome @Richard.
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RichardWinner of Most Hardcore Beatles Bible Fan 2021
5.14pm
6 May 2018
Offline The following people thank Richard for this post:
Rube, sigh butterflyAnd in the end
The love you take is equal to the love you make
11.22pm
11 June 2015
Offline It’s fun listening to songs you know so well in a different way! It never really occurred to me that most of the world listened to the Beatles without understanding the lyrics. It would be interesting to ask non-English speakers what they think the songs are about. There was a forum member a few years back who’s first language was Hindi. I wish I would have thought to ask her.
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RubeYou and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
7.16am
14 June 2022
Offline @sigh butterfly It’s all the more complicated when certains songs don’t really make sense even in the original language 
( like I’m The walrus, Come Together or Monkberry Moon Delight )
Or songs like Don’t Let me down, I’m not sure of the meaning of the sentence “don’t let me down”, It’s “Don’t abandon me” or Don’t Disappoint Me” ?
8.58am
23 January 2022
Offline When someone lets you down, that means you have expectations of them, that you’re relying on them to meet, and they don’t meet those expectations.
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Pennys Poppies, RubeMy hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
10.23am
14 June 2022
Offline Thanks for the clarifications !
I take the opportunity of this message to share this TV Show where John and Paul listens foreign reprise of their songs :
https://youtu.be/tVBoSj-yYgQ?t=1196
The french song we heard, it’s “Toi l’ami” by Richard Anthony
Apparently, Richard Anthony would have been at the origin of the song Michelle . He and his wife (named Michelle 
) lived in London and while recording at Studio Abbey Road once, they became friends with the Beatles. I don’t know if it’s true but there is a photo with him and The Beatles. Here the article (in french) : https://www.telestar.fr/people…..tos-102223
Paul’s face is so…
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Rube, Richard 